Selfnotification

Selfnotification refers to the act of a system, agent, or individual generating a notification about its own state, events, or processes rather than informing external observers. It is an internal signaling mechanism that can support monitoring, control, and self-regulation within a system or organism.

In psychology and behavioral science, self-notification is related to self-monitoring and self-reporting. Individuals may signal their own actions, moods, or intentions to track progress, enforce goal-directed behavior, or provide data for research. Methods include diaries, checklists, or prompts that cue internal reflection and subsequent behavioral adjustment.

In software engineering and computer science, self-notification describes a pattern where a component creates events or messages for itself to drive internal workflows, wake up internal loops, or transition between states. This can simplify design by localizing event handling, but it also introduces risks of unnecessary processing or feedback loops if not carefully managed. Self-notification can be used in debugging, health checks, or self-healing architectures to verify activity and trigger corrective actions.

Applications and considerations include improved responsiveness and tighter coupling between observation and control, as well as potential drawbacks such as complexity, possible infinite loops, and the need for safeguards like rate limiting and idempotent handlers.

See also: self-monitoring, metacognition, event-driven programming, observer pattern, health checks.