tilakone

Tilakone is a theoretical model used in computer science to describe systems with a finite number of states and discrete transitions, analogous to a finite-state machine. The term is derived from Finnish tilakone meaning state machine and appears in some European texts to denote state-transition models.

A tilakone comprises a finite set of states S, an input alphabet I, an output alphabet O, a transition function δ: S × I → S, and an output function λ. In a Mealy tilakone, outputs depend on state and input; in a Moore tilakone, outputs depend only on the state. A designated start state s0 initiates operation.

The machine processes input sequences, changes state according to δ, and produces outputs via λ. Tilakone can be deterministic (single next state for each state-input pair) or nondeterministic. They are used to model and verify behavioral properties in software, hardware, and protocols. They can be minimized to reduce the number of states via standard algorithms.

Timed tilakones incorporate clocks; probabilistic tilakones handle stochastic transitions. In practice, tilakones support modeling for design, testing, and formal verification, including model checking and state diagrams.

The concept traces to automata theory and finite-state machines developed in the mid-20th century, with terminology varying by language. In Finnish literature the term tilakone is common; in English, researchers typically refer to finite-state machines or Mealy/Moore machines.