Entrypoints

The finite-state machines (FSM) in the ALICA language always have a single initial state. Every agent that starts the execution of a FSM starts with this initial state. An entrypoint identifies the initial state of a FSM and declares how many agents are allowed to execute a FSM at the same time.

The minimum cardinality of an entrypoint defines the minimum number of agents that are necessary to execute a FSM. The minimum cardinality of a FSM is always at least 1. If an agent does not believe that enough agents will start the execution of a FSM with it, the agent does not start the execution at all. The ALICA Engine takes care of synchronising all agents about their intents of executing FSMs.

The maximum cardinality of an entrypoint defines the maximum number of agents that are allowed to execute a FSM. If a FSM is full, no other agent can start executing it. Again the ALICA Engine takes care of synchronising the number of agents in a FSM.

Another core concept that is attached to an entrypoint is the concept of tasks in the ALICA language. Tasks are explained in their own article.

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