The definition of an automaton starts with the keyword automaton and
ends with the keyword end.
In the middle there are two parts. The first part is optional. It follows right
after the automaton keyword, and declares a list of attributes,
which are enclosed in a pair of brackets. These are much like the parameters of
functions. They are used like local variables and can be accessed and updated
outside the automaton using the dot operator like attributes of class members.
The second part of the automaton is the sequence of commands and statements,
like the body of a function.
The keyword this can be used in the commands and provides a reference to the automaton itself.
oz
2009-12-22