Change transition from string to list of strings

[cloudiees]

Right now the data for a transition (that is what symbol is read in to follow that edge) is stored as a single string (nodeTransition.name). I feel like it would be better if it is stored as an array so that it can store multiple symbols per transition easily.

Ex: If state $$q_{0}$$ has a transition to state $$q_{1}$$ on both $$0$$ and $$1$$, right now the only way to store that is to store it as a string $$0,1$$ or something along those lines. My proposal is that the info is stored as an array: $$[0,1]$$

I have some issues with the approach of storing transition info as a string. Firstly, is that it has to be communicated to the user what symbols can to be used to separate symbols in a transition. Secondly, it would then have to be communicated how to format these special characters so that they can be used as symbols for a transition. Lastly, I think it would make life a whole lot easier for when trying to do computation for DFA or NFA stuff if it was just stored as an array of strings.

[karthik-saiharsh]

Awesome suggestion, thanks for raising this.

I was planning such changes for v2. Right now, my main focus is just getting the UI to a stable place before starting work on major engine changes.
​That being said, I've been thinking about how to best implement this. Of course, this will require some changes to the UI to make it intuitive.

One idea is

• ​we could introduce a "Machine Type" setting (DFA, NFA, Freestyle). This would control the transition logic. Then, we'd have a dedicated place—maybe a settings panel—for the user to define the language's alphabet.

• ​DFA Mode: When creating a transition, the user gets a dropdown menu containing only symbols from the defined alphabet.

• ​NFA Mode: The dropdown would include the alphabet symbols plus an option for an epsilon transition.

• ​Freestyle Mode: This would work exactly as the tool does now, with a text input for the transition label.