Applications Complexity

Exponential Growth of Complexity

To master application complexity, we must control the number of connections between internal components and minimize external dependencies.

Applications fundamentally receive data from external sources like APIs, files, and databases, execute business logic to transform this data according to specific rules and constraints, then output information back to the external world through files, databases, logs, or visual interfaces. The primary challenge in application development is that logical links and dependencies grow exponentially as new functionality is added, creating increasingly complex systems that become difficult to maintain and debug.

StateWalker’s architecture addresses this complexity by deliberately increasing the number of logical entities with well-defined roles while drastically reducing possible links and dependencies between them. The solution centers on establishing clear unidirectional data flow between all active components, called handlers, which execute actions when processes enter or exit states. Data exchange occurs exclusively through reactive models, allowing handlers to depend primarily on these models rather than on each other. This approach enables isolated testing of each handler since dependencies are limited to specific input and output models.

Managing Application Complexity

Modern apps grow complex due to invisible control flow, scattered side effects, and implicit dependencies. The orchestrator architecture reduces accidental complexity by:

• Making control flow explicit with FSMs and events
• Isolating concerns into handlers (views, controllers, triggers)
• Centralizing shared state in the process context
• Enforcing unidirectional data flow through models