Patent ID: 8458336

Claim:
A method, comprising: storing a back-up copy of state contexts of one of more states of a state machine controller when the state machine controller starts processing a current event, wherein responses to a user are associated with states of a state machine, the state machine controller being arranged to change states of the state machine according to the processing of user-initiated events, the states having associated state context objects that store the state contexts of the states and can be accessed via the state machine controller; determining in a critical section, during processing of the current event, whether another event was initiated at a later time than the current event; restoring the state machine to a condition consistent with that immediately prior to processing of the current event; carrying out a state transition according to the another event when a processing entity associated with the another event calls the state machine controller; and detaching the state context object accessed by the current event, via the state machine controller, if the another event was initiated at a later time than the current event, wherein the detaching comprises unlinking the state context object from its associated state.