Regardless of how a State is entered, the StateMachine is deemed to be “in” that State even before any entry Behavior or effect Behavior (if defined) of that State start executing. Source Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1
When exiting from a composite State, exit commences with the innermost State in the active state configuration. This means that exit Behaviors are executed in sequence starting with the innermost active State. Source Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1
A State is said to be active if it is part of the active state configuration. Source Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1
StateMachine execution is represented by transitions from one active state configuration to another in response to Event occurrences that match the Triggers of the StateMachine. Source Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1
An executing StateMachine instance can only be in exactly one state configuration at a time, which is referred to as its active state configuration. Source Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1
Kinds of States Gallery Tutorial TRAIL: Webel's ultimate guide to Systems Modeling Language (v1) with MagicDraw/Cameo Section 01:03: UML Behavior: StateMachines quick start Slide kind UML StateMachine Diagram
