1. A signaling protocol application framework for executing a signaling protocol application, comprising: a controller adapted to receive a descriptor and a request message, wherein the controller parses the request message, and wherein the descriptor defines a plurality of state transitions that may occur during execution of the application; application data comprising global application data and global application state data required for execution of the application; a plurality of precondition handlers adapted to examine the application data and determine if a precondition is met; a plurality of postcondition handlers adapted to examine the application data and determine if a postcondition is met; and a plurality of transition handlers each having one or more respective instance variables and each adapted to receive and process the request message.