Flowchart

• What is a flowchart?

  • A diagram made up of symbols of various shapes connected by arrows
  • Symbols indicate actions to be taken or decisions to be made
  • It helps in planning & programming
  • Depicts the "flow" of a program
• Flowcharting is a tool developed in the computer industry to show the steps involved in a process
• Flowchart symbols:

  • Terminal: indicates the starting or ending of the program
  • Process: indicates any internal operation inside the processor or memory
  • Decision: used to ask a question that can be answered in a binary format
  • Input/output: used for any input/output operation
  • Counter Loop: elongated hexagon representing a common loop from programming
  • Connector: allows the flowchart to be drawn without intersecting lines or without a reverse flow
  • Flow Lines: show the direction of flow
• General rules for flowcharting:

  1. All boxes of the flowchart are connected with arrows.

  2. Flowchart symbols have an entry point on the top with no other entry points; the exit point is at the bottom except for the Decision symbol.

  3. Decision symbol has two exit points.

  4. Flowchart generally flows from top to bottom, but upward flow can be shown within 3 symbols.

  5. Connectors are used to connect breaks in the flowchart.

  6. Subroutines and Interrupt programs have their own flowcharts.

  7. All flowcharts start with a Terminal or Predefined Process symbol and end with a terminal or a contentious loop.
• Flowcharts should always show the flow of data and instructions through the symbols