Using FlowCharts to Code

Transcript

Explaining a process or rules of how to do something to someone can be hard work, it's easy for people to misunderstand or miss key steps. Computer programs are a bit like games with rules that must be followed in a specific order, flow and logic. The rules are all hidden in the code in computer programs. Not everyone is able to read or write code though, when showing what a computer program does. Using the code is not helpful to people who are not familiar with it. This is where a flowchart comes in.

A flowchart shows a step by step process using boxes connected by arrows that indicate the direction of the flow. These arrows are called flow lines. A flowchart is a great way of explaining to people how a program works. Actions are represented by standard geometrical shapes, so people can quickly understand what is happening at each stage.

Most programming flowcharts use four main shapes. First, an elongated circle. This indicates the beginning or end of a process. It is called a terminal. The next is a rectangular shape, which represents instructions or actions. Thirdly, there is the diamond, which indicates where a decision needs to be made. In programming, they represent conditional statements from the program code. Lastly, there is the parallelogram which is used to indicate inputs or outputs. At that part of the program. The user is required to input some information, or the computer display some information on the screen.

You can use other shapes, but remember that the purpose of a flowchart is communication. So it's best to keep it simple so that program can be understood by anyone. Thank you flowcharts. If it wasn't for the simple diagrams, coding would be way more difficult to understand. They are also useful in bringing programmers that use different programming languages together so they can understand a certain process.