What is Flowchart?
• The flowchart is a diagrammatical (Graphical representation) of any problem (Algorithm).
• Flowchart visually presents the flow of data through processing systems.
• The flowchart shows the steps as
boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting the boxes with arrows.
• A computer programmer (user) draws a flowchart before writing a computer program.
SYMBOLS USED IN FLOWCHART
In a flowchart, there are fixed symbols used to draw a flowchart these are:
The Rules for drawing Flowchart
1. The flowchart should be clear, neat and easy to follow.
2. In drawing a proper flow chart, all necessary requirements should be listed out in
logical order.
3. The direction of the flow of an activities or system is from top to bottom or left
to right.
4. Only one flow line should come out from a process box.
5. Only one flow line should enter a decision symbol.
6. Only one flow line is used in conjunction with terminal symbol.
7. Ensure that the flowchart has a logical start and stop.
8. It is useful to test the validity of the flowchart by passing through it with a
simple test data.
Advantages of using Flowcharts
The Flowchart having many advantages. These advantages are as follows:
1) Better Communication – It is easier for a programmer to explain the logic of a program to another programmer through a Flowchart.
2) Effective Analysis – Problem can be analyzed in more effective way.
3) Documentation of Program/System- Flowchart often provide valuable documentation support.
4) Efficient Program Maintenance – Once a flowchart is ready, programmers find it very easy to write the corresponding program.
5) Systematic Debugging- Flowchart is very helpful in detecting, locating, and removing errors (bugs) in a program in a systematic manner.
6) Systematic Testing – A flowchart proves to be very helpful in designing the test data for Systematic testing of programs.
Disadvantages/ Limitation of flowchart
1. It is not executable.
2. If there is any error in flowchart, then it has to be re-draw again.
3. In large complex program flowchart are very time consuming, and laborious to draw
with proper symbols and spacing.
4. There are no set standards specifying the details of the data that should be shown in
a flowchart.
Flowchart Design
1. Sequence based flow-chart.
Example No.-1
Flow-Chart read radius of circle and calculate Area and Circumference of Circle.
Example No.-2
Flow-Chart calculate area of triangle when three sides are given
Example No.-3
Flow-Chart calculate Simple and Compound Interest (SI and CI)
Example No.-4
Flow-Chart to read any integer number determine whether it is even or odd
Example No.-5
Flow-Chart to read three numbers and find the largest number
3. Looping/Iteration/Repetition based flow-chart
Example No.-6
Flow-Chart to read any integer number display it multiplication table.
Example No.-7
Flow-Chart to read any integer number and calculate its factorial value.
Or
We can design exit control structure (Exit check condition (at bottom)) to calculate
Factorial value.
Example No.-8
FlowChart to finding nPr (Permutation) and nCr (Combination) for different n and r.
Example No.-9
Flow-Chart to print first N terms of Fibonacci series (0 1 1 2… n terms).
Example No.-10
Flow-Chart to check whether number is Prime or Composite.
Example No.-11
Flow-Chart Calculate Arithmetic Mean (Average) of set of values
Example No.-12
Flow-Chart Calculate Arithmetic Mean (Average) and Standard Deviation (SD) of set of
values
4. Nested loops-based flow-chart
Example No.-13
Flow-Chart- to finding number of primes less than n, n Î Z.
Example No.-14
Flow-Chart- Find GCD and LCM using Euclid’s Algorithm
Example No.-15
Flow-Chart- Display Right Triangular Pattern from *
Example No.-16
Flow-Chart- Display Pascal’s Triangle