Marshall D. Abrams
ABSTRACT
In the current usage, complete flowcharts are generally drawn after an algorithm has been coded in a program part, not before. The functions of post-programming flowcharting are debugging and documentation. In both cases it is important to know the path of control through the program and the computations and other actions taken as directed by this flow of control; in short, it is important to know what the program does! Unless special controls are enforced, or unless the programmer is especially conscientious, flowcharts are not drawn when a program is complete. When a flowchart is required of such a program, especially when the creator is unavailable or forgetful, it must be drawn directly from the program itself by an objective “other party.” For debugging purposes the use of this “other party” is highly desirable so that the programmer may determine what a program part actually does do (as opposed to what it was designed to do).
The proliferation of programming languages, and dialects of programming languages, have certainly made the flowchart a useful tool for the communication of algorithms between individuals. It is the author's experience that flowcharts serve well to convey algorithms written in compiler languages whose grammar and syntax may be completely unknown.
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Index Terms
- A comparative sampling of the systems for producing computer-drawn flowcharts
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