INTRODUCTION TO

FLOWCHARTING

1
WHAT IS A FLOWCHART?
START

Display message
“How many
hours did you
work?”

• A FLOWCHART IS A Read Hours

DIAGRAM THAT DEPICTS Display message

“How much do
THE “FLOW” OF A you get paid per
hour?”
PROGRAM.
• THE FIGURE SHOWN HERE
Read PayRate

IS A FLOWCHART FOR THE Multiply Hours

by PayRate.
PAY-CALCULATING Store result in
GrossPay.
PROGRAM SHOWN IN
PROGRAM 1-1. Display
GrossPay

END
2
BASIC FLOWCHART START Terminal

SYMBOLS Display message

“How many
hours did you
work?”

• TERMINALS Read Hours

• REPRESENTED BY Display message

“How much do
you get paid per
ROUNDED RECTANGLES hour?”

• INDICATE A STARTING Read PayRate

OR ENDING POINT
Multiply Hours
by PayRate.
START Store result in
GrossPay.

Display
GrossPay

END Terminal
END
3
BASIC FLOWCHART START

SYMBOLS Display message

“How many
hours did you
work?”

• INPUT/OUTPUT Read Hours

OPERATIONS Display message

“How much do Input/Output
you get paid per
• REPRESENTED BY hour?” Operation

PARALLELOGRAMS Read PayRate

• INDICATE AN INPUT OR
Multiply Hours
OUTPUT OPERATION by PayRate.
Store result in
GrossPay.
Display message
“How many Display
GrossPay
Read Hours
hours did you
END
4
work?”
BASIC FLOWCHART START

SYMBOLS Display message

“How many
hours did you
work?”

• PROCESSES Read Hours

• REPRESENTED BY RECTANGLES Display message

“How much do
you get paid per
• INDICATES A PROCESS SUCH hour?”

AS A MATHEMATICAL Read PayRate

COMPUTATION OR VARIABLE
Multiply Hours
ASSIGNMENT Process
by PayRate.
Store result in
GrossPay.

Multiply Hours Display

by PayRate. GrossPay

Store result in 5
END
GrossPay.
 FOUR FLOWCHART STRUCTURES

• SEQUENCE
• DECISION
• REPETITION
• CASE

6
 SEQUENCE STRUCTURE

• A SERIES OF ACTIONS ARE

PERFORMED IN SEQUENCE
• THE PAY-CALCULATING EXAMPLE
WAS A SEQUENCE FLOWCHART.

7
 DECISION STRUCTURE

• THE FLOWCHART SEGMENT BELOW SHOWS HOW A DECISION

STRUCTURE IS EXPRESSED IN C++ AS AN IF/ELSE STATEMENT.
Flowchart C++ Code

NO YES if (x < y)
x < y? a = x * 2;
else
Calculate a Calculate a a = x + y;
as x plus y. as x times 2.

8
 DECISION STRUCTURE

• THE FLOWCHART SEGMENT BELOW SHOWS A DECISION STRUCTURE WITH ONLY

ONE ACTION TO PERFORM. IT IS EXPRESSED AS AN IF STATEMENT IN C++ CODE.

Flowchart C++ Code

NO YES if (x < y)
x < y? a = x * 2;

Calculate a
as x times 2.

9
 REPETITION STRUCTURE

• THE FLOWCHART SEGMENT BELOW SHOWS A REPETITION STRUCTURE

EXPRESSED IN C++ AS A WHILE LOOP.

Flowchart C++ Code

while (x < y)

YES x++;
x < y? Add 1 to x

10
 CONTROLLING A REPETITION
STRUCTURE
• THE ACTION PERFORMED BY A REPETITION
STRUCTURE MUST EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE
LOOP TO TERMINATE. OTHERWISE, AN
INFINITE LOOP IS CREATED.
YES
• IN THIS FLOWCHART SEGMENT, X IS
x < y? Display x
NEVER CHANGED. ONCE THE LOOP
STARTS, IT WILL NEVER END.
• QUESTION: HOW CAN THIS
FLOWCHART BE MODIFIED SO
11
IT IS NO LONGER AN INFINITE
LOOP?
 CONTROLLING A REPETITION
STRUCTURE

• ANSWER: BY ADDING AN ACTION WITHIN THE

REPETITION THAT CHANGES THE VALUE OF X.

YES
x < y? Display x Add 1 to x

12
 CASE STRUCTURE

If years_employed = 2, If years_employed = 3,
bonus is set to 200 bonus is set to 400
If years_employed = 1, If years_employed is
CASE
bonus is set to 100 years_employed any other value, bonus
is set to 800

1 2 3 Other

bonus = 100 bonus = 200 bonus = 400 bonus = 800

13
 CONNECTORS

•The “A” connector

A
indicates that the second START

flowchart segment begins

where the first segment
ends.

END
A

14
 MODULES
START
•The position of the module
symbol indicates the point the Read Input.
module is executed.
•A separate flowchart can be Call calc_pay
function.
constructed for the module.

Display results.

END

15
 COMBINING STRUCTURES

• THIS FLOWCHART NO YES

x > min?
SEGMENT
SHOWS TWO
Display “x is NO YES
DECISION outside the limits.”
x < max?
STRUCTURES
COMBINED.
Display “x is Display “x is
outside the limits.” within limits.”

16
 REVIEW

• WHAT DO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SYMBOLS REPRESENT?

17
(Answer on next slide)
 ANSWER

• WHAT DO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SYMBOLS REPRESENT?

Decision
Terminal

Input/Output
Operation Connector

Process Module
18
 REVIEW

• NAME THE FOUR FLOWCHART STRUCTURES.

19
(Answer on next slide)
 ANSWER

• SEQUENCE
• DECISION
• REPETITION
• CASE

20
 Review

• WHAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE IS THIS?

21
(Answer on next slide)
 ANSWER

• REPETITION

22
 Review

• WHAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE IS THIS?

23
(Answer on next slide)
 ANSWER

• SEQUENCE

24
 Review

• WHAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE IS THIS?

25
(Answer on next slide)
 ANSWER

• CASE

26
 Review

• WHAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE IS THIS?

27
(Answer on next slide)
 ANSWER

• DECISION

28
29