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Read this chapter. It presents a general overview of the flow-charting process. The part on types of charts helps us understand what chart can be used for a given scenario. When do you think a flow chart would not be necessary? 

Building blocks

Common Shapes

The following are some of the commonly used shapes used in flowcharts. Generally, flowcharts flow from top to bottom and left to right.

Shape Name Description
Flow Line An arrow coming from one symbol and ending at another symbol represents that control passes to the symbol the arrow points to. The line for the arrow can be solid or dashed. The meaning of the arrow with dashed line may differ from one flowchart to another and can be defined in the legend.
Terminal Represented as circles, ovals, stadiums, or rounded (fillet) rectangles. They usually contain the word "Start" or "End", or another phrase signaling the start or end of a process, such as "submit inquiry" or "receive product".
Process Represented as rectangles. This shape is used to show that something is performed. Examples: "Add 1 to X", "replace identified part", "save changes", etc….
Decision Represented as a diamond (rhombus) showing where a decision is necessary, commonly a Yes/No question or True/False test. The conditional symbol is peculiar in that it has two arrows coming out of it, usually from the bottom point and right point, one corresponding to Yes or True, and one corresponding to No or False. (The arrows should always be labeled.) More than two arrows can be used, but this is normally a clear indicator that a complex decision is being taken, in which case it may need to be broken-down further or replaced with the "predefined process" symbol. Decision can also help in the filtering of data.
Input/Output Represented as a parallelogram. Involves receiving data and displaying processed data. Can only move from input to output and not vice versa. Examples: Get X from the user; display X.
Annotation Annotations represent comments or remarks about the flowchart. Like comments found in high-level programming languages, they have no effect on the interpretation or behavior of the flowchart. Sometimes, the shape consists of a box with dashed (or dotted) lines.
Predefined Process Represented as rectangles with double-struck vertical edges; these are used to show complex processing steps which may be detailed in a separate flowchart. Example: PROCESS-FILES. One subroutine may have multiple distinct entry points or exit flows (see coroutine). If so, these are shown as labeled 'wells' in the rectangle, and control arrows connect to these 'wells'.
Preparation Represented as a hexagon. May also be called initialization. Shows operations which have no effect other than preparing a value for a subsequent conditional or decision step. Alternatively, this shape is used to replace the Decision Shape in the case of conditional looping.
On-Page Connector Generally represented with a circle, showing where multiple control flows converge in a single exit flow. It will have more than one arrow coming into it, but only one going out. In simple cases, one may simply have an arrow point to another arrow instead. These are useful to represent an iterative process (what in Computer Science is called a loop). A loop may, for example, consist of a connector where control first enters, processing steps, a conditional with one arrow exiting the loop, and one going back to the connector. For additional clarity, wherever two lines accidentally cross in the drawing, one of them may be drawn with a small semicircle over the other, showing that no connection is intended.
Off-Page Connector Represented as a home plate-shaped pentagon. Similar to the on-page connector except allows for placing a connector that connects to another page.


Other Shapes

A typical flowchart from older basic computer science textbooks may have the following kinds of symbols:


Labeled connectors
Represented by an identifying label inside a circle. Labeled connectors are used in complex or multi-sheet diagrams to substitute for arrows. For each label, the "outflow" connector must always be unique, but there may be any number of "inflow" connectors. In this case, a junction in control flow is implied.

Concurrency symbol
Represented by a double transverse line with any number of entry and exit arrows. These symbols are used whenever two or more control flows must operate simultaneously. The exit flows are activated concurrently, when all of the entry flows have reached the concurrency symbol. A concurrency symbol with a single entry flow is a fork; one with a single exit flow is a join.

Data-flow extensions

A number of symbols have been standardized for data flow diagrams to represent data flow, rather than control flow. These symbols may also be used in control flowcharts (e.g. to substitute for the parallelogram symbol).

  • A Document represented as a rectangle with a wavy base;
  • A Manual input represented by quadrilateral, with the top irregularly sloping up from left to right. An example would be to signify data-entry from a form;
  • A Manual operation represented by a trapezoid with the longest parallel side at the top, to represent an operation or adjustment to process that can only be made manually.
  • A Data File represented by a cylinder.