Flow Charts

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Interpreting Flow Charts

Here is a simple example for a thermostat and a heater.
Turning things on or off is an OUTPUT.
A time delay is a process.
Note the Loop. This is where part of the flow chart gets repeated because the arrows jump back to an earlier step in the chart.

Flow chart example.GIF

The main flow chart symbols are ...

Flow charts are very useful for describing a sequence of steps, possibly also involving simple decisions and actions.
Microcontroller code can be much easier to produce if a flow chart is available as a guide.
Flow charts are used to represent inputs, processes, decisions and outputs.
Here is a humorous example, with some incorrect symbols, from an unknown source.
Computer programs are often documented with flow charts. The code is hard to follow but a diagram gives a clear visual overview of what the program does.
Flow charts are usually read left to right and top down, like normal Roman text.
Flow lines should be labelled with arrows. This is especially important if the arrow is going up or right to left.