Flowchart (EXAM #2)

Question 1

When do we use flowcharting?

Answer 1

Any process we want to understand better:

• Software development
• Business process modeling
• Decision process modeling

Question 2

Symbols: oval

Answer 2

The Start and End symbol begins and ends the process

Question 3

Symbols: parallelogram

Answer 3

The Input/Output (a.k.a. “data”) symbol is used to represent inputs from the user or outputs to the user

Question 4

Symbols: rectangle

Answer 4

The Process symbol is used to represent any type of function or action. This symbol may be used to represent one step or a sequence of steps.

Question 5

Symbols: arrow

Answer 5

The Flow symbol represents movement to the next operation

Question 6

Symbols: diamond

Answer 6

The Decision symbol is a junction where a decision must be made. A decision must return true or false

Question 7

Symbols: circle

Answer 7

The Connector symbol is used when more than one flow arrow head needs to come together.

Question 8

Flowchart

Answer 8

efficient way to express algorithms in a succinct and precise manner

• valuable when conceptualizing a process, analyzing requirements, and training workers and users
• used by both technical and nontechnical people (commonly used by managers, engineers, and software developers)

Question 9

variable name conventions

Answer 9

use short variable name, should not be separated by spaces cause computer programs think of variables as a single entity & will interpret a space as the end of the variable name

Question 10

variable legends

Answer 10

include legend to show short variables & their associated meaning so the reader can understand what the short name means

Question 11

Flow Control Patterns

Answer 11

• sequence
• selection
• repetition

Question 12

Sequence Pattern

Answer 12

one step is completed followed by a next step & so on

Question 13

Selection Pattern

Answer 13

the answer to a question causes a branch in the process, thus some steps are skipped under certain circumstances. As we define a decisions, it will return either true or false.

-have selection decision structures:
+if then else
+if then null else
+nested selection

Question 14

Repetition (looping, iteration)

Answer 14

allows 1+ actions to be repeated until a condition is met, a step or set of steps is repeated until a certain condition is met

Question 15

Why Gotos are prohibited?

Answer 15

In the early days of programming, programmers often used a programming flow control feature called a goto that would allow a program to jump from one location to another location. For example, a program may jump from near the beginning to near the end and then to the middle. Programs jumped all over the place. This practice made it difficult to maintain and update programs because it was almost impossible to follow the logic of a program from start to finish in a linear fashion.

Question 16

selection decision structures:

Answer 16

+if then else
+if then null else
+nested selection

Question 17

if-then-else

Answer 17

-does one thing if the decision returns true and does a different thing if the decision returns false
(4 parts: diamond (logical test), true branch (do-if-true), false branch(do if false), and end (represented by the connection circle.)

Question 18

if-then-null-else

Answer 18

• an ELSE action is not required for every If-Then statement. If the ELSE condition is omitted, the If-Then-Null-Else is used instead
• if the logical test is true, then the do-if-true action should be taken otherwise no action is taken
• Ex: if a sales person exceeds sales goals, calculate a bonus if not then do not calculate

Question 19

Nested IF-Then-Else

Answer 19

-depending on how the first decision is answered, the flow can go to additional decisions
(if decision 1 is true, then path 1 is executed and the selection process finishes, otherwise decision 2 is test and if it returns true then path 2 is executed and the selection finishes. If decision 2 is false, decision 3 is tested and etc.)(IF all previous decisions are false, then Case Else path is executed)

Question 20

Repetition (Loop) Structures

Answer 20

-a step or set of steps is repeated until a certain condition is met, the repeating code is referred to as a loop or iteration
EX: while loop

Question 21

while loop

Answer 21

-tests a condition first, if the test returns false, then a process is executed, then the flow loops back to the decision again, each time the test returns false then a process is executed.
if the test returns true, the algorithm exits the loop (can be thought of as a repeating if-then-else statement)

Question 22

Input

Answer 22

• inputs can come from two sources: from users or the data stored in a setup section. Values stored in a setup storage can reduce the need to re-input values each time the program is run.
• When regular inputs(input obtained from the user each time the algorithm is executed. Includes beginning of algorithm inputs and process control inputs) are required, the word INPUT should be used )
• when input from setup is required, use INPUT-FROM-SETUP (input from data stored for frequent use. These vales are not changed each time the program is run)

Question 23

Outputs

Answer 23

Three types of outputs exist for flowcharts:
-Display (used when output is sent to the computer screen, the unchanged inputs in an output symbol are surrounded by parentheses to differentiate them from the other outputs)
-Print (used when output is sent to a printer)
Prompt (used when it is necessary to ask the user for some specific input after the program has begun, the prose of the prompt should be in quotation marks. followed by an input, and then a decision structure)

Question 24

Flowcharting process

Answer 24

1. start
2. input data
3. perform the algorithm (logic and calculations)
4. output the results
5. end

Question 25

order of operations

Answer 25

1. everything with parentheses
2. inner parentheses take precedence over outer parentheses
3. The power (^) operator takes precedence over multiply (*) & divide (/).
4. Multiply (*) & divide (/) take precedence over addition (+) and subtraction (-)