Flowcharting With the ANSI Standard: A Tutorial
NED CHAPIN
InfoSc~ Inc., Menlo Park, Cah/ornia
The ISO and ANSI X3.5 standard flowchart symbols and their usage in
reformation processing are explained and examples given. The two main
categories of flowchart--the system chart or run diagram, and the flow diagram
or block diagram--are stressed. For each, the outline symbols and their manner
of use are presented, as well as gmdehnes and conventions, such as
cross-referencing. In the case of flow diagrams, notation is presented for use
within the outhne symbols.
Key words and phrases: standards, flowchart, flow diagram, system chart, run
diagram, block dmgram, program flowchart, documentation, outlines, boxes,
notation, symbols, program description, system description, algorithm
statement, communication
CR categories: 1 3, 2.2, 2.43, 4.0
HISTORICALDEVELOPMENT graphic aids systematically for this purpose
and publish their use [11]. Even though
Flowcharting is a means of graphically the details of the flowcharting as the
stating ways of solving information standard specifies it today differ consider-
handling problems. Flowcharting, as people ably from what they advocated, the spirit,
use the term in working with computers, the philosophy, and the rationale remain
must be distinguished from other graphic much as they presented them.
aids. For stating clerical procedures, such
For their own internal purposes and for
as those used in systems and procedures
dealing with customers, each of the major
work, people use a graphic means which
computer manufacturers has over the
has also been the subject of a standard
course of the years developed, adopted,
[4]. But it is quite different from the
published, modified, and advocated flow-
standard under discussion here. Logic
charting conventions (see, for example,
designers also use graphic aids for stating
[13, 15]). These have differed from vendor
the character of the machines they design
to vendor, in part deliberately as an at-
for handling information. These too have
tempt to distinguish one vendor from the
been the subject of a standard [3, 19]. The
competing vendors, and in part out of a
emphasis in this tutorial paper is on stating
sincere attempt to reflect what each has
information handling problems where the felt to be unique differences in their
information handling is done at least in philosophy and approach to information
major part with the aid of the automatic
processing problems.
computer [7].
Users of computers have individually
The intellectual father of flowcharting and collectively made decisions on flow-
is John von Neumann. He and his asso- charting conventions. Most small and
ciates at Princeton University's Institute medium and many large computer users
for Advanced Study were the first to use have adopted the conventions presented to
Copyright © 1970,by Ned Chapin them by the vendor of the computer they
Computing Surveys, Vol 2, No. 2, June 1970
