Flowchart and Pseudocode Introduction.

Before writing the code for an application pre-planning the code is important and we can do this with the help of Flowcharts and Pseudocode. It helps us in writing good and efficient programs.  

What is a Flowchart?

A Flowchart is a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, workflow, or process. It represents a step-by-step approach to solving a problem. The lines and arrows in it show the sequence of steps and the relationship among them. 

It uses different shapes and arrows to depict the sequence of actions and decision points in a program. Each shape in a flowchart represents a specific action, and arrows indicate the flow of control from one step to another.

Below are the Flowchart symbols commonly used:

• Oval: Represents the start or end of the program.
• Rectangle: Represents a process or action to be performed.
• Diamond: Represents a decision point where a condition is evaluated.
• Parallelogram: Represents input or output operations.
• Arrows: Indicate the direction of flow between different steps.

What is Pseudocode?

Pseudocode is an informal way of describing algorithms. It gives the programmer an idea about how the problem is going to solve. It is easily readable and does not require any strict programming language syntax to follow. 

One simple rule for writing pseudocode is that all the "dependencies" are intended, including while, for, do-while, if, if-else, and switch.  

Example of Flowchart with Pseudocode. 

1a. Flowchart to show the sum of two numbers. 

(getButton) #text=(Program to Add Two Number) #icon=(link) #color=(#2339bd)

1b. Pseudocode to Sum two numbers. 

BEGIN

        DECLARE variables num1, num2, sum.

        READ vairables num1, num2.

        SET sum = num1+num2.

        PRINT sum.

END

2a. Flowchart to print the square of a number if the number is less than 5. 

2b. Pseudocode to print the square of a number if the number is less than 5. 

BEGIN

         DECLARE variables, numbers, and squares.

         READ number.

         IF number < 5

         THEN

               SET square = number * number.

               PRINT square.

         ENDIF

END

Flowcharts and pseudocode complement each other, and both are valuable tools for algorithm design and problem-solving. Flowcharts provide a visual representation, while pseudocode offers a structured way to describe the steps in a more human-readable form before writing actual code in a specific programming language.

So, this basic understanding of flowcharts and pseudocode with two real-life examples. Hope you found this blog post helpful. You can use the comment section below to ask your questions related to the topic. (alert-success)