does anyone actually use flowcharts?

[apoyusiken]

do real businesses actually use this stuff?

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

4 minutes ago, apoyusiken said:

do real businesses actually use this stuff?

Yea, we use them to visualize standard processes at my workplace. 

 

I had to write a script that spat out usernames and email addresses based on the organization's naming conventions and any existing conflicts in the domain. Used a flowchart to figure out the sequencing of creating the userID+email, checking for conflicts, where it needs to loop back if there is one, etc. 

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

Flowcharts + automata are pretty common. Especilly automata theory.

[FireLegend]

25 minutes ago, apoyusiken said:

do real businesses actually use this stuff?

In a way probably many do as they're fairly simple and easy to follow for automation tasks

[Avocado Diaboli]

9 hours ago, apoyusiken said:

do real businesses actually use this stuff?

What makes you think they don't? And if not flowcharts, how else would you concisely represent a process or algorithm? Especially one that branches?

[Vicarian]

4 hours ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

What makes you think they don't?

Best guess is that the OP is learning about flowcharts in an introductory course.  They're annoying to draw, at least for me, but they're nonetheless still useful.

[apoyusiken]

8 minutes ago, Vicarian said:

Best guess is that the OP is learning about flowcharts in an introductory course.  They're annoying to draw, at least for me, but they're nonetheless still useful.

i mean not right now but i never understood why they are useful. probably the issue was i was thinking about the flowchart of gta when in reality it was about flow chart of combat and stuff

[Vicarian]

58 minutes ago, apoyusiken said:

i mean not right now but i never understood why they are useful. probably the issue was i was thinking about the flowchart of gta when in reality it was about flow chart of combat and stuff

Yeah, you break larger problems down into smaller ones.  Trying to think about a huge project all at once tends to result in freezing up and the task seeming too daunting to be accomplished.  Games are made up of smaller systems that all work together hopefully to be greater than the sum of their parts.  You can start visualizing these systems with tools like flowcharts and later on some pseudocode.  It maintains structure to your work.  Freewriting code is fine to try and put an idea together, but that's rarely a good way to make it reusable and able to be incorporated into a system as large as a game.

 

The flowcharting and pseudocode are also a good way to set up documentation.  You're not just writing code for yourself.  You also have to be mindful of future you and anyone else who might need to come after you and maintain things.

[apoyusiken]

26 minutes ago, Vicarian said:

Yeah, you break larger problems down into smaller ones.  Trying to think about a huge project all at once tends to result in freezing up and the task seeming too daunting to be accomplished.  Games are made up of smaller systems that all work together hopefully to be greater than the sum of their parts.  You can start visualizing these systems with tools like flowcharts and later on some pseudocode.  It maintains structure to your work.  Freewriting code is fine to try and put an idea together, but that's rarely a good way to make it reusable and able to be incorporated into a system as large as a game.

 

The flowcharting and pseudocode are also a good way to set up documentation.  You're not just writing code for yourself.  You also have to be mindful of future you and anyone else who might need to come after you and maintain things.

my frustration is about the small details of flowcharts. i dont know what all those symbols mean but i think i could make one just fine?

[Vicarian]

6 minutes ago, apoyusiken said:

my frustration is about the small details of flowcharts. i dont know what all those symbols mean but i think i could make one just fine?

It's convention.  I forget the details often, but you're able to refresh yourself as needed.  I do remember, for instance, diamonds indicate a decision branch (if-else).  Can search if you're unsure of something. First result in Google was https://www.gliffy.com/blog/guide-to-flowchart-symbols which seems pretty comprehensive after a quick skim.

[Guest]

On 3/24/2025 at 4:59 PM, FlyingPotato_is_taken said:

Flowcharts + automata are pretty common. Especilly automata theory.

^^ This ^^

 

And, Petri nets.

[wasab]

They are certainly easy to read and easy to understand than giant wall of text yes? I would certainly prefer that but based on my experiences, most people are generally too lazy to create one unless institutionalized. 

[BootlessBuck]

On 3/25/2025 at 11:02 AM, apoyusiken said:

my frustration is about the small details of flowcharts. i dont know what all those symbols mean but i think i could make one just fine?

I use them all the time. I don’t know all the symbols either, and it usually doesn’t matter. In an academic setting, or if you’re drawing up circuits that will be produced, then those things matter. 
 

For business logic of an app, most people don’t care that much (at least where I work). The apps tell you want the symbols are for, which can help enough.

 

I’m mostly mapping out flows for automation, so it’s mostly tasks and decisions. They are helpful for organizing my own thoughts for a larger project, but also really good for explaining to management what you’re building. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, wasab said:

I would certainly prefer that but based on my experiences, most people are generally too lazy to create one unless institutionalized. 

The problem with all modeling schemes is keeping the model in sync with the implementation.  There is nothing worse than a model that says your code does X when an inspection of the code reveals that it, instead, does Y.

I suspect most folks now use (incompletely defined) pseudocode as a shortcut to illustrate their code's intended operation.  It is far more portable than any sort of graphic rendering and doesn't require any special tools to create, view or modify/update.