Designing an algorithmFlowcharts

Before designing an algorithm it is important to first understand what the problem is. Algorithms can be designed using pseudocode or a flowchart, and the standard notations of each should be known.

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Flowcharts

A is a diagram that represents a set of . Flowcharts normally use standard symbols to represent the different types of instructions. These symbols are used to construct the flowchart and show the step-by-step solution to the problem.

Common flowchart symbols

The symbols in a flowchart are 'Start/Stop', 'Process', 'Decision', 'Input or Output', 'Connector' and 'Direction of flow'.

Using flowcharts

Flowcharts can be used to plan out . Planning a program that asks people what the best subject they take is, would look like this as a flowchart:

A simple flowchart can continue until a condition is met. When asking ‘which is the best subject?’, if the answer is not computer science the process will continue until this is the answer given.

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