Flowchart Elements

Flowchart is a diagrammatic representation of sequence of logical steps of a program. Flowcharts use simple geometric shapes to depict processes and arrows to show relationships and process/data flow.

Flowchart Symbols

Here is a chart for some of the common symbols used in drawing flowcharts.

Symbol	Symbol Name	Purpose
	Start/Stop	Used at the beginning and end of the algorithm to show start and end of the program.
	Process	Indicates processes pke mathematical operations.
	Input/ Output	Used for denoting program inputs and outputs.
	Decision	Stands for decision statements in a program, where answer is usually Yes or No.
	Arrow	Shows relationships between different shapes.
	On-page Connector	Connects two or more parts of a flowchart, which are on the same page.
	Off-page Connector	Connects two parts of a flowchart which are spread over different pages.

Guidepnes for Developing Flowcharts

These are some points to keep in mind while developing a flowchart −

Flowchart can have only one start and one stop symbol

On-page connectors are referenced using numbers

Off-page connectors are referenced using alphabets

General flow of processes is top to bottom or left to right

Arrows should not cross each other

Example Flowcharts

Here is the flowchart for going to the market to purchase a pen.

Here is a flowchart to calculate the average of two numbers.