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    DRAKON Visual Language: Tutorial. Part 1: How To Draw DRAKON Flowcharts

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    Алексей Гаврилов
    This document provides a tutorial on how to draw flowcharts using the DRAKON visual language. It discusses the different types of DRAKON diagrams, including primitives, silhouettes, icons like "If", "Select", and loops. Primitives consist of a header, algorithm, and end icon, while silhouettes split the diagram into logical branches with headers and addresses. The tutorial emphasizes best practices like keeping the skewer vertical, avoiding intersections, and sorting answers from "Select" icons. It explains that loops can have multiple exits but only one entrance, and silhouette loops are marked with triangles.

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    DRAKON Visual Language: Tutorial. Part 1: How To Draw DRAKON Flowcharts

    Uploaded by

    Алексей Гаврилов
    98 views68 pages
    This document provides a tutorial on how to draw flowcharts using the DRAKON visual language. It discusses the different types of DRAKON diagrams, including primitives, silhouettes, icons like "If", "Select", and loops. Primitives consist of a header, algorithm, and end icon, while silhouettes split the diagram into logical branches with headers and addresses. The tutorial emphasizes best practices like keeping the skewer vertical, avoiding intersections, and sorting answers from "Select" icons. It explains that loops can have multiple exits but only one entrance, and silhouette loops are marked with triangles.

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    drakon_part1_eng.pdf

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    This document provides a tutorial on how to draw flowcharts using the DRAKON visual language. It discusses the different types of DRAKON diagrams, including primitives, silhouettes, icons like "If", "Select", and loops. Primitives consist of a header, algorithm, and end icon, while silhouettes split the diagram into logical branches with headers and addresses. The tutorial emphasizes best practices like keeping the skewer vertical, avoiding intersections, and sorting answers from "Select" icons. It explains that loops can have multiple exits but only one entrance, and silhouette loops are marked with triangles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    98 views68 pages

    DRAKON Visual Language: Tutorial. Part 1: How To Draw DRAKON Flowcharts

    Uploaded by

    Алексей Гаврилов
    This document provides a tutorial on how to draw flowcharts using the DRAKON visual language. It discusses the different types of DRAKON diagrams, including primitives, silhouettes, icons like "If", "Select", and loops. Primitives consist of a header, algorithm, and end icon, while silhouettes split the diagram into logical branches with headers and addresses. The tutorial emphasizes best practices like keeping the skewer vertical, avoiding intersections, and sorting answers from "Select" icons. It explains that loops can have multiple exits but only one entrance, and silhouette loops are marked with triangles.

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    DRAKON Visual

    Language
    Tutorial. Part 1:
    How to draw DRAKON flowcharts
    Types of DRAKON diagrams

    Used for the most simple


    Primitive algorithms

    Recommended for all


    Silhouette other algorithms
    Primitive
    What does a primitive consist of?
    What does a primitive consist of?

    A vertical skewer
    What does a primitive consist of?

    The header
    What does a primitive consist of?

    The algorithm
    What does a primitive consist of?

    The “End” icon


    “Action” icon

    An “Action” icon
    “Action” icon

    an order to do
    something
    The skewer must be vertical
    Wrong!
    Wrong again

    ●
    Use lines instead of arrows
    ●
    Arrows create visual noise

    In DRAKON,
    the next icon is always below
    Even worse
    ●
    It is not allowed to break the skewer
    “Insertion” icon

    It is a reference
    to an algorithm
    that is defined elsewhere
    “Insertion” icon
    “If” icon
    “If” icon

    Contains a question
    that can be answered
    “yes” or “no”
    The happy path goes straight

    The happy path


    is the most successful
    and desirable route
    The unlucky scenario goes to the right
    The further to the right,
    the worse it is
    Bad
    Worst

    Good
    Wrong

    The happy path


    is broken
    Right

    The happy path


    is straight
    Visual noise is bad

    Too many angles


    Horizontal joining

    The problem is solved


    Repetition is bad
    Vertical joining
    Removes repetition
    Line intersections
    are forbidden
    Intersections kill readability
    Silhouette

    The recommended type of diagrams


    What can silhouette do?
    ●
    It can cleanly split the diagram into logical
    parts
    ●
    It can represent a finite automaton (state
    machine)
    ●
    It helps get rid of line intersections in complex
    algorithms
    What does a silhouette consist of?
    The header
    The branches
    What does a branch consist of?
    A header with
    the branch name
    What does a branch consist of?

    The algorithm
    of the branch
    What does a branch consist of?

    The address
    of the next branch
    Silhouette answers
    the three questions of the king:

    1. What is the name of the problem?


    2. How many parts does the problem have?
    3. What are the names of the parts?
    1. What is the name of the problem?
    2. How many problems does the problem have?
    3. What are the names of the parts?
    The leftmost branch is run first
    Then follow the other branches
    The rightmost branch goes last
    There can be only one
    “End” icon
    on the DRAKON diagram
    The order of branches is defined in the “Address” icons
    The branches should by sorted left-to-right
    When is it allowed to go to the left?

    1. When some branches need to be repeated.


    2. When the diagram represents a finite
    automaton (state machine).
    A branch can have several “Address” icons

    The algorithm of such branch


    decides which branch to run next
    A direct jump from one branch to another is
    forbidden
    Icon “Select”

    Contains a question:
    ●
    that cannot be answered “yes” or “no”
    ●
    that can have several answers
    Icon “Select”
    How to arrange the answers?
    ●
    Following the principle “The further to the right, the
    worse it is”
    or
    ●
    Following the principle “The further to the right, the
    larger it is”
    or
    ●
    Following the principle “The further to the right, the
    higher it is”
    or...

    The key thing is to sort the answers


    The further to the right, the larger it is
    Loops
    Lift the weight while not tired
    The body of this loop
    is run at least once
    Hungry?

    If yes, then
    eat a hamburger
    start from the
    beginning

    If no, then leave


    This loop is skipped if the condition is not met
    The loop condition is inside the loop body
    “For each” loop
    There can be several exits from a loop
    There can be only ONE ENTRANCE
    into a loop

    Wrong!
    A second
    entrance is
    not allowed
    Silhouette loop: some branches are run several times
    Silhouette loop: some branches are run several times
    Loop branches are marked
    with black triangles
    “Select” loop
    End

    Stepan Mitkin
    stipan.mitkin@gmail.com

    The diagrams on the slides were made with


    DRAKON Editor
    http://drakon-editor.sourceforge.net/

    June 2013

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