Tutorial on structure charts as an algorithm design tool

Abstract

Structure charts have been presented via seminars to groups of computing professionals. Some of these software designers have adopted structure charts as their standard design tool. These practitioners are providing impressive anecdotal evidence that structure charts have significant practical value and are not merely of academic interest. The precise origin of structure charts is not accurately recorded. Their first appearance in a textbook was in Bowles(1) who cites Doran and Tate(2) as their originators. Bowles used the name structure diagram . Jensen and Tonies(3) presented some very similar design notation which they called schematic logic . They claimed that their work was a modification of some previous design methodology due to Jackson.(4) Jensen later presented a modification of schematic logic and called the new notation processing logic trees .(5) The particular geometric shapes used in the structure charts of this paper are the same as those suggested in a forthcoming textbook by one of the authors(6). This tutorial presents structure charts as a design tool which has many desirable characteristics for students of computer science as well as for practicing software designers.