#118641 - 2004-04-27 06:54 AM
Source Code to Flow Chart
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It_took_my_meds
Hey THIS is FUN
Registered: 2003-05-07
Posts: 273
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Hi All,
Has anyone ever found/used a tool that can flowchart kixtart scripts. I have done a pretty rigorous search and haven't had any luck. The only tool I have come across is Visual Flowcoder by Flowlynx. It apparently has a configurable parsing engine so that it can flowchart any programming language, unfortunately there is no demo available and it is prohibitively expensive. My boss would like a flowchart of my logon script but with over 3000 lines and with functions that call themselves or other functions, my brain hurts just contemplating doing it manually. I don't think it's possible however there may be someone out there who has solved this problem. Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Richard
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#118642 - 2004-04-27 08:10 AM
Re: Source Code to Flow Chart
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NTDOC
Administrator
Registered: 2000-07-28
Posts: 11634
Loc: Space
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Hi Richard,
Not saying there isn't one, but don't recall anyone speaking of such a tool or script. (but I've not read every post on the board  )
A lot would depend on how TECHNICAL your boss wants it to be.
Generally I would think most Management would be happy with a brief overview type flow chart of what your script is doing, not every possible loop and sub routine functionality.
My script is over 2,000 lines of code but I'm sure I could list the MAIN functionality of the code on a single page listing, or maybe two.
Unless they are looking to document it to such commented detail so as to allow someone with no experience to be able to understand the code I would think the general over-view would be good. Ask your boss what "real" detail he wants and WHY. The WHY may dictate what is really wanted better.
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#118645 - 2004-04-27 10:25 AM
Re: Source Code to Flow Chart
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Richard H.
Administrator
Registered: 2000-01-24
Posts: 4946
Loc: Leatherhead, Surrey, UK
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It's not too tricky to automatically generate an outline flowchart, but things like "CALL $sExternalScript" and so-on mean that it can never be a truly automatic process.
For a really easy way of getting started on a manual solution, comment your script with pseudo-code at decision points and branches. Use a unique phrase (aka a "magic"), something like:
Code:
; #FC# Begin
If InGroup("Administrators")
; #FC# User is an administrator - YES
... your code here ...
Else
; #FC# User is an administrator - NO
... your code here ...
EndIf
; #FC# End
Once you have been through the script and added these directives you can use "grep" or DOS "FIND" to rip out all the comment lines with the #FC# magic on.
While this is in no way an automated flow-chart tool, it should make the manual process of creating one far easier, and will ensure you don't miss anything.
If your script is simple and linear enough it may even do the job for you.
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#118646 - 2004-04-28 01:00 AM
Re: Source Code to Flow Chart
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It_took_my_meds
Hey THIS is FUN
Registered: 2003-05-07
Posts: 273
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Thanks guys for the advice ,
I love this board! There is none other like it!
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