ABSTRACT
Action diagrams are used in J. Martin’s information engineering methodology to plan and document both an overview of program logic and the detailed program logic. The basic building block of an action diagram is a bracket that represents a program module. Action diagrams are assembled from sets of brackets. The brackets can be any length, and they can be nested. Pseudocode or structured English are used within the context of an action diagram to describe detailed program logic. Subprocesses, subprocedures, subroutines and subsystems are shown by round-cornered rectangles. The detailed logic associated with the subprocedure is documented in a separate action diagram. Compound database actions are represented as a double rectangular box. The type of action is noted to the left of the box, the record is identified inside the box, and any conditions are noted to the right of the box.
