Wanted: tool to convert code to flowchart

J

Jonathan Sachs

This is actually needed for Java. I posted in a Java newsgroup and
got no informative responses, but one person suggested I try a C++
group because C++ programmers deal more with legacy code.

Searching the Web, I found several tools that are claim to perform
this task:

http://www.fatesoft.com/s2f/
http://www.aivosto.com/visustin.html
http://www.gold-software.com/download4950.html
http://www.reliableunion.com/
http://www.brothersoft.com/Software_Developer_Compilers_and_IDEs_SourceCode2Flowchart_24949.html

(I understand that most of these tools deal with both C++ and Java.)

I want to ask whether anyone can recommend (or warn against) any of
these tools, or others like them.

The tool I choose must be reliable and accurate, compatible with
current Java specifications, and available for Microsoft Windows. It
must be able to generate ANSI standard flowcharts: standard shapes, no
colors, no curvy arrows, etc. I would prefer to pay no more than about
$100, but I will probably pay whatever I must to get a tool that works
well.

WHY DO I WANT FLOWCHARTS, ANYWAY?

I'm sure some of you will want to know, so I'll explain it now.

As a programmer, I stopped using flowcharts decades ago. I know all
the arguments against them, and agree with most.

But I'm not a programmer any more. I'm an ex-programmer, about to
begin work as a patent attorney. In my new career I will be preparing
patent applications for computer programs, many of them written in
Java.

It happens that flowcharts are the U.S. Patent Office's preferred
medium for describing program logic. Furthermore, I understand that
some foreign patent offices do not merely prefer flowcharts, but
require them.

So there is not really a question of why I want flowcharts; I do not
have a choice!

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 

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