Node Types and the Parent-Child Relationship
User’s Guide 17
• For example, an application with collect and store functions
would be broken up into a collection function and a storage
function.
• For example, a storage function may contain steps to verify the
data meets certain criteria, store the data in a file and track the
amount of data stored. This may, depending on the complexity of
each step, be broken up into functions which perform each step.
Node Types and the Parent-Child Relationship
Build your application in a modular fashion, taking advantage of the Parent-
Child relationship. There can be multiple levels in each program flow chart.
Any type of Operation node can exist at any level. The top level is the parent
and lower levels are children.
Table 1. Function and Operation Nodes
Applications constructed with PPG contain two general types of nodes, Func-
tion Nodes
, which include Frames and Subroutines, and Operation Nodes.
Each
Frame in a program flow chart represents a major function or option.
Connect
Frames together in a logical way that indicates program flow.
Operation Nodes are described briefly in Creating Operation Nodes on page 18, and
more completely in
Creating & Using Nodes on page 49.
Function Nodes Operation Nodes
Frames starting on page 5-50
Subroutines starting on page 5-51
Menu Nodes starting on page 5-55
Display Nodes starting on page 5-56
Input Nodes starting on page 5-57
Output Nodes starting on page 5-60
Verify Nodes starting on page 5-63
Copy Nodes starting on page 5-66
Modify Nodes starting on page 5-67
Math Nodes starting on page 5-69
Call Nodes starting on page 5-72
While it is possible to create an entire application at the main frame level, this is not
the best approach for any but the smallest applications.
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