I need to map out a complex algorithm with lots of conditional options. Need an easy to use flowchart software, preferably free since I need it for just a one time use. Would prefer something lightweight which doesn't eat up all the CPU memory.
Any ideas?
If you are a Mac user you can use Omnigraffle http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/OmniGraffle/ . The free version is extremely good and in overall it is one of the best flowchart applications around.
Other than that I would recommend earlier mentioned Gliffy. Dia I would recommend only to my worst enemies - it's trash.
A little dated, but the DOT language can be used to describe flowcharts textually and render graphics from that description.
dot is part of the Graphviz package. Graphviz is free software licensed under the Common Public License.
DOT is a plain text graph description language. It is a simple way of describing graphs that both humans and computer programs can use. DOT graphs are typically files that end with the .dot extension.
Various programs exist to process DOT files. These programs can read DOT files and render them, or provide an interface to manipulate the graphs. One such program, dot, is used by the source code documentation generator doxygen. dot is part of the Graphviz package.
OpenOffice Draw can render nice flow charts since it has a draw toolbar with most of the flow chart symbols which you can use right away.
Connected processes remain connected when you move them and output to PDF and various other formats is simple and straight forward. Also nice to have multiple pages to work on.
Very dated now, but still with some benefits is XFig. Main benefit being that the native vector format is plain text and thus open for text manipulation of text in the diagrams. It's also simple to create your own library of draw objects, and being a legacy app, it's fast.
But this one is only for those who can appreciate legacy software -- you have been warned!
Definitely try yEd. This powerful diagram editor lets you quickly create flowcharts, BPMN and UML diagrams, organization charts, mind maps, and many other kinds of diagrams, graphs, and networks. Furthermore, you can choose from a wide range of highly sophisticated layout algorithms to automatically arrange diagrams in no time. An intuitive and visually appealing user interface makes creating diagrams fun. Once a diagram has been created, it’s easy to save, print, or export it to popular formats like PDF, Flash, EMF, SVG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, or HTML image maps.
You may want to try Code Rocket. It provides a flowchart editor and pseudocode editor, can automatically generate flowcharts from code or pseudocode, or you can directly edit flowcharts using a simple drag and drop interface. It's not free but has a free 30 day trial.