Based on the tikz flowchart example I created my first flowchart in Latex. Creating such a flowchart with Latex is not as easy as it looks like. Sometimes you don’t get an error message even if there is an error (especially missing semicolons) in the code. In my case pdftex just hang up. One thing was a bit tricky but first have a look at my code:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes,arrows}
\begin{document}
\pagestyle{empty}
% Define block styles
\tikzstyle{decision} = [diamond, draw, fill=blue!20,
text width=4.5em, text badly centered, node distance=3cm, inner sep=0pt]
\tikzstyle{block} = [rectangle, draw, fill=blue!20,
text width=4cm, text centered, rounded corners, minimum height=4em, minimum width=4.5cm]
\tikzstyle{line} = [draw, -latex']
\tikzstyle{cloud} = [draw, ellipse,fill=red!20, node distance=3cm,
minimum height=2em]
\begin{tikzpicture}[node distance = 3cm, auto]
% The nodes
\node[cloud] (business) {Business};
\node[block, below of=business] (person) {i:=person};
\node[decision, below of=person] (sex) { i.sex = male ?};
\node[decision, below of=sex, node distance=4cm] (sex2) { i.sex = pre-op transsexuel female ?};
\node[block, right of=sex2, node distance=6cm] (execution_block_1) {i.enter(toilet)\\
i.open(trousers)\\
i.target(eyes, center)\\
i.target(hands, center)
};
\node[block, below of=execution_block_1] (open_bladder) { i.open(bladder) };
\node [decision, below of=open_bladder, text width=2cm] (bladder_empty) {i.bladder = empty?};
\node[block, below of=bladder_empty] (execution_block_2) { i.close(bladder)\\
i.close(trousers)\\
i.flush(urinal)
};
\node [block, below of=execution_block_2] (exit) { i.exit() };
% The connections
\path [line] (business) -- (person);
\path [line] (person) -- (sex);
\path [line] (execution_block_1) -- (open_bladder);
\path [line] (execution_block_2) -- (exit);
\path [line] (sex) -- node [near start] {no} (sex2);
\path [line] (sex) -| node [near start] {yes} (execution_block_1);
\path [line] (sex2) -- node [near start] {no} (execution_block_1);
\path [line] (sex2) |- node [near start] {yes} (exit);
\path [line] (open_bladder) -- (bladder_empty);
\path [line] (bladder_empty) -- node [near start] {yes} (execution_block_2);
\path [line] (bladder_empty) -- +(4,0) -- +(4,3) -- node [near start] {no} (open_bladder);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}
The decision block with the bladder emptiness check has more than one curve. -| or |- didn’t work so the trick here is that you have to add coordinates (x,y) to the connection line where it should curve.
