Decision Tables:
Decision tables are used to outline a set of conditions that a computer program might encounter and the actions corresponding to them. These tables specify the true or false status of a particular condition and exhibit the dependency of the condition on the values of certain attributes. They also indicate the action to be performed for each condition.
Presented in a tabular form, they state the problem clearly and concisely. Decision tables can be used when a large number of decisions have to be taken or if a lot of branching is involved. They can also be used for modeling program logic that is complicated in nature. Decision tables are used in areas like programming, testing, business analysis, hardware designing, etc.
The following steps are necessary for constructing a decision table:
- State the problem clearly
- List all the conditions to be tested in the problem
- List the corresponding actions that should be taken with the combination of different conditions
- Form a decision table using the two lists.
A typical decision table consists of rows and columns that are divided into four parts or quadrants. The first part of the table contains the condition stub and the condition entries. The second part contains the action stub and the action entries. The ‘condition stub,' describes the conditions that exist in the program. Thus, the contents of the condition stub correspond to the conditions contained in the decision symbols of a flow chart. The ‘action stub,' contains the action statements, which correspond to the respective conditions. The conditions and actions are also called causes and effects, respectively.
Advantages and Limitations of Decision Tables
Decision tables are normally preferred to flow charts for the following reasons:
- They are easier to draw and edit as compared to flow charts
- They provide more compact documentation. A small table can replace several pages of charts
- It is easier to follow a particular path down one column than through several flow chart pages.
- However, decision tables are not as widely used as flow charts because:
- Flow charts are better able to express the total sequence of events needed to solve a problem
- Programmers, especially beginners, are familiar with flow charts.
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