FLOWNIC, a graphics tool in UNIX/ XENIX environment, has gained wide acceptability in the NIC State and District Centre of Assam. Three years back, the Assam State Unit of the National Informatics Centre came up with FLOWNIC in their search for a solution to the problems of pictorial presentation of information in UNIX/XENIX. Basically a limited-purpose Software Engineering Tool, this Software Package was developed using the Computer Graphics Interface (CGI) and the C language. Graphics tools being very rare in UNIX/XENIX. FLOWNIC has been a boon for NIC District Computer Centres most of which work in UNIX environment. With a library of 26 different geometrical figures which can be rotated on their axis, and sizes of which can be varied according to requirement, FLOWNIC is the ideal tool for construction of Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs), Entity Relationship Diagrams, Programme Flow Charts and Structure Charts. The Package comes with a variety of lines and connectors of different types and sizes. Text drawing facility has also been provided, and the size and orientation of the font can be varied as required. Relocation, copying and deleting provisions accord FLOWNIC a very high degree of flexibility.
FLOWNIC's Slide Show Facility enables the User to set parameters in a text file and make a slide show of his information. Apart from this, it generates a structure-chart (similar to what C flow does in UNIX for C programmes) for Foxbase+ program files. Besides the printer-driver available with CGI, a local printer-driver provides enhanced printouts and makes the package adaptable to a variety of dot-matrix printers.
A CGI driver is required to run the Software.