Automaton Automator

This Visual Studio Code extension allows working with .auto files to visualize automata using Graphviz. It also experimentally supports generating flowcharts from programs written in C, COBOL, and pseudocode.

Features

• Real-time preview of DOT/Graphviz diagrams
• Special focus on automata
• Command to copy as PNG
• Syntax highlighting for .auto and .dot files
• Experimental support for Program Chart Designer (flowcharts from C, COBOL, and pseudocode)
• Graphviz included within the extension

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.60.0 or higher
• The Graphviz dot binary is included in the extension; no separate installation required

Usage

1. Install the extension
2. Create or open a file with the .auto extension, or open files with .c, .cbl, .cobol, .pse, or .pseudo extensions
3. The extension will automatically display a preview of the diagram, converting supported source files into flowcharts
4. Use the context menu or command palette for "Copy as PNG"

Example of a .auto file

digraph pda {
  rankdir=LR;
  size="8,5"
  
  node [shape = point]; qi
  node [shape = circle]; q1 q2 q3
  node [shape = doublecircle]; q4

  qi -> q1

  q1 -> q2 [label="1,\\epsilon\\to\\empty"]
  q2 -> q1 [label="\\epsilon,\\epsilon\\toB"]
  q1 -> q3 [label="\\epsilon,\\empty\\to$"]
  q2 -> q4 [label="0,A\\to\\epsilon"]
  q3 -> q4 [label="\\epsilon,B\\toA"]
  q4 -> q1 [label="0,$\\to\\epsilon"]
}

Example of a flowchart generated from C

For a C file (example.c):

int main() {
    int x = 0;
    if (x < 10) {
        x = x + 1;
    }
    return 0;
}