Wai-Kai Chen wrote: "The concept of a signal-flow graph was originally worked out by Shannon [1942] in dealing with analog computers. The greatest credit for the formulation of signal … See more

Linear signal-flow graph (SFG) methods only apply to linear time-invariant systems, as studied by their associated theory. When modeling a system of interest, the first step is often to … See more

The term "cause and effect" was applied by Mason to SFGs:
"The process of constructing a graph is one of tracing a … See more

Robichaud et al. identify the domain of application of SFGs as follows:
"All the physical systems analogous to these networks … See more

The following illustration and its meaning were introduced by Mason to illustrate basic concepts:
In the simple flow graphs of the figure, a functional … See more

For some authors, a linear signal-flow graph is more constrained than a block diagram, in that the SFG rigorously describes linear algebraic equations represented by a directed graph.
For other authors, linear block diagrams and linear signal … See more

Signal-flow graphs can be used for analysis, that is for understanding a model of an existing system, or for synthesis, that is for determining the … See more