Is DFD a real thing or just academic?

Question

I'm required to take a course about DFD and such at UNI. I have years of [amateur] experience in development, and never heard of it.

Do developers actually use it?

Answer 1

I used data flow diagrams about 40 years ago when I was programming on a mainframe that read punched cards. We had plastic templates with cut outs to draw the diagrams. With the uptake of object oriented programming, DFD was replaced by the Unified Modelling Language. I don't think DFD is used anymore.