OCR A Level Computer Science
Based on Advance Information from OCR
Computer Systems
Mon 13 June PM
Algorithms and Programming
Fri 24 June AM
Based on Advance Information from OCR
Computer Systems
Mon 13 June PM
Algorithms and Programming
Fri 24 June AM
1.1.1 Structure and function of the processor
(a) ROM, RAM & GPU
(b) The Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle, including its effect on registers
(d) The use of pipelining in a processor to improve efficiency
(e) Von Neumann, Harvard and contemporary processor architecture
1.1.2 Types of processor
(a) The differences between and uses of CISC and RISC processors
1.2.1 Systems Software
(d) Scheduling: round robin, first come first served, multilevel feedback queues, shortest job first and shortest remaining time
1.2.2 Applications Generation
(d) Translators: Interpreters, compilers and assemblers
(e) Stages of compilation (lexical analysis, syntax analysis, code generation and optimisation)
1.2.4 Types of Programming Language
(c) Assembly language (including following and writing simple programs with the Little Man Computer instruction set). See appendix 5d
1.3.2 Databases
(d) SQL – Interpret and modify. See appendix 5d
(f) Transaction processing, ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability), record locking and redundancy
1.3.3 Networks
(b) The internet structure:
The TCP/IP Stack
1.4.1 Data Types
(f) Convert positive integers between Binary Hexadecimal and denary
(g) Representation and normalisation of floating point numbers in binary
(j) How character sets (ASCII and UNICODE) are used to represent text
2.1.1 Thinking abstractly
(a) The nature of abstraction
(b) The need for abstraction
2.1.2 Thinking ahead
(c) The nature, benefits and drawbacks of caching
(d) The need for reusable program components
2.2.1 Programming techniques
(b) Recursion, how it can be used and compares to an iterative approach
(c) Global and local variables
(d) Modularity, functions and procedures, parameter passing by value and by reference
(e) Use of an IDE to develop/debug a program
(f) Use of object oriented techniques
2.2.2 Computational methods
(f) Learners should apply their knowledge of:
• performance modelling
• visualisation to solve problems
2.3.1 Algorithms
(e) Algorithms for the main data structures, (stacks, queues, trees, linked lists, depth-first (post-order) and breadth-first traversal of trees)