Process
AQA A-Level Computer Science 7517
Fundamentals of Programming
Topic overviewData typesProgramming concepts and program structureArithmetic operationsRelational Operations, Constants and VariablesBoolean operationsString-handling operationsRandom numbers and exception handlingSubroutines, parameters and return valuesVariable scope and stack framesRecursive techniquesProgramming paradigms and the procedural approachClasses, Objects, Inheritance and PolymorphismAggregation, Composition, Class Diagrams and Design Principles
Fundamentals of Data Structures
Fundamentals of Algorithms
Theory of Computation
Topic overviewLogic Problems and Algorithm ConstructsPseudo-Code, Hand-Tracing and Program CorrectnessRepresentational Abstraction, Generalisation and Information HidingProcedural and Functional AbstractionData Abstraction and Problem ReductionDecomposition and CompositionAutomation and Finite State MachinesSets and Set NotationSubsets and Set OperationsRegular expressions and regular languagesBackus-Naur Form and syntax diagramsComparing Algorithms and FunctionsOrder of complexity and Big-O notationLimits of computation, tractability and heuristicsComputable problems and the Halting problemTuring machines
Fundamentals of Data Representation
Topic overviewNumber systems and the sets of numbersNumber bases: decimal, binary and hexadecimalBits, bytes and units of informationUnsigned binary and binary arithmeticSigned binary using two's complementFixed point and floating point representationNormalisation of floating point numbersRounding errors, accuracy, range and precisionCharacter coding systemsError checking and correctionBit patterns, analogue and digitalBitmapped graphicsVector graphicsDigital representation of soundMIDI and Data CompressionEncryption
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
Topic overviewHardware, Software and Its ClassificationSystem Software and the Operating SystemTranslators and the Role of the Operating SystemClassification of programming languagesTypes of program translatorLogic Gates and Their Truth TablesLogic Circuits and D-Type Flip-FlopsHalf-Adders and Full AddersBoolean algebra
Fundamentals of Computer Organisation and Architecture
Topic overviewInternal components, buses and von Neumann and Harvard architecturesThe Stored Program Concept and the ProcessorThe Fetch-Execute cycleThe processor instruction setAddressing modesMachine-Code OperationsShifts, Halting and Assembly Language ProgramsInterruptsFactors affecting processor performanceInput and output devicesSecondary storage devices
Fundamentals of Communication and Networking
Topic overviewCommunication methodsCommunication basicsNetwork Topology and Types of NetworkingWireless networkingThe Internet and Packet SwitchingRouting, URLs and Domain NamesFirewalls, Worms, Trojans and VirusesEncryption, Digital Signatures and CertificatesTCP/IPStandard application layer protocolsIP Address Structure and Subnet MaskingIP Standards and Public and Private AddressesDHCP and Network Address TranslationClient server modelThin- versus thick-client computing
Consequences of Uses of Computing
Systematic Approach to Problem Solving
Fundamentals of Databases
Big Data
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
Hardware, Software and Its Classification
- 4 things to know
- Paper 2
Overview
Recall questions on the definitions of hardware and software, the relationship between them and the classification of software.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
A student says a printer driver is hardware because it makes the printer work. Correct them.
Process
What does system software do, and what counts as application software?
Key term
Explain why bespoke and off-the-shelf software are both application software.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Define hardware.
Model answer
Hardware is the physical, tangible parts of a computer system: the electronic and mechanical components you could touch, such as the processor, main memory, motherboard, hard disk, keyboard, monitor and the cables and circuitry that connect them.
- 2
Define software.
Model answer
Software is the collection of programs and the associated data that run on the hardware. It is not physical: it is sequences of instructions, stored as binary machine code, that tell the hardware what to do. Examples include an operating system, a word processor, a compiler and a games engine.
- 3
Explain the relationship between hardware and software.
Model answer
They are interdependent and neither is useful alone. Hardware without software is inert: general-purpose electronics with no instructions to follow. Software without hardware cannot run: it is only a stored pattern of bits until a processor fetches and executes it. Software is written to control and exploit the hardware, and the hardware is designed to be capable of executing the instructions software is made from. Software is loaded into main memory as machine code and the processor's hardware carries those instructions out.
- 4
Why can a computer's function be changed without changing any of its physical parts?
Model answer
Because the machine is general purpose: its behaviour is determined by the program stored in memory rather than by its wiring. Loading a different program changes what the same hardware does, so one machine can be a word processor, a games console and a web server on different occasions.
- 5
Is firmware hardware or software, and why is it easy to confuse the two?
Model answer
Firmware is software: it is a program, held permanently in read-only or flash memory on a hardware component. It is confused with hardware because it is supplied inside the physical device and is not normally changed by the user, but it is still a set of instructions rather than a physical part.
- 6
A student says a printer driver is hardware because it makes the printer work. Correct them.
Model answer
A driver is software. It is a program that translates general requests from the operating system into the specific commands and signals the particular printer understands. The printer itself, and the port and cable, are the hardware; the driver is a set of instructions that controls them.
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