Key term
AQA AS-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 framesProgramming paradigms and the procedural approach
Fundamentals of Data Structures
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 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 representationCharacter coding systemsError checking and correctionBit patterns, analogue and digitalBitmapped graphicsDigital representation of soundMIDI and Data CompressionEncryption
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
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 ProgramsFactors affecting processor performanceInput and output devicesSecondary storage devices
Fundamentals of Communication and Networking
Consequences of Uses of Computing
Systematic Approach to Problem Solving
Fundamentals of Programming
- 10 subtopics
- 33 things to know
- Paper 1
What Fundamentals of Programming covers
Data types, the statement types every imperative language is built from, subroutines and parameters, scope and stack frames, recursion, and the procedural and object-oriented paradigms. Examined on Paper 1.
Where it is assessed
Paper 1
The on-screen programming exam, 2 hours 30 minutes and 40% of the A-level.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 10 subtopics
Each one has its own page. AQA AS Computer Science students sit this topic in the first year.
- Data typesRecall questions on the integer, real, Boolean, character and string types, why each variable is declared with one, and why the character '7' is not the number 7.Open →
- Programming concepts and program structureRecall questions on the three combining principles of imperative languages, and on declaration, assignment, selection, iteration and subroutines as statement types.Open →
- Arithmetic operationsRecall questions on real division against integer division, DIV and MOD, the type each operation returns, and the packing problems the remainder is used to solve.Open →
- Relational Operations, Constants and VariablesRecall questions on the six relational operations and their symbols, the result they yield, and the distinction between assignment and comparison.Open →
- Boolean operationsRecall questions on the NOT, AND, OR and XOR operations, how XOR differs from OR, evaluating them for given values, and writing compound conditions with them.Open →
- String-handling operationsRecall questions on length, position, substring and concatenation, on where positions are counted from, and on converting between characters and their character codes.Open →
- Random numbers and exception handlingRecall questions on pseudo-random generators and seeding, scaling a random real into a range, and the structure and purpose of an exception handler.Open →
- Subroutines, parameters and return valuesRecall questions on procedures against functions, formal and actual parameters, passing by value and by reference, and what a call does to the flow of control.Open →
- Variable scope and stack framesRecall questions on local and global variables, why locals are preferred, what happens when a local shadows a global, and how stack frames explain a local's lifetime.Open →
- Programming paradigms and the procedural approachRecall questions on the procedural and object-oriented paradigms, stepwise refinement, single entry and exit points, and how a hierarchy chart is drawn.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Evaluation
Describe the Boolean data type.
Key term
What is a user-defined data type?
Process
What are the three combining principles on which all imperative programming languages are built?
Numbers
Define indefinite iteration.
Key term
You need to keep asking the user for a password until the correct one is entered. Which position of the condition suits this, and why?
Process
Which arithmetic operations does a program need, and how do they group?
Process
What is 17 MOD 5, and how do the quotient and remainder relate back to the original number?
Key term
What does rounding do? Give the results of rounding 4.6 and 4.4 to the nearest whole number, and 3.14159 to two decimal places.
Key term
Why is testing two real numbers for exact equality unreliable, and what should you do instead?
Evaluation
A is True and B is False. Evaluate NOT A, A AND B, A OR B and A XOR B.
Key term
Explain the difference between a variable and a constant.
Key term
Give an example of a constant and of a variable, and say why naming a limit helps.
Process
Both P and Q are True. Which of P AND Q, P OR Q and P XOR Q are True?
Process
What does the length operation do? What is the length of 'Computing' and of the empty string?
Process
What does a string to float conversion do, and when do you need it rather than string to integer?
Key term
What does a date/time to string conversion do?
Process
What is the effect of seeding a generator with the same value twice, and when is that useful?
Evaluation
Explain the advantages of handling exceptions rather than letting the program stop.
Key term
What is the difference between a procedure and a function?
Process
What does passing a parameter by value mean?
Process
How does a subroutine return a value to the calling routine?
Key term
What happens when a local variable has the same name as a global one?
Key term
Explain how stack frames account for the two properties of local variables.
Key term
What happens if a recursive subroutine has no base case, or never reaches it?
Key term
Give the recursive definition of the factorial function.
Process
Describe the characteristics of the object-oriented programming paradigm.
Evaluation
Explain the advantages of the structured approach.
Key term
What is the difference between an attribute (property field) and a method?
Key term
What does a subclass inherit, and what can it do that its superclass cannot?
Process
How do you decide whether a relationship is aggregation or composition?
Numbers
What is an abstract method, and what follows for the class that contains one?
Key term
Explain the design principle 'encapsulate what varies'.
Take Fundamentals of Programming further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Variable vs Constant
Variable: a named store whose value can change during execution. Constant: a named value fixed before execution.
Procedure vs Function
Procedure: a subroutine that performs a task without returning a value. Function: a subroutine that returns a value to its calling point.
Class vs Object
Class: a blueprint defining shared fields and methods. Object: a particular in-memory instance of a blueprint.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a data type?
Model answer
A data type defines the set of values a variable of that type may hold, the operations that may legally be performed on it, and how the value is represented in memory. Declaring a type tells the translator how much memory to reserve for the variable and how to interpret the bit pattern stored there.
- 2
Give three reasons why declaring the data type of every variable is useful.
Model answer
The translator can reserve the correct amount of memory and interpret the stored bit pattern correctly, and it can detect type errors before the program runs, for example an attempt to subtract one string from another. Declared types also document the programmer's intention for anyone later reading or maintaining the code.
- 3
Describe the integer data type.
Model answer
A whole number with no fractional part, which may be positive, negative or zero — −7, 0 and 4096 are all integers. Unlike a real, an integer is held exactly, so comparing two for equality is safe and no rounding error accumulates. The arithmetic available on integers is the ordinary four operations, together with the pair that only makes sense for whole numbers: integer division, which discards any fraction, and the remainder that division leaves behind.
- 4
Describe the real (float) data type.
Model answer
A number that may have a fractional part, for example 3.14 or -0.5. It is normally stored as a mantissa together with an exponent, so only a limited number of significant digits is kept and most real values are held as a close approximation rather than exactly.
- 5
A program counts how many pupils are in a room. Explain why integer is a better choice of type than real.
Model answer
The value can only ever be a whole number, so an integer represents it exactly, occupies less memory and is faster to work with. A real would permit meaningless values such as 27.4 and, because reals are stored approximately, a test such as count = 27 could fail even when the count really is twenty-seven.
- 6
Describe the Boolean data type.
Model answer
A type with exactly two possible values, True and False. It is what a relational or logical expression evaluates to, and it is used to control selection and iteration. Logically it needs only a single bit, although a language will usually reserve a whole byte for it.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Fundamentals of Programming revision questions
- Is Fundamentals of Programming examined at AS in AQA Computer Science?
- Yes. It sits in Paper 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Fundamentals of Programming cover in AQA AS-Level Computer Science?
- 10 subtopics: data types, programming concepts and program structure, arithmetic operations, relational operations, constants and variables, boolean operations, string-handling operations, random numbers and exception handling, subroutines, parameters and return values, variable scope and stack frames and programming paradigms and the procedural approach. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Fundamentals of Programming organised?
- By the AQA 7517 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Fundamentals of Programming, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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