levo

CCEA AS Software Systems Development, memorised in year one.

Everything the AS examines and nothing from the second year. Drill the 9 topics you are actually sitting in Northern Ireland this summer.

  • AS of CL4
  • 9 topics
  • 100 subtopics

What CCEA AS Software Systems Development covers, and what it leaves out

CCEA AS Software Systems Development is the first year of the CL4 course and a qualification in its own right, examined in 2 units, AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2. This page holds only what the AS examines: 9 topics across 100 subtopics, 1,381 active recall questions, starting with Software and the Development Environment, Defining Data: Types, Variables and Classes and Program Control Structures. The 9 topics kept back for the second year are not shown, so nothing here is content you have not been taught yet.

Starting the second year? The full CCEA A-Level Software Systems Development page adds the A2 topics on top of everything here.

CCEA GCE Software Systems Development, subject code CL4, qualification numbers 601/8913/7 (AS) and 601/8914/9 (A2), first teaching September 2016. Read the CCEA specification ↗

How it is assessed

Unit AS 1

Introduction to Object Oriented Development

  • SOFTWARE AND THE DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
  • DEFINING DATA: TYPES, VARIABLES AND CLASSES
  • PROGRAM CONTROL STRUCTURES
  • OBJECTS, CLASSES AND DATA STRUCTURES
  • EXCEPTION HANDLING AND MANAGING INPUT AND OUTPUT
  • TESTING AN OBJECT ORIENTED APPLICATION

Unit AS 2

Event Driven Programming

  • GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE OBJECTS AND EVENTS
  • MULTIPLE FORMS AND LINKING TO FILES
  • DESIGNING, TESTING AND EVALUATING AN EVENT DRIVEN APPLICATION

The full specification

9 topics, 100 subtopics. Open any topic to see what is inside it.

01Software and the Development Environment10 subtopics
02Defining Data: Types, Variables and Classes12 subtopics
03Program Control Structures10 subtopics
04Objects, Classes and Data Structures11 subtopics
05Exception Handling and Managing Input and Output12 subtopics
06Testing an Object Oriented Application11 subtopics

How you work through it

Pick the mode that fits the time you have.

Try three questions

No account needed. Answer from memory first.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Who is systems software written for, and who is application software written for?

Process

Explain why fitting a new printer usually needs new systems software but no change to a word processor.

Key term

Why does renaming a text file so that it ends in .exe not make the file runnable?

Spaced Repetition Schedule

How reviews are timed

Levo will automatically distribute all of your progress into a spaced repetition calendar. Once you’ve answered, it’s scheduled for you on the next day in the spaced repetition schedule. Over time, the gaps between your recall get bigger, from a day to three years, reinforcing memorisation over a long period of time.

Interval sequence

  • 1 day
  • 3 days
  • 7 days
  • 14 days
  • 30 days
  • 60 days
  • 4 months
  • 8 months
  • 1 year
  • 2 years
  • 3 years

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Software and the Development Environment
Defining Data: Types, Variables and Classes
Program Control Structures
Objects, Classes and Data Structures

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

A null is the of one.
absencepresencetype

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA null means no value has been recorded.
BZero and an empty string are values.
CA null is the absence of a value.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

An error is the mistake a person made.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

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Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Software Systems Development revision questions

Common questions about revising CCEA AS-Level Software Systems Development. Tap any to open it.

What is on CCEA AS Software Systems Development?

9 topics across 100 subtopics, examined in AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2. They are all listed on this page, and each one opens to the subtopics inside it. The full topic list is Software and the Development Environment, Defining Data: Types, Variables and Classes, Program Control Structures, Objects, Classes and Data Structures, Exception Handling and Managing Input and Output, Testing an Object Oriented Application and more.

Does AS Software Systems Development count towards the full A level?

Yes. In Northern Ireland the AS units are marked as a standalone AS qualification and also carry forward into the full CCEA A level, which is why the first year matters more here than it does in England. Check the current weighting on the CL4 specification, as it is set by the board rather than by us.

What is the difference between AS and A level Software Systems Development?

AS is the first-year units only. The A level adds 9 further topics, among them Reasons for Systems Development and Systems Methodologies, Managing Projects, Testing Strategies, and expects you to connect them back to the AS material. Work the AS content here, then move up to the full A level page when you start the second year.

When do you sit CCEA AS Software Systems Development?

Normally at the end of Year 12, in the summer series. That gives you one year to memorise 1,381 questions' worth of material, which is roughly 7 questions a day across an academic year if you start in September.

How should you revise for AS Software Systems Development?

By retrieval, not rereading. Cover the answer, pull it from memory, then check. Levo runs that loop across all 9 AS topics and brings each question back on a spaced schedule, so what you learn in September is still there in June.

Is it worth revising AS content again for the A level?

Yes, and it is the mistake most students make. The second-year papers assume the first year, and in Northern Ireland the AS marks usually count towards the final grade as well. Keeping the AS material on a spaced schedule through Year 13 costs far less time than relearning it.

How many questions are there for CCEA AS Software Systems Development?

1,381, written from the CL4 subject content and grouped into 100 subtopics so you can work one small area at a time rather than a whole topic at once.

Can you use Levo for just the AS year?

Yes. Pick your subject, choose the AS topics on the topic screen, and every mode — the 3-step method, Cram, Blank Blitz, Build It and Test It — works only that material. Add the second-year topics when you get to them.

Every question in Software Systems Development, 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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