1. The Characteristics of Contemporary Processors, Input, Output & Storage Devices

1.1 Structure & Function of the Processor

Components of the CPU

Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle

CPU Performance

Pipelining

Von Neumann & Harvard Architecture

1.2 Types of Processor

RISC vs CISC

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

Multicore & Parallel Processors

1.3 Input, Output & Storage

Input, Output & Storage

RAM & ROM

2. Software & Software Development

2.1 Systems Software

Operating Systems

Memory Management

System Interrupts

Scheduling

Types of Operating System

BIOS

Device Drivers

Virtual Machines

2.2 Applications Generation

Application Software

Utility Software

Open Source & Closed Source Software

Translators

Stages of Compilation

Libraries, Linkers & Loaders

2.3 Software Development

Waterfall Lifecycle

Agile Programming

Spiral Model

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Comparing Software Development Models

2.4 Types of Programming Language

Programming Paradigms

Procedural Programming

Assembly Language & Little Man Computer

Modes of Addressing

2.5 Object Oriented Languages

Classes (OOP)

Objects (OOP)

Methods (OOP)

Attributes (OOP)

Inheritance (OOP)

Encapsulation (OOP)

Polymorphism (OOP)

3. Exchanging Data

3.1 Compression, Encryption & Hashing

Lossy & Lossless Compression

Run Length Encoding & Dictionary Coding

Symmetric vs Asymmetric Encryption

Hashing

3.2 Databases

Relational Databases

Data Normalisation

Entity Relationship Diagrams

Capturing, Selecting, Managing & Exchanging Data

SQL

Referential Integrity

Transaction Processing

3.3 Networks

Networks

TCP/IP

Domain Name System (DNS)

LAN & WAN

Packet & Circuit Switching

Network Security & Threats

Network Hardware

Client Server & Peer to Peer

3.4 Web Technologies

Search Engine Indexing

PageRank Algorithm

Server Side & Client Side Processing

HTML

CSS

CSS: Styling

JavaScript

Variables & Constants in JavaScript

Outputs in JavaScript

Selection in JavaScript

For Loops in JavaScript

While Loops in JavaScript

Strings in JavaScript

Operators in JavaScript

Nested Statements in JavaScript

Functions & Procedures in JavaScript

4. Data Types, Data Structures & Algorithms

4.1 Data Types

Primitive Data Types

Positive Binary Numbers

Negative Binary Numbers

Binary Addition & Subtraction

Hexadecimal Numbers

Floating Point Binary Numbers

Floating Point Addition & Subtraction

Bitwise Manipulation & Masks

Character Sets

4.2 Data Structures

Arrays

Records, Lists & Tuples

Linked Lists

Stacks

Queues

Graphs

Graphs: Traversing, Adding & Removing Data

Trees

Binary Search Trees

Hash Tables

4.3 Boolean Algebra

Boolean Logic

Karnaugh Maps

Simplifying Boolean Algebra

Flip Flop Circuits

Adder Circuits

5. Legal, Moral, Cultural & Ethical Issues

5.1 Computing Related Legislation

The Data Protection Act 1998

The Computer Misuse Act 1990

The Copyright Design & Patents Act 1988

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

5.2 Moral & Ethical Issues

Artificial Intelligence

Censorship & The Internet

Monitoring Behaviour

Analysing Personal Information

Piracy & Offensive Communications

Layout, Colour Paradigms & Character Sets

Computers in the Workforce

Automated Decision Making

Environmental Effects

6. Elements of Computational Thinking

6.1 Thinking Abstractly

The Nature of Abstraction

Abstraction & Reality in Computational Thinking

Abstract Models in Computational Thinking

6.2 Thinking Ahead

Computational Thinking: Thinking Ahead

6.3 Thinking Procedurally

Components of a Problem in Computational Thinking

Order of Steps in Problem Solving

Sub-Procedures

6.4 Thinking Logically

Decisions in Computational Thinking

Logical Conditions in Computational Thinking

6.5 Thinking Concurrently

Concurrency in Problem Solving

Concurrent Processing

7. Problem Solving & Programming

7.1 Programming Techniques

Data Types

Arithmetic, Logical & Boolean Operators

Programming Constructs

Selection

Iteration

Modularity, Functions & Procedures

Parameter Passing

Recursion

Global & Local Variables

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Programming Classes, Objects, Methods & Attributes

Programming Inheritance

Programming Encapsulation

Programming Polymorphism

7.2 Computational Methods

Computational Methods

Problem Recognition

Problem Decomposition

Divide & Conquer Algorithms

Use of Abstraction

Backtracking Algorithms

Data Mining

Heuristics for Problem Solving

Performance Modelling

Pipelining as a Computational Method

Visualisation for Problem Solving

8. Algorithms

8.1 Algorithms

Suitability of Algorithms

Big O Notation

Binary Search

Linear Search

Bubble Sort

Insertion Sort

Merge Sort

Quick Sort

Dijkstra's Shortest Path Algorithm

A* Algorithm

8.2 Algorithms for the Main Data Structures

Stacks

Queues

Linked Lists

Trees

Exam boards

• Cambridge (CIE) A Level Computer Science

Study tools

• OCR A Level Computer Science · Exam Questions
• OCR A Level Computer Science · Past Papers

Related links

• A Level Computer Science · Revision Notes
• A Level Computer Science · Exam Questions
• A Level Computer Science · Past Papers
• A Level Computer Science · Glossary