Computing Revision
Revision notes for Scottish Higher, Intermediate and Standard Grade Computing
Higher Computing
Mandatory Units
What do you need to know? - Computer Systems
How numbers are stored - binary numbers (to 32 bits), two's complement, floating point.
How text is stored - ASCII and Unicode
How graphics are stored - bit-maps (including colour), vector graphics
How the processor works - ALU, control unit, registers
The fetch-execute cycle, and use of buses
Factors affecting performance - data bus width, cache, peripheral trasnfer, clock speed
Selecting and justifying suitable hardware and software
Functions of an interface, parallel and serial
Networking - LAN, WAN, Intranet, Internetwork
Peer-to-peer and client-server networks, mainframes with terminals
Network topologies - bus, ring, star, mesh - and hardware - hub, switch, router, NIC
Application of CMA, CPA and CD&PA to networking
Main function of an operating system, examples of utilities
Viruses - types, what they do, how they spread, how anti-virus protection works
Hints and tips - Computer Systems
Use terminology carefully - don't use sloppy descriptions
Use active revision techniques to make sure you know the key concepts
Read the questions carefully.
What do you need to know? - Software Development
The stages of the development process - "A dance in the dark every Monday" - personnel involved, iterative nature
Design notations - structure diagrams, pseudocode (must show data flow)
Systematic and comprehensive testing
Evaluation of software - robustness, reliability, portability, eficiency, maintainability
Corrective, adaptive and perfective maintenance
Comparison of procedural, declarative and event-driven languages
Functions, uses and efficiency of compiler or interpreter
Scripting languages and module linraries.
HLL constructs - all the Int 2 stuff + string operations, I/O formatiing, CASE
Real, integer and Boolean variables, 1-D arrays.
Procedures and subroutines, parameter passing (by ref and by Val), local and global variables
Decription and implementations of standard algorithms:
Hints and tips - Software Development
Make sure you are clear about the 2 methods of passing parameters
Check you can summarise the differences between procedural, declarative and event-driven languages
You must be able to write pseudocode for all of the standard algorithms - you could be asked to do this in the exam.
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