Computing Revision
Revision notes for Scottish Higher, Intermediate and Standard Grade Computing
Intermediate 2 Computing
Mandatory Units
What do you need to know? - Computer Systems
How data is stored - binary numbers, ASCII text, bit-mapped graphics
bits, bytes, Kb, Mb, Gb, Tb
The parts of a computer system - processor, memory (RAM and ROM), interfaces
Types of computers - embedded, palmtop, laptop, desktop, mainframe
Peripherals - input, output and storage devices
Networking - LANs, WANs, Internet
E-mail, the WWW, search engines
Relevant laws - the DPA, the CMA and CD&PA
Stadard file formats for text - ASCII and RTF
Viruses - what they do, how they spread, need for anti-virus protection
What do you need to know? - Software Development
The stages of the development process - "A dance in the dark every Monday"
Design notations - structure diagrams, pseudocode
Test data - normal, extreme and exceptional
Characteristics of good software - fit for purpose, user interface, readability
Comparison of machine code and hoigh level languages, and translation by compiler or interpreter
Recording and using macros.
HLL constructs - input and output, assignment, arithmetic, AND, OR and NOT, loops, IF statements
Numeric and string variables, 1-D arrays.
Pre-defined functions
Decription and implementations of the input validation algorithm
Use of standard algorithms: input validation, find min/max, count occurences, linear search
Basically, you have to learn up all of this. The questions in Section 1 may ask you the meaning of any of these terms, or to give an example. There's no short-cuts - just use an active revision technique to make sure that you know it all.
The questions in the shorter Section 2 of the paper cover the same topics but will require you to think more about how your knowledge applies to a situation.
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