A-level Computing/AQA
This is a book about A-Level Computer Science. It aims to fit with the AQA GCE A-Level Computer Science 2015 syllabus but is not endorsed by AQA. It should be useful as a revision guide or to find alternative explanations to the ones in your textbook. If you haven't heard of an A-Level then this book probably won't be of much interest to you but you can find out about them at Wikipedia.
If any part of this book is unclear or even wrong then please post a comment on the discussion page or simply fix it yourself! In particular, please say if the book assumes any knowledge or skills which not all A-Level Computer Science students have.
A-level
- 1. Fundamentals of programming
- 2. Fundamentals of data structures
- 3. Fundamentals of algorithms
- 4. Theory of computation
- 13. Systematic approach to problem solving
- Skeleton program | A-level | AS-level
- 5. Fundamentals of data representation
- 6. Fundamentals of computer systems
- 7. Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture
- 8. External hardware devices
- 9. Consequences of uses of computing
- 10. Fundamentals of communication and networking
- 11. Fundamentals of databases
- 12. Fundamentals of functional programming (A-level only)
Non-exam assessment
Programming
Accepted languages
A-Level Projects can be written in any language.
Old Specification (up to 2017)
AS modules
- COMP1 - Problem Solving, Programming, Data Representation and Practical Exercise
- COMP2 - Computer Components, The Stored Program Concept and the Internet
A2 modules
- COMP3 - Problem Solving, Programming, Operating Systems, Databases and Networking
- COMP4 - The Computing Project
How to read the book
You will meet several coloured boxes, here are their meanings:
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Specification link What the specification says you must learn for each chapter
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Examples Example questions and how to solve them
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Questions Questions to test yourself, click below Answer: to check if you were right |
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Extension Topics that aren't examined but you might be interested in
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There will be a lot of concepts that you need to be familiar with, definitions are highlighted like so:
Course Structure
- To be awarded an AS (Advanced Subsidiary) Level qualification in Computing, a student must take the 2 AS modules.
- To be awarded an A (Advanced) Level qualification in Computing, a student must take all 4 modules.
The book is split into the four units. Each unit is split into chapters with each chapter covering the topics for that module.