AS & A Level Computer Science Description

Name of course
Get the best of AS & A Level Computer Science, experience-driven assessment AS & A Level Computer Science

Content overview

AS Level Content

1 Information representation

• 1.1 Data Representation 
• 1.2 Multimedia – Graphics, Sound 
• 1.3 Compression

2 Communication

2.1 Networks including the internet

3 Hardware

• 3.1 Computers and their components 
• 3.2 Logic Gates and Logic Circuits

4 Processor Fundamentals

• 4.1 Central Processing Unit (CPU) Architecture 
• 4.2 Assembly Language 
• 4.3 Bit manipulation

5 System Software

• 5.1 Operating System 
• 5.2 Language Translators

6 Security, privacy and data integrity

• 6.1 Data Security 
• 6.2 Data Integrity

7 Ethics and Ownership

7.1 Ethics and Ownership

8. Database 

• 8.1 Database Concepts 
• 8.2 Database Management System (DBMS) 
• 8.3  Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language (DML)

9 Algorithm Design and Problem-Solving

• 9.1 Computational Thinking Skills 
• 9.2 Algorithms

10 Data Types and structures

10.1 Data Types and Records 

• 10.2 Arrays 
• 10.3 Files 
• 10.4 Introduction to Abstract Data Types (ADT)

11 Programming

• 11.1 Programming Basics 
• 11.2 Constructs 
• 11.3 Structured Programming

12 Software Development

• 12.1 Program Development Lifecycle 
• 12.2 Program Design 
• 12.3 Program Testing and maintenance

A Level Content

13 Data Representation 1

• 3.1 User-defined data types 
• 13.2 File organisation and access 
• 13.3  Floating-point numbers, representation and manipulation

14 Communication and internet technologies

• 14.1 Protocols 
• 14.2 Circuit switching, packet switching

15 Hardware and Virtual Machines

• 15.1 Processers, Parallel Processing and Virtual Machines 
• 15.2 Boolean Algebra and Logic Circuits

16 System Software

• 16.1 Purposes of an Operating System (OS) 
• 16.2 Translation Software

17 Security

• 17.1 Encryption, Encryption Protocols and Digital certificates

18 Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• 18.1 Artificial Intelligence

19 Computational thinking and problem solving

• 19.1 Algorithms 
• 19.2 Recursion

20 Further Programming

• 20.1 Programming Paradigms 
• 20.2 File Processing and Exception Handling