New for 2016

IGCSE Computer Science 0478

Revision Notes

Covers everything from Theory to Program solving

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 DataTransmission

SimplexDataTransmissionDatatransmissioninonedirectiononly.

HalfDuplexDataTransmissionDatatransmissionintwodirectionsbutnotatthesametime.

FullDuplexDataTransmissionDatatransmissionintwodirectionsatthesametime.

SerialDataTransmissionDataissentonebitatatimeoverasinglewireorchannel.

ParallelDataTransmissionSeveralbitsofdataaresenddownseveralwiresorchannels.

AsynchronousDataTransmissionDataisbeingtransferredinanagreedbitpatterntogetherwithcontrolsbitsknownasstartbit&stopbit.

SynchronousDatatransmissionDataisbeingtransferredinacontinuesstreamaccompaniedbytimingsignalsgeneratedbyaninternalclock;
timingsignalsaresynchronizedwitheachothertoenduresenderarereceiveraresynchronizedwitheachothertoensurebitsarereassembled
intothecorrectbitpattern.

USBUniversalSerialBus;anasynchronousserialdatatransmissionmethodwhichhasbecomeanindustrystandard

WhathappenswhenadeviceispluggedintoacomputersusingoneoftheUSBports?

1.) Thedeviceisautomaticallydetected.
2.) Aknowndeviceisrecognizedandadevicedriverisloaded.
3.) Ifanewdeviceispluggedin,thecomputerlooksforthecorrectdevicedriverortheuserwillbepromptedtodownloadthedriver.

ErrorCheckingMethodsofDataTransmission

WhatisparityCheck?

1.) ParityCheckscanbeeven(evennumberofbits)orodd(oddnumberofbits);onebitisknownasParitybit.
2.) Parityblocksallowanerroneousbittobeidentified.
3.) Iftheparityofabyteofdatahasntchanged(followingdatatransmission)butstillanerrorhasoccurred,thenitsimpossibleusingthis
methodtoidentitywheretheerrorhasoccurred.

WhatisAutomaticRepeatRequest(ARG)?

1.) ARGusedacknowledgmenttoindicatedatareceivercorrectly.
2.) Atimeoutisusedwhichisthetimeallowedtoelapsebeforeanacknowledgmentisreceived.

WhatisChecksum?

1.) Dataissentinblocks.
2.) AnadditionalvaluecalledChecksum,isendattheendoftheblockofdata.
3.) Thechecksumisbasedonthenumberofbytesintheblock.
4.) Ifthechecksumatthereceiversenddoesntmatchthechecksumattheendofthedatablock,thenanerrorintransmissionhas
occurred.

WhatisEchoCheck?

1.) Dataisreturnedtothesender.
2.) Thesendercomparesdatawiththedatareceivedback.
3.) Ifdifferenterrorhasoccurredsomewhereintheprocess.
4.) Theproblemcouldthatthedatawasactuallysendcorrectly,butitwasduringtheprocessingofsendingbacktothesenderthatthe
erroroccurred.
 InternetTechnologies

InternetServiceProvider(ISP)AnISPiscompanythatprovidestheuserwithaccesstotheinternet,theyusuallychargeamonthlyfee.

InternetProtocol(IP)AddressEachdeviceisgivenanIPaddressassoonasitconnectstotheinternet.TheIPaddresswillbedifferenteach
timethedeviceconnects.

MediaAccessControl(MAC)AddressMACaddressuniquelyidentifiesadeviceconnectedtotheinternet.

HYPERTEXTMARKUPLANGUAGE(HTML)isusedwhenwritinganddevelopingwebpages.

HTMLStructureistheessentialpartoftheHTMLdocument;itincludesthesemantics(meaning)andstructuralmarkupofthedocument.

HTMLPRESENTATIONisthestyleofthedocument;i.e.howthedocumentwilllook(orevensoundifitincludesmultimediaelements).

WebBrowserissoftwarewhichallowsausertodisplayawebpageontheircomputerscreen.WebbrowsersinterpretortranslatetheHTML
codefromwebsitesandshowtheresultofthetranslation.

LogicGates&LogicCircuits
LogicGates:

Truthtables:
LogicStatements: LogicCircuits:

OperatingSystem

OperatingsystemThesoftwarerunninginbackgroundofacomputersystem.Itmanagesmanyofthebasicfunctions.

InterruptAninterruptisasignalsentfromadevice(orfromsomewhere)toprocessorrequestingitsattention.Theinterruptwillcausethe
processortotemporarilystopwhatitsdoingtoservetheinterrupt.

BufferAbufferistemporarymemoryareainadevice.Itallowstheprocessortocarryonwithothertaskswhilst.

ComputerArchitecture

BusesTheymovedataaroundthecomputerandalsoendsendoutcontrolsignalstosynchronizeinternaloperations.

TypesofBuses:

1.) AddressBusThiscarriessignalsrelatingtotheaddressbetweentheprocessorandmemory;itsunidirectional.
2.) DataBusThissendsdatabetweentheprocessor,memoryunitandtheinput/outputdevices;itsbidirectional.
3.) ControlBusThiscarriessignalsrelatingtocontrolandcoordinationofallactivateswithinthecomputer;itcanbeunidirectionalor
bidirectionalduetointernalconnections.

RegistersHighspeedstorageareaswithinthecomputer.

TypesofRegisters:

1.) MemoryAddressRegister(MAR)
2.) MemoryDataRegister(MDR)
3.) Arithmetic&LogicUnit(ALU)
4.) ProgramCounter(PC)
5.) CurrentInstructionRegister(CIR)

MemoryUnitMadeuptoaddressandcontents.Eachaddresswilluniquelyidentifyeachlocationwithinthememorymap.

ControlUnitControlstheoperationofthememory,processor,andinput/outputdevices;thecontrolunitreadsinstructions,interpretsthem
andsendsoutsignalsalongthecontrolbustosynchronizeallcomputercomponents.
WhatisFetchExecuteStyle?

FetchThenextinstructionisfetchedfromthememoryaddresscurrentlystoresinprogramcounter(PC)andisthenstoresinCurrent
InstructionRegister(CIR);ThePCisthenincrementedsothatthenextinstructioncanbeprocessed.

ExecuteThedecodedinstructionisthenpassedasasetofcontrolsignalstotheappropriatecomponentsofthecomputersystem.

InputDevices

2DScannersTheseconverthardcopydocumentsintoanelectronicformwhichcanbestoriedinacommutermemory
3DScannersscansolidobjectsandproduceathreedimensionalimage.Sincesolidobjectshavex,yandzcoordinates,thesescannerstake
imagesatseveralpointsalongthesethreecoordinates.Adigitalimagewhichrepresentsthesolidobjectisformed.Thescannedimagescanbe
usedinCOMPUTERAIDEDDESIGN(CAD)or,morerecently,senttoa3Dprintertoproduceaworkingmodelofthescannedimage.Theymake
useoflasers,magneticresonance,whitelight,andsoon.

Xrays:CT(computedtomography)scanners.
RadioWaves:MRI(magneticresonanceimaging)scanners.
Gammarays:SPECT(singlephotonemissioncomputedtechnology)scanners.

BarcodesAbarcodeisaseriesofdarkandlightparallellinesofvaryingthickness.Thenumbers0to9areeachrepresentedbyauniqueseries
oflines.

Sowhathappenswhenabarcodeisscanned?
ThebarcodeisfirstreadbyaredlaserorredLED(LIGHTEMITTINGDIODE).
Lightisreflectedbackoffthebarcode;thedarkareasreflectlittleornolightwhichallowsthebarstoberead.
Thereflectedlightisreadbysensors(photoelectriccells).
AsthelaserorLEDlightisscannedacrossthebarcode,apatternisgeneratedwhichisconvertedintodigitaldatathisallowsthe
computertounderstandthebarcode.
Forexample:thedigit3ontheleftgeneratesthepatternLDDDDLD(whereL=lightandD=dark);thishasthebinaryequivalent
of0111101(whereL=0andD=1).

Sothebarcodehasbeenread,thenwhathappens?
Thebarcodenumberislookedupinthestockdatabase(thebarcodeisknownastheKEYFIELDinthestockitemrecord);thiskey
fielduniquelyidentifieseachstockitem.
Whenthebarcodenumberisfound,thestockitemrecordislookedup.
Thepriceandotherstockitemdetailsaresentbacktothecheckout(orPOINTOFSALETERMINAL(POS)).
Thenumberofstockitemsintherecordisreducedbyoneeachtimethebarcodeisread.
Thisnewvaluefornumberofstockitemsiswrittenbacktothestockitemrecord.
Thenumberofstockitemsiscomparedtothereorderlevel;ifitislessthanorequaltothisvalue,morestockitemsare
automaticallyordered.
Onceanorderformorestockitemsisgenerated,aflagisaddedtotherecordtostopreorderingeverytimethestockitembarcode
isread.
Whennewstockitemsarrive,thestocklevelsareupdatedinthedatabase.

Advantagesofusingbarcodestothemanagementinclude:
mucheasierandfastertochangepricesonstockitems
muchbetter,moreuptodatesalesinformation/salestrends
noneedtopriceeverystockitemontheshelves(thisreducestimeandcosttothemanagement)
allowsforautomaticstockcontrol
possibletocheckcustomerbuyinghabitsmoreeasilybylinkingbarcodesto,forexample,customerloyaltycards.

Advantagesofusingbarcodestothecustomersinclude:
fastercheckoutqueues(staffdontneedtoremember/lookuppricesofitems)
errorsinchargingcustomersarereduced
thecustomerisgivenanitemizedbill
costsavingscanbepassedontothecustomer
bettertrackofsellbydatessofoodshouldbefresher.

QR(QuickResponse)Codesisanothertypeof.Itismadeupofamatrixoffilledindarksquaresonalightbackground.Tomakeacomparison,
normalbarcodescanholdupto30digits;QRcodescanholdover7000digits.Byusingthebuiltincamerafacilityon
modernphonesanddownloadingtheappropriateapplication(orapp),itispossibletoreadtheQRcode.Thecodemaycontainawebsitelinkor
someformofadvertising

Keyboards/KeypadsKeyboardsarethemostcommoninputdevice;keysarepressedbytheoperatortoenterdatadirectlyintothecomputer.
Whenakeyispressed,itcompletesacircuitandasignalissenttothemicroprocessorwhichinterpretswhichkeyhasbeenpressed.

PointingdevicesThemostcommonpointingdevicesarethemouseandthetrackerball.Theyareusedtocontrolacursoronscreenorto
selectoptionsfrommenus.Themouseusuallyhastwobuttonsusedforselectionandotherfunctionstogetherwithascrollup/downwheel.

Microphonesareusedtoinputsoundintoacomputer.Whenthemicrophonepicksupsound,adiaphragmvibratesproducinganelectric
signal.Asoundcardinthecomputerconvertsthesignalintodigitalvalueswhichcanbestoredinitsmemory.

VoiceRecognitionItisusedtoidentifyifa'known'personisspeakingin,forexample,asecuritysystem.Thesoftwarecompareswavepatterns
fromtheperson'svoicewithwavepatternsstoredinmemory.

SpeechRecognitionitisverydifferenttovoicerecognition.Thisworksbyfirstconvertingspeechpatternsintoadigitalform.Thedigitalimage
isbrokenupintophonemeswhicharethencomparedwithwordsstoredinthebuiltindictionary.Thespokenwordscanthenberecognized.
Touchscreensallowselectionstobe1nadebysimplytouchinganiconormenuoptiononascreen.

Sensorssenddatafromtherealworldtoacomputer.Theyoftenrequireananaloguetodigitalconverter(ADC)tochangethedataintoa
formatthatthecomputer(ormicroprocessor)canunderstand.

Sensorsformpartofmanymonitoringorcontrolsystems:

Monitoringsystemsinclude:monitoringapatient'svitalsignsinahospital,burglar/intruderalarmsystems,checkingkeydataina
carengineormonitoringpollutionlevelsinariverortheair.
Controlsystemsinclude:trafficlightcontrol,greenhouseenvironment,streetlighting,antilockbrakingsystemonavehicleor
controlofachemicalornuclearprocess.

Interactivewhiteboardsallowcomputerimagestobedisplayedusingadigitalprojector.Theyallowuserstowriteonthewhiteboardandthe
text/imagescreatedcanthenbestoredinaco1nputermemory.

OutputDevices

Inkjetprintersrelyonaliquidinksystemwhichspraysinkontothepaperlinebylineasthepaperadvances;theinksystemuseseitherthermal
bubbleorpiezoelectrictechnologies.
Laserprintersrelyonpositiveandnegativechargesontheprintdrumandpaper;(drypowder)tonerstickstothepaperinonlycertainareas
andispermanentlyfixedusingafuser.

DotMatrixprintersuseamatrixofpinswhichstrikeaninkedribbon(eitherblackorupto4colored)toproducecharactersinamatrixonthe
paper,e.g.

AdvantagesandDisadvantagesamongstLaser,Inkjet&DotMatrix:

3DPRINTERSareprimarilyusedinCOMPUTERAIDEDDESIGN(CAD)applications.Theycanproducesolidobjectswhichactuallywork.Thesolid
objectisbuiltuplayerbylayerusingmaterialssuchaspowderedresin,powderedmetal,paperorceramicpowder.Some3Dprintersusebinder
technologywhichinvolvestheuseofabinder(atypeof'glue')toformsolidlayers.

2D/3DcuttersTheseareusedtocutintomaterialstoform3Dobjectsandarecontrolledbycomputersandsoftware(suchasCAD/CAM).
Commonmaterialsinclude:glass,crystal,metal,polymersandwood.

Loudspeakersconvertanaloguevoltagesintosound.Iftheoutputisfromcomputer,thedigitalsignalsarefirstconvertedintoanalogue
voltagesusingaDAC.TherateatwhichtheDACcantranslatedigitaloutputintoanaloguevoltagesiscalledthesa1nplingrateusually44100
samples/secondforatypical16bitsystem.
LCD)liquidcrystaldisplay/diode

TheadvantagesofusingLEDs(ratherthanCCFLs)tobacklightthedisplayare:

Theyreachmaximumbrightnessmuchfaster.
Theygiveawhiterlightmakingtheimagemorevivid.
Thebrighterlightimprovescolordefinition.
Thedisplayscanbemuchthinnerandlighterinweight.
LEDslastalmostindefinitely.
Theyconsumemuchlesspowerandthereforealsorunmuchcooler.

(OLED)organiclightemittingdiode

TheadvantagesofusingOLEDwhencomparedtoolderLEDtechnologyinclude:

Theyallowforverythinandveryflexiblescreenswhichareverylightweight.
Theyproducea,muchbrighterlightthanLEDs.
Theydon'trequireanyformofbacklighting
Theyallowforamuchlargerfieldofview..

LightProjectors

1.) DLPDigitalLightProjectorsreliesonmillionsofmicromirrorswhichcanswitchonoroffseveralthousandtimesasecondcreatingvarious
shadesofgrey.Colorfiltersallowtheshadesofgreytobeconvertedintocolorswhichareprojectedontoalargescreenthusrepresenting
theoutputfromthecomputer.
2.) LCDProjectorsusechromaticcoatedmirrorswhichreflectlightatdifferentwavelengths.ThelightcomponentspassthroughthreeLCD
screenswhicharethenrecombinedusingaprismtoproducethecolorimagewhichisprojectedontoalargescreen.

FileFormats

Musicalinstrumentdigitalinterface(MIDI)MIDIfilesconsistoflistsofcommandswhichinstructadevicehowtoproduceaMusicalnote/sound

MP3usesaudiocompressiontostoremusicinanMP3fileformat.Thesecanoftenbe90%smallerthancomparableCDmusicfiles.Theyusea
lossyformat.Themusicqualityisretained.byusingperceptualmusicshaping(i.e.removingsoundsthatthehumanearcan'tclearlydistinguish).

MP4MP4filesareslightlydifferenttoMP3filessincetheycanstoremultimediaratherthanjustmusic.

JointPhotographicExpertsGroup(JPEG)JPEGfilesusealossyformatfilecompressionmethod.JPEGisusedtostorephotographsasareduced
filesize.Theyrelyoncertainpropertiesofthehumaneye(e.g.itsinabilitytodetectsmallbrightnessdifferencesorcolorhues).

Textandnumberfileformats:

1.) TextisstoredinASCIIformatandtextfilesareusuallystoredinalosslessformat.
2.) Numberscanbestoredasreal,integer,currency,andsoon.Losslessformatisusedsinceaccuracyofdataisveryimportant.

losslessfilecompressionallthedatafromtheoriginalfilesisreconstructedwhenthefileisagainuncompressed.

lossyfilecompressionunnecessarydataiseliminatedformingafilethatcan'tbereconstructedtogetbacktotheoriginalfile.

Memory&Storage
Primarymemory:

1.) RAMthismemoryisvolatile/temporaryinnature.Itisusedtostoredata,programsorpartsoftheoperatingsystemcurrentlyinuse.
Thememorycanbewrittentoorreadfrom.
2.) DRAMneedstobeconstantlyrefreshedtoretainthedata;itusesmillionsoftransistorsandcapacitors.
3.) SRAMdoesn'tneedtobeconstantlyrefreshedtoretainitsdata;itusesflipflops.
4.) ROMthismemoryisnonvolatile/permanentinnature.ItisusedtostorethestartupproceduresorBIOS(basicinput/outputsystem).
Thememorycanonlybereadandnotwrittento.
Harddiskdrive(HDD)usescircularplatterscoatedinmagneticmaterial.Severalreadwriteheadsareusedsothatallthesurfacescanbe
accessed;dataisstoredinsectorsandtracksinblocks.AccesstodataisslowerthanwithRAM.Manyapplicationsrequirethereadwriteheads
tomoveinandoutseveraltimestoseektheappropriatedatablocks.Thisisreferredtoaslatencythetimetakenforaspecificblockofdataon
atracktorotatearoundtothereadwritehead.

Solidstatedrives(SSD)

Solidstatedriveshavenomovingparts;therefore,alldataisretrievedatthesamerateandlatencyisnotanissue.MostcommontypesofSSD
useNANDchipstocontrolthemovementofelectrons(andthereforedata).SomesolidstatesystemsuseEEPROMs(electronicallyerasable
programmablereadonlymemory)whichutilizeNORchips.

AdvantagesofSSDswhencomparedtoHDDS:

1.) Theyaremorereliableandrobust(nomovingparts).
2.) Theyaremuchlighterinweightandalsomuchthinner.
3.) Theyconsumelesspowerandalsorunmuchcooler.
4.) NoneedtowaitforSSDto'getuptospeed'andalsohaveafasterdataaccessrate.

OfflineStorageinclude:CD/DVD/DVDRAM(alloptical),Bluraydisks(opticalmedia),flashmemory/memorystick/SDXDcards(solidstate
devices)andremovableharddiskdrives(magneticmedia).

CD/DVDCDsandDVDsusearedlaserlighttowriteandreadthedata.Eachdiskhasasinglespiraltrackthatrunsfromthecentertotheouter
edge.Theycanbe'R'(writeonceandcanthenonlyberead)or'RW'(canbewrittentoandreadfromseveraltimes).DVDscanholdmoredata
thanCDsduetoduallayeringtechnology(i.e.thediskshavetwoindividualrecordinglayers).

DVDRAMThistechnologyisnearlyobsolescent.Itusesanumberofconcentrictracks(unlikeCDsandDVDs)enablingsimultaneousreadwrite
operationstotakeplace.Theyhavegreatlongevitywhichmakesthemidealforarchivingofdata.

Bluraydisksusebluelaserlighttoreadandwritethedata.Sincethewavelengthofbluelightis405nmcomparedtoredlightwavelengthof
650nm,theycanstoreconsiderablymoredata.Theyuseasinglepolycarbonatedisk(unlikeDVDswhichuseasandwichoftwopolycarbonate
disks);becauseofthis,Bluraydisksdon'tsufferfrombirefringence(i.e.lightrefractionintotwoseparatebeanswhichcancausereadingerrors).

Flashmemory/memorysticksTheseusesolidstatetechnologyandusuallyconnecttothecomputerthroughtheUSBport.Theyareverysmall
andlightweightwhichmakesthemidealfortransferringfilesandphotosbetweendifferentcomputers.AswithSSD,theyuseNANDchipsand
havenophysicalmovingparts.Theyneedtobereadeverynowandthentoretaintheirdataintegrityanditisimportanttofollowthecorrect
removalproceduretoavoidcorruptingthestoragedevice.

ComputerPrograms

HighlevelLanguagesenablesaprogrammertofocusontheproblemtosolvedandrequirenoknowledgeofthehardwareandinstructionset
ofbecomputerthatwillusetheprogram.Highlevelprogramminglanguagestheareportableandcanbeusedondifferenttypesofcomputer.

Lowlevellanguagescanrelatetothespecificarchitectureandhardwareofparticulartypeofcomputer.Lowlevellanguagescanreferto
machinecodeorassemblylanguage.

Assemblylanguageisalowlevelprogramminglanguagethatneedstobetranslatedintomachinecodebyanassembler.

Machinecodeisthebinaryinstructionsthatacomputerunderstands.noTranslationisrequired.

Translators
 Security&Ethics

Hacking

Hackingisawayofgainingillegalaccesstoacomputersystem
Thiscanleadtoidentitytheftandlossorcorruptionofdata.
TheRiskofhackingcanbeminimizedbyusingstrongpasswordsandfirewalls

Cracking

Crackingistheeditingofprogramsourcecodesothatitcanbeexploitedorchangedforaspecificpurpose(mostlyanillegalact).
Itisoftendoneformaliciouspurposes,e.g.modifyinglegitimatesoftwaretodosomethinglikeredirectausertoafakewebsite.
Itisdifficulttoguardagainst;softwareengineersneedtomaketheactofbreakingintothesoftwarenearlyimpossible(i.e.makeit
difficulttoidentify'backdoors').

Viruses

Avirusisprogramcodethatcanreplicate/copyitselfwiththeintentionofdeleting/corruptingdata/filesorcausingthecomputerto
malfunction.
Theycancausethecomputertorunslow(duetotheharddiskfillingupwithdata,forexample)orcrash(e.g.duetodeletionofsome
key.exefiles);theycanalsocausesomesoftwaretorunabnormally(duetoJossorcorruptionoffiles/data).
Theriskofvirusescanbeminimizedbyrunningantivirussoftwareornotopeningemailsorsoftwarefromunknownsources.

Phishing

Legitimatelookingemailsaresenttousers;onopeningtheemail,theusercouldbeaskedtosupplypersonalorfinancialdetailsor
theymaybeaskedtoclickonalinkwhichsendsthemtoafake/boguswebsitewheretheusercouldbeaskedtosupplypersonaldata.
Oncetheuserissenttothefake/boguswebsite,theymaybeaskedtogiveoutpersonalorfinancialdata.
ManyISPsfilteroutphishingemails;theusershouldalsobeverycautiousaboutopeningemailsfromunknownsources.

Thereareanumberofsignstolookoutforinphishingemails:

Messagescontainingpoorspellingandgrammar
Amessagethatasksforpersonalinformationorwhereyoudidntinitiatetheaction
Amessagethatmakesunrealisticthreatsorpromises,orfinancialrewards,forexample,cashprizes,lotterywinnings,
investmentorpensionsadvice.

Pharming

Maliciouscodeisinstalledonauser'scomputerorwebserver;thecoderedirectstheusertoafakeorboguswebsitewithouttheir
knowledge.
Oncetheuserissenttothefake/boguswebsite,theymaybeaskedtogiveoutpersonalorfinancialdata.
Someantispywaresoftwarecanidentifyandremovepharmingcodeontheharddrive;theusershouldalsolookoutforcluesthat
theyarebeingredirected(websiteswhicharesafecanusuallybeidentifiedbyhttpsorbythegreenpadlocksigninthestatusbar).

Wardriving

Thisistheactoflocatingandusingwirelessinternetconnectionsillegally.
Couldleadtostealingofinternettimeandbandwidth;alsouser'spasswordsandotherdatamaybeintercepted.
PreventedbyuseofWEP(wiredequivalentprivacy)encryption;useofcomplexpasswordsbeforeaccessingtheinternetanduseof
firewallstopreventoutsidersgainingaccess.

Spyware/keyloggingsoftware

Gathersdatabymonitoringkeypressesonuser'skeyboardsandsendingthedatabacktothepersonwhosentthespyware.
SendsImportantdata,suchaspasswords,backtotheoriginatorofthespyware;itcanalsoallowtheoriginatortochangesettingson
theuser'scomputer.
Preventedbyuseofantispyware;useofmousetoselectcharactersfromadropdownboxtoenterpasswordsratherthanusinga
keyboard.
Cookies

Piecesofdatawhichallowdetectionofwebpagesviewedbyauserandstoretheirpreferences.
Createananonymoususerprofile(e.g.user'spreferences).
Cookiescanbedeletedfromtheuser'sdesktop,althoughthiscanremovesomeofthefeaturesofcertainwebsites.

Dataintegrity

Datacanbelostonacomputerdueto:

accidentalormaliciousmaloperation
hardwaremalfunction
softwaremalfunction.

Accidentalormaliciouslossofdata

Thiscouldbeduetoaccidentallydeletingafileortomaliciousattackfromvirusesorhacking.
Thiscanbeguardedagainstbydoingregularbackupsofdata(althoughthiswon'tallowrecoveryfollowingvirusattack);alsouseof
passwordsanduseridstoprotectthedata(seeaboveforvirusandhackingsafeguards).

Hardwarefaults

Thesecanbeguardedagainstbyregularbackupsofdata,useofUPStoprevent'powerglitches/loss'anduseofparallelhardware.
Softwarefaults(e.g.twopiecesofincompatiblesoftware)
Thesecanbeguardedagainstbyregularbackupsofdataandthesavingofdataevery30mins,forexample,incasethecomputer
becomesunresponsive.

Firewalls
Examinestrafficbetweenuser'scomputerandapublicnetwork.
Checkswhetherincoming/outgoingdatameetscertaincriteria.
Ifdatafailscriteria,thefirewallblocksthetrafficandissuesawarning.Logsallincoming/outgoingtraffic.
Criteriacanbesettopreventaccesstocertainwebsites;thiscanbedoneby
thefirewallkeepingalistofallundesirableIPaddresses.
FirewallsCANhelptopreventvirusesorhackersenteringauser'scomputer.
Warnstheuserifsomesoftwareontheirsystemtriestoaccessanexternaldatasource(e.g.automaticsoftwareupgrade)

SecurityProtocols

SecureSocketsLayer(SSL)
Typeofprotocol(setofrules)usedbycomputerstocommunicatewitheachotheracrossanetwork.
Allowsdatatobesentandreceivedsecurelyacrossanetwork.
Whenauserlogson,SSLencryptsthedata.
UserknowsifSSLisbeingappliedwhentheyseehttpsorthegreenpadlocksigninthestatusbar.
Whenauserwantstoaccessawebsite,thewebbrowserasksthewebservertoidentifyitself;thewebserversendsacopyoftheSSL
certificatewhichthewebbrowserauthenticates;ifthisisOKthenSSLencryptedtwowaydatatransferbeginsbetweenuser's
computerandwebserver

TransportLayerSecurity(TLS)
TLSissimilartoSSLbutismorerecentandamoreeffectivesystem.
TLSisformedofarecordprotocol(containsdatabeingtransferredovertheinternet)andahandshakeprotocol(whichpermits
websiteandclienttoauthenticateeachotherandmakeuseofencryptionalgorithms).
OnlyrecentwebbrowserssupportTLS.
Makesuseofsessioncachingwhichimprovestheoverallperformance(hereTLScaneitherstartanewsessioneachtimeauser
accessesawebsite,oritcanattempttoresumeanearlier/existingsessionwhichimprovessystemperformance).
 Encryption

Symmetricencryption
Utilizesasecretkey;whenthekeyisapplied,theplaintext(originaltext)goesthroughanencryptionalgorithm,toproducecypher
text(encryptedmessage).
Therecipientneedsakeytothendecryptthemessagebackintoplaintext.
Themainriskisthatbothsenderandrecipientneedthesamekeywhichcouldbehackedorinterceptedallowingathirdpartyto
decryptthesentencryptedmessage.

Asymmetricencryption
Asymmetricencryptionusespublickeysandprivatekeys.
Publickeyisavailabletoeverybody;privatekeyisknown.
Encryptionkeysaregeneratedbyahashingalgorithmthistranslatesthemessageorkeyintoastringofcharactersoftenshownin
hexnotation;(thegreaterthenumberofbits,theharderitisto'crack'theencryption)

Authentication
Usedtoverifythatdatacomesfromatrustedsource.
Makesuseofpasswords,digitalsignaturesand/orbiometrics.

DenialofServiceAttacks
Denialofserviceisanattemptatpreventingusersfromaccessingpartofanetwork,notablyinternetservers.
Canpreventusersfromaccessingtheiremails,accessingcertainwebsitesoraccessingonlineservices.
Thisisachievedbytheattackerfloodingthenetworkwithuselesstraffic;forexample,sendingoutthousandsofrequeststoawebsite
orsendingoutthousandsofspamemailstousers,'cloggingitup'.

Canbemitigatedagainstby:

Usinganuptodateviruschecker.
Usingafirewalltorestricttraffic.
Usingemailfilter.
Lookingoutforsigns.

Ethics
Ethicsisasetofprinciplessetouttoregulateuseofcomputers;threefactorsareconsidered:

Intellectualpropertyrights.
Privacyissues.
Effectofcomputersonsociety.
AcodeofethicsispublishedbytheACMandIEEEC.

FreesoftwareUsershavethefreedon1torun,copy,changeoradoptfreesoftware.

Therearerules,thatneedtobeobeyed:
Cannotaddsourcecodeexceptfromsoftwarewhichisalsofreesoftware.
Cannotproduceanysoftwarewhichcopiesexistingsoftwarethatissubjecttocopyrightlaws.
Cannotalterthesourcecodesothatitinfringesanycopyrightthatprotectsothersoftware.
Maynotproducesoftwarethatispossiblyoffensive.

FreewareSoftwarethatausercandownloadfreeofcharge.Therearenofeesassociatedwiththesoftware(e.g.AdobeorSkype)buttheyare
subjecttocopyrightlawsandtheuserisoftenaskedtotickaboxtosaytheyunderstandandagreetothetermsandconditionsgoverningthe
software.

SharewareUsersareallowedtotryoutsharewarefreeforatrialperiod.Attheendofthisperiod,theuserwillberequestedtopayafee.Very
often,thetrialversiondoesn'thaveallthefeaturesofthefullversionallthefeaturesbecomeavailableoncethefeeispaid.
 ComputerSystems&SubSystems
Topdowndesignisthebreakingdownofacomputersystemintoasetofsubsystems,thenbreakingeachsubsystemdownintoasetof
smallersubsystems,untileachsubsystemjustperformsasingleaction.

Structurediagramsshowsthedesignofacomputersysteminahierarchicalway,witheachlevelgivingamoredetailedbreakdownofthe
systemintosubsystems.

Libraryroutinesisasetofprogramminginstructionsforagiventaskthatisalreadyavailableforuse.Itispretestedandusuallyperformsatask
thatisfrequentlyrequired.

Subroutinesareasetofprogramminginstructionsforagiventaskthatformsasubsystemnotthewholesystem.Subroutineswritteninhigh
levelprograminglanguagesarecalledproceduresorfunctionsdependingupon

TestData

NormaldataSolutionsneedtobetestedtoprovethattheydowhattheyaresupposedtodo.Asetoftestdatashouldbeusedtogetherwith
theresult(s)thatareexpectedfromthatdata.Thetypeoftestdatausedtodothisiscallednormaldata;thisshouldbeusedtoworkthrough
thesolutiontofindtheactualresult(s)andseeifthesearethesameastheexpectedresult(s).

Erroneous/abnormaldataSolutionsalsoneedtobetestedtoprovethattheydonotdowhattheyarenotsupposedtodo.Testdatashouldbe
usedthatwillberejectedasthevaluesarenotsuitable.Thistypeoftestdataiscallederroneousorabnormaltestdata;itshouldberejectedby
thesolution.

Extremedataarethelargestandsmallestvaluesthatnormaldatacantake.

Boundarydatathisisusedtoestablishwherethelargestandsmallestvaluesoccur.Ateachboundarytwovaluesarerequired;onevalueis
acceptedandtheothervalueisrejected.

Summary:

Validation&Verification

Validationistheautomatedcheckingbyaprogramthatdataisreasonablebeforeitisacceptedintoacomputersystem.Differenttypesof
checkmaybeusedonthesamepieceofdata.

Verificationischeckingthatdatahasbeenaccuratelycopiedontothecomputerortransferredfromonepartofacomputersyste1nto
another.

Summary:
 TrackingAlgorithms

Tracetablescanbeusedtorecordtheresultsfromeachstepinanalgorithm;itisusedtorecordthevalueofanitem(variable)eachtimeit
changes.

DryrunThismanualexerciseiscalledadryrun.Atracetableissetupwithacolumnforeachvariableandacolumnforanyoutput.

Answer:
 Pseudocode

PseudocodeDescribeswhatanalgorithmdoesbyusingEnglishkeywordsthatareverysimilartothoseusedinahighlevelprogramming
language

AssignmentValuesareassignedtoanitem/variableusingtheoperator.Thevariableontheleftoftheisassignedthevalueofthe
expressionontheright.

ConditionalStatementsCanbeusedtodecidewhichactionshouldbetaken.

Therearetwotypesofconditionalstatement:

1.) aconditionthatcanbetrueorfalse:IF...THEN...ELSE...ENDIF
2.) achoicebetweenseveraldifferentvalues:CASE...OF...OTHERWISE...ENDCASE
LoopStructuressomeactionsperformedaspartofanalgorithmneedrepeatingthisiscallediteration.Loopstructuresareusedtoperformthe
iteration.

Therearethreedifferenttypesofloopstructure:
1.) Asetnumberofrepetitions:FOR...TO...NEXT
2.) Arepetition,wherethenumberofrepeatsisnotknown,thatiscompletedatleastonce:REPEAT...UNTIL
3.) Arepetition,wheremenumberofrepeatsisnotknown,thatmayneverbecompleted:WHILE...DO...ENDWHILE

InputandoutputstatementsINPUTandOUTPUTareusedfortheentryofdataanddisplayofinformation.SometimesREADcanbeused
insteadofINPUT&PRINTisusedinsteadofOUTPUT.

StandardactionsTheabilitytorepeatactionsisveryimportantinthedesignofalgorithms,forexampletokeeparunningtotal.
RunningTotalRunningTotal+Value

Keepingacountofthenumberoftimesanactionisperformedisanotherstandardaction.
CountCount+1

Countingisalsousedtocountdownuntilacertainvalueisreached.
NumberinStockNumberinStock1

FlowchartSymbols
 BasicDataTypes

Integerisapositiveornegativewholenumberthatcanbeusedwithmathematicaloperators.

Realisapositiveornegativenumberwithafractionalpart.Realnumberscanbeusedwithmathematicaloperators
.
CharAvariableorconstantoftypecharisasinglecharacter.

StringAvariableorconstantoftypestringisseveralcharactersinlength.Stringsvaryinlengthandmayevenhavenocharacters,anempty
string;thecharacterscanbelettersand/ordigitsand/oranyotherprintablesymbol.

BooleanABooleanvariablecanhaveonlytwovalues,TRUEorFALSE.

ProgrammingTechniques

SequenceStatementsarefollowedinsequencesotheorderofthestatementsinaprogramisimportant.

Selectionisaveryusefultechnique,allowingdataitemstobepickedoutaccordingtogivencriteria,forexampleselectingthelargestvalueor
thesmallestvalue,selectingitemsoveracertainprice,selectingeveryonewhoismale.

Repetition

Mostprogramminglanguagessupportthreetypesofrepetition:

1.) Afixednumberofrepetitions
2.) Anunknownnumberofrepetitionswithatleastonerepetition,astheconditionistested.attheendoftheloop
3.) Anunknownnumberofrepetitionswhichmaynotbecompleted.atall,astheconditionistestedatthebeginningofthe
loop.

Totalingisusedwithrepetition,withthetotalupdated.everytimetheloopisrepeated.Keepingarunningtotalisoneofthemostfrequently
usedprogrammingtechniquesinmanycomputersystems.

Countingisusedwithrepetitionwiththecounterincreasedby1everytimetheloopisrepeated.Countingitemsoreventsisanotherofthe
mostfrequentlyusedprogrammingtechniques.

Arrays
OnedimensionalarrayListsinprogrammingareidentified.bytheuseofasinglenameandeachitem
inthelistcanbefoundbyanindexnumbershowingtheplaceinthelist.

ElementTheitemsinthelistaretheelementsofthearray.

IndexInordertorepeatthesametaskmanytimesforalltheitemsinalist,eachitemneedstobereferredtointhesamewayusingtheindex
numberforeachelementoftheonedimensionalarray.Ifavariableisusedforthisindexnumber,thenthesamecodecanbereusedforeach
item.

ReadorwritevaluesinanarrayusingaFOR...TO...NEXTloopAFOR...TO...NEXTloopusesafixednumberofrepeatssoitisidealto
usewithanarray,whenthenumberofelementsisknown,astheloopcountercanbeusedasthearrayindex.
 Database
Databaseisastructuredcollectionofdatathatallowspeopletoextractinformationinawaythatmeetstheirneeds.

Tablecontaindataaboutonetypeofitemorpersonorevent,usingrowsandcolumns.Thereareasetnumberofcolumnsandavariable
numberofrows.

RecordEachrecord,orrow,withinatablecontainsdataaboutasingleitem,personorevent.

FieldEachfield,orcolumn,containsonespecificpieceofinformationaboutasingleitem,personorevent.Fieldsaregivenadatatype,for
example,number,text,yes/no,currencyanddate/time.

PrimarykeyInordertobesurethateachrecordcanbefoundeasilyandtopreventmorethanonecopyofthesamerecordbeingkept,each
recordincludesaprimarykeyfield.Eachprimarykeyfieldinatableisunique.

Summary:
IMPORTANTMODELANSWERSFORPAPER1(THEORY)

PlagiarismThetakingofsomebodysideaorsoftwareandclaimthattheideaorsoftwarecodewerecreatedbythetaker.

WhatistheHexadecimalCodeinMACaddressrepresent?

Thehardware/physicaladdress.Thefirst6/8digitsrepresentmanufacturercodeandthelast6/8digitsrepresentserialnumberofdevice

WhySSDsarereplacingHDDs?
1. nolatency
2. runcooler
3. runquieter
4. dataaccessisfaster
5. lighter,somoresuitableforaportablecomputer/laptop
6. nomovingpartssomorereliable

WhywebserversusestilluseHDD?
1. HDDischeaperforlargeramountsofstoragespace
2. HDDhasgreaterlongevityforread/writefunctions
3. HDDaretrustedtechnology

HowauserusesaQRcode?
1. UserscanstheQRcodewiththecameraonthemobiledevice
2. Appisusedtoread/interprettheQRcode
3. linkstoawebsite/opensadocumenttoaccessinformation
4. canstoretheQRcodetorefertoagainfortheinformation

BenefitofwritingprograminHighlevellanguage?

1. closetoEnglish/native/humanlanguage
2. easier/fastertocorrecterrors/read/write
3. worksonmanydifferentmachines/operatingsystems(portable)

BenefitofwritingprograminLowlevellanguage?

1. workdirectlyonregisters/CPU
2. morecontroloverwhathappensincomputer
3. canusemachinespecificfunctions

StagesawebBrowergoesthroughtodetectwhetherawebsiteissecure?

1. requestswebservertoidentifyitself/viewthe(SSL)certificate
2. receivesacopyofthe(SSL)certificate,sentfromthewebserver
3. checksifSSLcertificateisauthentic/trustworthy
4. sendssignalbacktowebserverthatthecertificateisauthentic/trustworthy
5. startstotransmitdataonceconnectionisestablishedassecure

Howischecksumusedtoverifythatthefilehasnotbeencorruptedduringtransmission?

1. thechecksumforthebytesiscalculated
2. thisvalueisthentransmittedwiththeblockofdata
3. atthereceivingend,thechecksumisrecalculatedfromtheblockofdatareceived
4. thecalculatedvalueisthencomparedtothechecksumtransmitted
5. iftheyarethesamevalue,thenthedatawastransmittedwithoutanyerror
6. ifthevaluesaredifferent,thenanerrorhasbeenfound

Ethicalissuestobeconsideredwhenusingcomputers:

1. Thatweshouldnothack/crackothercomputers
2. Thatweshouldprotectourowncomputersagainstmalware
3. Thatweshouldconsiderprivacyissues(whenusingsocialnetworking)
4. Thatweshouldconsiderenvironmentalimpactswhenusingcomputers
5. Loss/creationofjobsfromuseofcomputers/robotics



AdvantagesofusingLEDoverCCFL

1. noneedtowarmup
2. higherresolution
3. morereliabletechnology,longerlasting
4. usesmuchlesspower,moreefficient

DescribetheuseofHTMLstructureandpresentation?

1. Presentationisusedtoformatcolor/style
2. Structureisusedtocreatelayout
3. InaHTMLdocumentstructureandpresentationareoftenkeptseparate
4. Bykeepingthepresentationseparateitiseasiertoupdatecolor/font
5. PresentationisoftenstoredinafilecalledaCSS
6. (Markup)tagsareusedtodefinethestructureofthedocument

Differencebetweencompilersandinterpreters

1. compilerproducesobjectcode/interpreterdoesntproduceobjectcode
2. compilertranslateswholeprograminonego/interpretertranslatesandexecuteslineatatime
3. compilerproduceslistofallerrors/interpreterproduceserrormessageeachtimeanerrorencountered
4. compilerproducesstandalonecode/interpreterdoesntproducestandalonecode
5. compilationprocessisslowbutresultantcoderunsveryquickly/interpretedcoderunsslowly

Sensors: