Programming Fundamentals

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Variables and Constants

We may need to store data in the memory as part of our program.

The memory

The memory can be thought of as split up into 'blocks' called words.
Each word is usually 32 or 64 bits long.
To access a piece of memory, you have to use its memory address which looks something like 0x9FFF:000F.

Variables

To make life easier for programmers, we can give a memory location a symbolic name called an identifier.
The identifier is a word which describes what we will store in that memory location.
A variable is any part of the memory that we have named, and that we can change the value of while the program is running.

Constants

A constant is a named location in memory that can be used to store a value which does not change while the program is run.

Assignment

The process of setting a value to a variable or a constant is known as assignment.
Assignment is usually shown using an equals sign, e.g:
- height = 39.

Comments

Comments are lines of code that are ignored completely by the computer.

What are comments?

A comment is a line of code that is completely ignored by the computer.

Purpose of comments

Comments can be used to add description to your code to make it easier for other people to understand.
They can also be used to leave notes and reminders to yourself as you work on a complex program.

How to comment

To write a comment in most languages, you must use a special character which tells the computer to ignore the rest of the line:
- In Python, that character is a #.
- In C-style languages it is //.
The exact character depends on the language being used.

Input and Output

We need some method of getting data into and out of the computer. That's where input and output commands come in.

Input

Input is collecting data, usually by the keyboard.
This is written in pseudocode as:
- variable = input("Please enter [something]...")

Output

Output is putting data to the screen, usually as text.
This is written in pseudocode as:
- print("Text goes here")

1Components of a Computer

1.1Structure & Function of the Processor

1.1.1Structure of the CPU

1.1.2Fetch, Decode, Execute Cycle

1.1.3Factors Affecting CPU Performance

1.1.4CPU Architecture

1.2Types of Processors

1.2.1CISC & RISC

1.2.2Multicore & Parallel Cores

1.3Input, Output & Storage

1.3.1Computer Systems

1.3.2Magnetic Storage

1.3.3Optical Storage

1.3.4Types of Optical Storage

1.3.5Types of Memory

1.3.6Flash Memory

1.3.7Virtual Memory

2Software & Software Development

3Exchanging Data

4Data Types, Data Structures & Algorithms

4.1Data Types

4.1.1Data Types

4.1.2Arrays & Strings

4.1.3Representing Numbers

4.1.4Binary Arithmetic

4.1.5Hexadecimal

4.1.6Converting Binary Numbers

4.1.7Floating Points in Binary

4.1.8Floating Point Arithmetic

4.1.9Bitwise Manipulation

4.1.10Character Sets

4.2Data Structures

4.2.1Arrays, Linked Lists & Queues

4.2.2Graphs, Hash Tables & Stacks

4.2.3Trees

4.3Boolean Algebra

4.3.1Computational Logic

4.3.2Boolean Logic

4.3.3Karnaugh Maps

4.3.4Boolean Identities

4.3.5Flip Flops & Adder Circuits

5Legal, Moral, Cultural & Ethical Issues

5.1Computing Related Legislation

5.1.1Data Protection Act (1998)

5.1.2Computer Misuse Act (1990)

5.1.3Copyright Designs and Patents Act (1988)

5.1.4Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000)

5.2Moral & Ethical Issues

5.2.1Online Activity Tracking

5.2.2Censorship

5.2.3Cultural Issues

5.2.4Environmental Issues

5.2.5Layout, Colour Paradigms & Character Sets

6Elements of Computational Thinking

6.1Thinking Abstractly

6.1.1Abstraction

6.2Thinking Procedurally

6.2.1Decomposition

6.3Thinking Logically

6.3.1Pseudocode & Flow Diagrams

7Problem Solving & Programming

7.1Programming Techniques

7.1.1Programming Fundamentals

7.1.2Modularity

7.2Programming Construction

7.2.1Integrated Development Environments

7.2.2Testing

8Algorithms

8.1Algorithms

8.1.1Interpreting, Correcting & Completing Algorithm

8.1.2Sort Algorithms

8.1.3Insertion & Merge Sort

8.1.4Search Algorithms

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