AQA Computer Science AS-Level
3.1.1 Programming
Intermediate Notes
www.pmt.education
Specification:
3.1.1.1 Data types:
Understand the concept of a data type.
Understand and use the following appropriately:
● integer
● real/float
● Boolean
● character
● string
● date/time
● pointer/reference
● records (or equivalent)
● arrays (or equivalent)
Define and use user-defined data types based on language-defined
(built-in) data types.
3.1.1.2 Programming concepts:
Use, understand and know how the following statement types can be
combined in programs:
● variable declaration
● constant declaration
● assignment
● iteration
● selection
● subroutine (procedure / function)
Use definite and indefinite iteration, including indefinite iteration with the
condition(s) at the start or the end of the iterative structure. A theoretical
understanding of condition(s) at either end of an iterative structure is required,
regardless of whether they are supported by the language being used.
Use nested selection and nested iteration structures.
Use meaningful identifier names and know why it is important to use
them
www.pmt.education
3.1.1.3 Arithmetic operations
Be familiar with and be able to use:
● addition
● subtraction
● multiplication
● real/float division
● integer division, including remainders
● exponentiation
● rounding
● truncation
3.1.1.4 Relational operations in a programming language
Be familiar with and be able to use:
● equal to
● not equal to
● less than
● greater than
● less than or equal to
● greater than or equal to
3.1.1.5 Boolean operations in a programming language
Be familiar with and be able to use:
● NOT
● AND
● OR
● XOR
3.1.1.6 Constants and variables in a programming language
Be able to explain the differences between a variable and a constant.
Be able to explain the advantages of using named constants.
www.pmt.education
3.1.1.7 String-handling operations in a programming language
Be familiar with and be able to use:
● length
● position
● substring
● concatenation
● character → character code
● character code → character
● string conversion operations
3.1.1.8 Random number generation in a programming language
Be familiar with, and be able to use, random number generation.
3.1.1.9 Exception handling
Be familiar with the concept of exception handling.
Know how to use exception handling in a programming language with
which students are familiar.
3.1.1.10 Subroutines (procedures/functions)
Be familiar with subroutines and their uses.
Know that a subroutine is a named ‘out of line’ block of code that may
be executed (called) by simply writing its name in a program statement.
Be able to explain the advantages of using subroutines in programs.
3.1.1.11 Parameters of subroutines
Be able to describe the use of parameters to pass data within
programs.
Be able to use subroutines with interfaces.
3.1.1.12 Returning a value/values from a subroutine
Be able to use subroutines that return values to the calling routine.
www.pmt.education
3.1.1.13 Local variables in subroutines
Know that subroutines may declare their own variables, called local
variables, and that local variables:
● exist only while the subroutine is executing
● are accessible only within the subroutine
Be able to use local variables and explain why it is good practice to do
so.
3.1.1.14 Global variables in a programming language
Be able to contrast local variables with global variables.
www.pmt.education
Data Types
The way in which data is stored depends on what the data is. A data type is defined by the
values it can take or the operations which can be performed on it.
Data type Description
Integer A whole number, positive or negative, including zero.
Real / Float A positive or negative number which can have a
fractional part.
Boolean A value which is either true or false.
Character A single number, letter or symbol.
String A collection of characters.
Data / Time A way of storing a point in time, many different formats
are used.
Pointer / Reference A way of storing memory addresses.
Records A collection of fields. You can think of a record as a row
from a table.
Arrays An indexed set of elements each of which has the same
data type.
www.pmt.education
User-defined data types
User-defined data types are based on existing data
types and used to create a customised data structure.
For example, a shop might use a user-defined data
type called Customerto store information about their
customers. The user-defined data type might have
attributes like Forename
, Surnameand
EmailAddress .
The way in which you use user-defined data types differs between programming
languages. It’s important that you know how to use them in your chosen language.
Programming Concepts
Programming languages support a variety of different statement types, some of which are
explained in the table below.
Statement type Description
Variable declaration Creating a variable for the first time, giving it a name
and sometimes a data type.
Constant declaration The same as variable declaration, but when creating a
constant. The value of a constant does not change
while the program is running.
Assignment Giving a constant or variable a value.
Iteration Repeating an instruction, this could be definite or
indefinite (see below).
Selection Comparing values and choosing an action based on
those values.
Subroutine A named block of code containing a set of instructions
designed to perform a frequently used operation.
www.pmt.education
Definite and indefinite iteration
Iteration is the process of repeating a block of code. Examples of iteration include for
loops and whileloops.
Definite iteration is a type of iteration in which the number of repetitions required is known
before the loop starts. Indefinite iteration is used when the number of repetitions required
is not known before the loop starts.
FOR Count ← 0 TO 63 WHILE Temperature = 18
OUTPUT Count Temperature = GetTemp()
ENDFOR ENDWHILE
This is an example of definite iteration. The The whileloop above uses indefinite
forloop will run 64 times before finishing. iteration. The number of repetitions is not
known before the loop begins.
Nested Structures
Selection structures and iteration structures can be nested.
This means that one structure is placed within another and
can easily be identified by different levels of indentation in
code.
For example, the pseudocode below consists of an if
structure, within which are further selection and iteration
structures.
Whenever a new IF Colour = “RED” THEN
selection or iteration WHILE Colour = “RED”
structure begins, the Colour ← UpdateColour()
code moves to a ENDWHILE
higher level of ELSE
indentation. IF Colour = “GREEN” THEN
WHILE Colour = “GREEN”
Colour ← UpdateColour()
ENDWHILE
ELSE
Colour ← “RED”
ENDIF
ENDIF
www.pmt.education
Meaningful Identifier Names
When declaring a variable, it’s important to give it a sensible and meaningful identifier
name. This makes it easier for others to understand what the purpose of the named object
is within the program.
If a different programmer, who was unfamiliar with your program, were to read the code,
they should be able to work out the purpose of a constant, variable or subroutine from its
name.
Arithmetic Operations
The following operations can be applied to values by your programming language.
Different languages notate these operations differently, so ensure that you’re familiar with
your chosen language’s approach.
Operation Description Example
Addition Adding together two numbers. 128 + 42 = 170
Subtraction Taking one number away from another. 34 - 13 = 21
Multiplication Timesing two numbers together. 64 * 2 = 128
Real / Float Dividing one number by another. 12 / 8 = 1.5
Division
Integer Division The same as real / float division, but just the 12 \ 8 = 1
whole number part is given. Or 12 DIV 8 = 1
Modulo Returns the remainder of an integer 12 MOD 8 = 4
division.
Exponentiation Raising one value to the power of another. 2 ^ 6 = 64
Rounding Limiting the degree of accuracy of a 3.14159 = 3.14
number. to 3 significant figures
Truncation Removing the decimal part of a number. 3.14159 truncated = 3
www.pmt.education
Relational Operations
You can make use of relational operators whenever you need to compare two values.
They are used in ifstatements and whileloops to name a few examples.
Operation Example
Equal to 5=5
Not equal to 16 <> 54
16 != 54
Less than 75 < 76
Greater than 19 > 18
Less than or equal to 6 >= 7
8 >= 8
Greater than or equal to 5 >= 4
6 >= 6
Boolean Operations
As explained earlier, a Boolean data type is one with a value that can only ever be true or
false. There are a series of operations that can be performed on Boolean values.
Operation Description Example
NOT The opposite of a NOT 1 = 0
Boolean value
AND Two Boolean values 1 AND 1 = 1
multiplied together 0 AND 1 = 0
OR Two Boolean values 1 OR 0 = 1
added together 1 OR 1 = 1
XOR True if exactly one of two 1 XOR 1 = 0
values is true 1 XOR 0 = 1
www.pmt.education
Constants and Variables
When a program needs to store data, it usually does so using one of two types of data
item: constants or variables.
As their name suggests, variables can change their value during the execution of a
program, whereas a constant’s value cannot change once assigned.
Constants can be used for storing data that doesn’t need to
change such as a value for pi or the number of days in a
year. Using constants allows values to be given identifier
names which makes code easier for a human to understand.
Using a constant makes changing a value much easier as it
only needs to be updated in one place in the code.
Using hard-coded values Using constants
HoursWorked ← USERINPUT HourlyRate ← 14
PAY ← 14 * HoursWorked HoursWorked ← USERINPUT
OUTPUT PAY PAY ← HourlyRate * HoursWorked
OUTPUT PAY
The pseudocode examples above show two different approaches to the same problem.
One approach uses hard-coded values whereas the other uses constants.
The code which makes use of constants is easier to understand as it clearly specifies that
14refers to an hourly rate. In the example which uses hard-coded values, it’s difficult to
understand why HoursWorkedis being multiplied by 14.
www.pmt.education
String-handling operations
Strings can have various functions applied to them.
Function Description
Length Returns the number of characters in a specified string.
Position Returns the position of a specified character within a string.
Substring Given a starting position and a length, returns a portion of a
string.
Concatenation Joining two or more strings together to form a new, longer
string.
Character to character Returning the character code which corresponds to a
code specified character.
Character code to Returning the character represented by a given character
character code.
String to integer Converting a string to an integer.
String to float Converting a string to a float.
Integer to string Converting an integer to a string.
Float to string Converting a float to a string.
Date / time to string Converting a date / time data type to a string.
String to date / time Converting a string to a date / time data type.
www.pmt.education
Random number generation
Most programming languages have the ability to generate random numbers.
A built-in function takes a seed value and uses a series of mathematical operations to
arrive at a number.
It’s important that you make yourself familiar with random number generation in your
chosen programming language.
Exception handling
When an error occurs in program code, an “exception” is said to be thrown.
Once an exception has been thrown, the computer has to handle the exception to avoid
crashing. It does this by pausing execution of the program and saving the current state of
the program before running a section of code called a catch block.
This code will prevent the program from crashing and might inform the user that an error
has occurred. Once the exception has been handled, the program restores its previous
state before resuming execution.
Subroutines
A subroutine is a named block of code containing a set of
instructions designed to perform a frequently used operation.
Using subroutines reduces repetition of code and hence
makes code more compact and easier to read.
Both functions and procedures are types of subroutine and
can be called by writing their name in a program statement.
While both functions and procedures can return a value,
functions are required to whereas procedures may not.
www.pmt.education
Parameters of subroutines
Parameters are used to pass data between subroutines within programs. Specified within
brackets after a subroutine call, parameters hold pieces of information that the subroutine
requires to run.
Length ← USERINPUT
Width ← USERINPUT
OUTPUT CalculateArea(Length, Width)
SUBROUTINE CalcualteArea(x, y)
RETURN x * y
ENDSUBROUTINE
The subroutine CalculareAreain the pseudocode above takes two parameters,
Lengthand Width . It then returns the product of the two values.
Returning values from a subroutine
A subroutine can return a value. One that always returns a value is called a function, but
don’t think that procedures can’t return a value, they can (but don’t always).
Subroutines that return values can appear in expressions and be assigned to a variable or
parameter.
Length ← USERINPUT
Width ← USERINPUT
Area ← CalculateArea(Length, Width)
OUTPUT Area
SUBROUTINE CalcualteArea(x, y)
RETURN x * y
ENDSUBROUTINE
For example, in the pseudocode above, the variable Areais assigned to the subroutine
CalculateArea . The value taken by the variable will be the value returned by the
subroutine.
www.pmt.education
Local variables in subroutines
A local variable is a variable that can only be accessed from the subroutine within which it
is declared. They only exist in the computer’s memory when their parent subroutine is
executing. This makes local variables a more memory efficient way of storing data than
using global variables, which are discussed below.
Global variables
In contrast to local variables, global variables can be accessed from any part of a program
and exist in memory for the entire duration of the program’s execution.
www.pmt.education
