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UPDATED TO 2023-2025 SYLLABUS

CAIE IGCSE
COMPUTER
SCIENCE
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE THEORY SYLLABUS
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As can be seen it starts from 1 and then goes to 128 from

left to right
1. Data Representation Now values with 1 are to be added together, giving the
final answer, as for the example, it is 128 + 64 + 32 + 8 + 4
+ 2 = 238
1.1. Number Systems
Converting Denary to Binary
Binary System
Take the value and successively divide it by 2, creating a
Base 2 number system
table like follows:
It has two possible values only (0 and 1)
0 represents OFF, and 1 represents ON
2 142
A point to be noted is that the most left bit is called the
2 71 Remainder: 0
MSB (Most Significant Bit)
2 35 Remainder: 1
Denary System 2 17 Remainder: 1
2 8 Remainder: 1
Base 10 number system
2 4 Remainder: 0
Has values from 0 to 9
2 2 Remainder: 0
Hexadecimal (aka Hex) 2 1 Remainder: 0
0 Remainder: 1
Base 16 number system
Have values from 0 to 9 followed by A to F Note that when the value itself is not divisible by 2, it is
A represents 10, B represents 11 and so on until 15, which divided by the previous value of the current number and 1
is F is added to the remainder column for that specific
number
Binary Value Hexadecimal Value Denary Value
When you reach 0, the remainder has to be read from
0000 0 0 bottom to top giving us the binary value ( as in this case, it
0001 1 1 is 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 )
0010 2 2
0011 3 3 Converting Hexadecimal to Binary
0100 4 4 Separate each value from each other and convert them to
0101 5 5 denary
0110 6 6 Each separate denary value to be converted to binary
0111 7 7 All the binary values to be merged together
e.g.
1000 8 8
1001 9 9 Hexadecimal : 2 1 F D
1010 A 10 Denary : 2 1 15 13
1011 B 11 Binary : 0010 0001 1111 1101

1100 C 12
Final Answer: 0010000111111101
1101 D 13
1110 E 14 Converting Binary to Hexadecimal
1111 F 15
Divide the binary value into groups of 4 starting from the
right. If at the end, the last division is less than 4, add 0s
1.2. Number Conversions until it reaches 4
For each group, find the denary value as shown above,
Converting Binary to Denary and then convert each denary value to its corresponding
hexadecimal value (if less than 10, then itself, else, 10 is
Place the binary value in columns of 2 raised to the power A, 11 is B, 12 is C, 13 is D, 14 is E and 15 is F).
of the number of values from the right starting from 0.
After conversion, just put all the hexadecimal values in
e.g. For binary value 11101110, place it in a table like this: order to get the final answer

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Given Value : 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 When grouped: 10 0001 1111 1101

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(overflows), we put the value in brackets, denoting it is

After 2 values added to left: 0010 0001 1111 1101 overflow.

After Conversion to Denary: 2 1 15 13 iii. The solution would now be (1) 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0

Denary to Hexadecimal: 21FD Logical Shifts

The logical shift means moving a binary value to the left

Converting Hexadecimal to Denary
or the right
Convert the value to binary as shown above, and then When doing a logical shift, keep in mind that the bit being
convert the final answer to denary emptied is going to become 0

Converting Denary to Hexadecimal Explanation with Example

Convert the value to binary, and then convert it to Shifting 10101010 - 1 place left:
hexadecimal as explained above 1. The furthest bit in the direction to be logically
shifted is removed ( in this case, one at the LHS is
removed) - ==(if it were two places, 2 bits would
1.3. Binary Calculations have been removed)==
2. Every bit is moved in given places to the given
Binary values are not added the way denary values are
direction ( every bit is moved one place to the left
added, as when adding 1 and 1, we cannot write two
in this case, and the leftover bit in the right is
because it doesn’t exist in binary.
marked 0, so 10101010 would become 01010100)

Points to Note: Two’s Complement (Binary Numbers)

0+0=0
Two’s complement is a method used to represent
1+0/0+1=1
negative values in binary. Here, the MSB ( Most
1 + 1 = 0 (1 carry)
Significant Bit) is replaced from 128 to -128; thus, the
1 + 1 + 1 = 1 (1 carry)
range of values in a two’s complement byte is -128 to 127

Overflow Converting Binary Values to Two’s Complement

When adding two values, if the solution exceeds the limit
Firstly, write the binary value and locate the first one from
of given values, e.g., the solution has 9 bits, but the
the right; e.g., 1101100 would have the first one at the
question had 8 bits per value, the 9th bit (most left bit) is
third position from the right.
called overflow.
Now, switch every value to the left of the first one located
This indicates that the memory doesn’t have enough
above (not switching the one), e.g., the value in our
space to store the answer to the addition done in the
example becomes 0010100, which is the two’s
previous part.
complement of itself.

Steps to add Two Values (With Example) Converting negative values to two complement
The values we will add are 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 and 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
Find the binary equivalent of the value ignoring the - sign
1. Convert both the bytes into 8 bits (add zero to the
Convert the binary value to two’s complement
left-hand side to match them).
Make the MSB 1, if not already
e.g., 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 would become 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
2. Add the values as follows with the points given
Converting Two’s Complement Value to Denary:
above
We do it the same way as a normal value is converted
Carry 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
from binary to denary; we only replace 128 with -12,8 e.g.,
Byte 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 for 1011101,0 we do the:
Byte 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
OVERFLOW -128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
Solution 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0

Note: We move from RHS to LHS, and when adding values, we -128 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 2 = -70
use the rules given above. If the bit crosses the limit
1.4. Use of the Hexadecimal System

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Examples: The first 128 values are the same as ASCII.

Unicode supports up to four bytes per character, storing
Defining colours in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) multiple languages and more data.
Media Access Control (MAC) addresses (a number that To represent text in binary, a computer uses a character
uniquely identifies a device on a network) set, a collection of characters and the corresponding
Assembly languages and machine code binary codes that represent them.
Memory Dumps
Debugging (method to find errors in a program) Sound
Display error codes (numbers refer to the memory
location of the error) Sound is analogue, and for it to be converted to digital
IP (Internet Protocol) addresses form, it is sampled
The sound waves are sampled at regular time intervals
Memory Dumps
where the amplitude is measured. However, it cannot be
Hexadecimal is used when developing new software or measured precisely, so approximate values are stored
when trying to trace errors.
Memory dump is when the memory contents are output How is Sound Recorded
to a printer or monitor.
The amplitude of the sound wave is first determined at set
Assembly code and machine code (low-level languages) time intervals
The value is converted to digital form
Computer memory is machine code/ assembly code Each sample of the sound wave is then encoded as a
Using hexadecimal makes writing code easier, faster, and series of binary digits
less error-prone than binary. A series of readings gives an approximate representation
Using machine code (binary) takes a long time to key in of the sound wave
values and is prone to errors.
Sampling Resolution:
1.5. Text, Sound and Images
The number of bits per sample is known as the sampling
resolution (aka bit depth)
ASCII
Increasing the sampling resolution increases the accuracy
The standard ASCII code character set consists of 7-bit of the sampled sound as more detail is stored about the
code that represents the letters, numbers and characters amplitude of the sound.
found on a standard keyboard, together with 32 control Increasing the sampling resolution also increases the
codes memory usage of the file as more bits are being used to
Uppercase and lowercase characters have different ASCII store the data.
values
Every subsequent value in ASCII is the previous value + 1. Sampling Rate
e.g. “a” is 97 in ASCII, “b” will be 98 (which is 97 + 1)
The sampling rate is the number of sound samples taken
Important ASCII values (in denary) to remember are as
per second, which is measured in Hertz (Hz)
follows:
A higher sampling rate would allow more accurate sound
as fewer estimations will be done between samples.
0 is at 48
A is at 65 Images
a is at 97
Bitmap Images
ASCII uses one byte to store the value
When the ASCII value of a character is converted to Bitmap images are made up of pixels
binary, it can be seen that the sixth-bit changes from 1 to A bitmap image is stored in a computer as a series of
0 when going from lowercase to uppercase of a binary numbers
character, and the rest remains the same. e.g.
Colour Depth

The number of bits representing each colour is called the

colour depth.
Unicode An 8-bit colour depth means that each pixel can be one of
256 colours (because 2 to the power of 8 = 256)
ASCII does not contain all of the international languages A 1-bit colour depth means each pixel can store one
thus, Unicode is used to solve this problem colour (because 2 to the power of 1 is 2) - ( This is done as

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the bit can either be 0 or 1, with 0 being white and 1 being The size of a mono sound file is calculated as sample rate
black) (in Hz) × sample resolution (in bits) × length of sample (in
Increasing colour depth increases the size of the file when seconds). (For a stereo sound file, you would then
storing an image. multiply the result by two.)

Image Resolution 1.7. File Types

Image resolution refers to the number of pixels that make
Musical Instrument Digital Format (MIDI)
up an image; for example, an image could contain 4096 ×
3072 pixels. Storage of music files
Photographs with a lower resolution have less detail than A communications protocol that allows electronic musical
those with a higher resolution. instruments to interact with each other
When a bitmap image is ‘ blurry ‘ or ‘ fizzy ’ due to having a Stored as a series of demands but no actual music notes
low amount of pixels in it or when zoomed, it is known as Uses 8-bit serial transmission (asynchronous)
being pixelated. Each MIDI command has a sequence of bytes:
High-resolution images use high amounts of memory as The first byte is the status byte – which informs the
compared to low-resolution ones. MIDI device what function to perform
Encoded in the status byte is the MIDI channel
1.6. Measurement of the Size of (operates on 16 different channels)
Examples of MIDI commands:
Computer Memories Note on/off: indicates that a key has been pressed
Key pressure: indicates how hard it has been pressed
A binary digit is referred to as a BIT (loudness of music)
8 bits is a byte It needs a lot of memory storage
4 bits is a nibble
Byte is used to measure memory size MP3

IECB System (Most Common) It uses technology known as Audio Compression to

convert music and other sounds into an MP3 file format
Name of memory No. of This compression reduces the normal file size by 90%
Equivalent Denary Value Done using file compression algorithms, which use
size Bytes
Perceptual Music Shaping
1 kibibyte (1KiB) 210 1 024 bytes
Removes sounds that the human ear cannot hear
1 mibibyte (1MiB) 220 1 048 576 bytes properly
Certain sounds are removed without affecting the
1 gibibyte (1GiB) 230 1 073 741 824 bytes
quality, too much
1 tibibyte (1TiB) 240 1 099 511 627 776 bytes CD files are converted using File Compression Software
1 125 899 906 842 624 Use lossy format as the original file is lost following the
1 pibibyte (1PiB) 250 compression algorithm
bytes

MP4
Conventional System
This format allows the storage of multimedia files rather
Name of memory No. of than just sound
Equivalent Denary Value
size Bytes Music, videos, photos and animations can be stored
1 kilobyte (1KB) 103 1 000 bytes Videos could be streamed without losing any real
discernible quality
1 megabyte (1MB) 106 1 000 000 bytes
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
1 gigabyte (1GB) 109 1 000 000 000 bytes
1 terabyte (1TB) 1012 1 000 000 000 000 bytes JPEG is a file format used to reduce photographic file sizes
1 000 000 000 000 000 Reducing picture resolution is changing the number of
1 petabyte (1PB) 1015 bytes pixels per centimetre
When a photographic file undergoes compression, file
size is reduced
Calculation of File Size
JPEG will reduce the raw bitmap image by a factor
between 5 and 15
The file size of an image is calculated as image resolution
(in pixels) × colour depth (in bits)

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Size of the packet

1.8. Lossless and Lossy File
Payload
Compression Contains the actual data
Trailer
Lossless File Compression Includes a method of identifying the end of the
packet
All the data bits from the original file are reconstructed Error-Checking methods
again when the file is uncompressed. Packet Switching - Method of data transmission where the
Important for files where the loss of data would be data is broken into multiple packets. Packets are then sent
disastrous (spreadsheet) independently from start to end and reassembled at the
An algorithm is used to compress data receiver’s computer.
No data is lost
Repeated patterns/text are grouped together in indexes Advantages Disadvantages
There is no need to create a
Run-Length Encoding Packets may be lost
single line of communication
Possible to overcome failed or More prone to errors in real-
It reduces the size of a string of adjacent, identical data
busy nodes time streaming
(e.g. repeated colours in an image)
A repeating string is encoded into two values: the first Delay at the receiver while
value represents the number of identical data items (e.g. High data transmission speed the packets are being re-
characters), and the second value represents the code of ordered
the data item (such as ASCII code if it is a keyboard Easy to expand package
character), e.g. ‘aaaaabbbbccddddd’ becomes “05 97 04 usage
98 02 99 05 100.”
RLE is only effective where there is a long run of repeated Data Transmission
units/bits
One difficulty is that RLE compression isn't perfect for Simplex data transmission is in one direction only (e.g.
strings like "cdcdcdcdcd". We use a flag to solve this; e.g., computer to printer)
255 can be made as the flag. Now 255 will be put before Half-duplex data transmission is in both directions but not
every repeating value, e.g. our previous example at the same time (e.g., walkie-talkie)
becomes 255 05 97 255 04 98 255 02 99 255 05 100 Full-duplex data transmission is in both directions
where 255 now indicates that the next character/set of simultaneously (e.g. broadband connection on the phone
characters is approaching line)
Serial data transmission is when data is sent one bit at a
Lossy File Compression time over a single wire
Parallel data transmission is when data of several bits (1
The file compression algorithm eliminates unnecessary byte) are sent down several wires at the same time.
data bits like in MP3 and JPEG formats.
It is impossible to get the original file back once it is Comparison of Serial and Parallel Data Transmission
compressed
Reduces file quality Serial Parallel
In this, the image's resolution and colour depth are Better for longer distances Better for short distances
reduced. (Telephone Lines) (Internal circuits)
Expensive (More hardware
Cheaper Option
2. Data Transmission required)
Used when the size of data Used when speed is
transmitted is small necessary
2.1. Types and Methods of Data
Slower Option Faster than Serial
Transmission
Data Packets
2.2. Universal Serial Bus (USB)
USB is an asynchronous serial data transmission method
Packet Structure -
USB consists of:
Header
Four-wire shielded cable
Contains the IP address of the sender and the
Two wires are used for power and earth
receiver
Two wires are used in data transmission
The sequence number of the packet

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Advantages Disadvantages request is made to re-send the data.

Transmission rate is less than
Automatically detected Echo Check
120 MB/sec
Only fit one way, prevents Maximum cable length is Once the data has been sent, The receiver will send the
incorrect connections about 5 metres data back to the sender for verification.
Different data transmission The sender would compare the received and original data
rates for errors.
Backwards compatible The only downside is that we wouldn’t know if the error
Industry-standard occurred when sending the data or sending the data back
for verification.

2.3. Methods of Error Detection Check Digits

Parity Checks Check digits are calculated from all the other digits in the
data (ex-codes). The check digit would be the last digit of
It uses the number of 1-bits in a byte the code.
Type Types - These are used to identify mistyping errors such as -
Even - Even number of 1-bits 6372 typed as 6379
Odd - Odd numbers of 1-bits 8432 typed as 842
Example (Even Parity) -
Automatic Repeat Requests (ARQs)
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
Uses acknowledgements and timeouts to make sure the
The LMB (Left-Most Bit) is the parity bit. As the number of user received the data
1s is even, the parity bit would be set to even. The receiver would check the data for any errors; if none
Limitations with Parity Checks are found, a positive acknowledgement is sent to the
Two bits may change during transmission; therefore error sender. However, if errors are found, a negative
is not found acknowledgement will be sent, and the data will be sent
Even though the parity checks would reveal the errors, the again.
bit(s) changed wouldn’t be identified The sender uses timeouts to wait for a pre-determined
amount for the acknowledgement.
Parity Blocks If no acknowledgements are received after the timeout,
the data will be sent again to the receiver.
To overcome the limitations of parity bits, Parity blocks
would be used.
2.4. Encryption
Encryption is a process of turning the data into an
unreadable form so it doesn’t make sense to hackers and
other attackers.

Plaintext and Ciphertext

Plaintext is the original data that is being sent

Ciphertext is the text produced after encryption

Any changes in bits would be identified through the rows Symmetric and Asymmetric Encryption
and columns
Symmetric Encryption:
Checksum It uses an encryption key for the encryption process;
the same key is used for encrypting and decrypting
Whenever a block of data needs to be sent, the sender the data.
would calculate the checksum value using a specific Asymmetric Encryption:
algorithm. Uses a public key and a private key. The public key is
Once the data has been sent, The receiver would available to everyone, whereas the private key is only
calculate the checksum again with the same set of data available to the user.
and the same algorithm used before. The receiver would have the private key, and they
The receiver would then compare the value received and would send the public key to the sender. The sender
the newly calculated value. If they aren’t matched, A

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can encrypt the message with the public key, and the
data can be decrypted using the private key.

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Computer Science

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