ICSE YEAR 2027

INDIAN CERTIFICATE OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION
EXAMINATION

COMPUTER
APPLICATIONS
(86)
February 2025
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Examinations.
Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)

MISSION STATEMENT

The Council for the Indian School Certificate

Examinations is committed to serving the nation's
children, through high quality educational
endeavours, empowering them to contribute towards
a humane, just and pluralistic society, promoting
introspective living, by creating exciting learning
opportunities, with a commitment to excellence.

ETHOS OF CISCE

Trust and fair play.

Minimum monitoring.
Allowing schools to evolve their own niche.
Catering to the needs of the children.
Giving freedom to experiment with new ideas
and practices.
Diversity and plurality - the basic strength for
evolution of ideas.
Schools to motivate pupils towards the
cultivation of:
Excellence - The Indian and Global
experience.
Values - Spiritual and cultural - to be the bedrock
of the educational experience.
Schools to have an 'Indian Ethos', strong roots in
the national psyche and be sensitive to national
aspirations.
 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS (86)
Aims:
1. To empower students by enabling them to build 3. To develop logical and analytical thinking so
their own applications. that they can easily solve interactive programs.
2. To introduce students to some effective tools to 4. To help students learn fundamental concepts of
enable them to enhance their knowledge, computing using object oriented approach in one
broaden horizons, foster creativity, improve the computer language.
quality of work and increase efficiency. 5. To provide students with a clear idea of ethical
issues involved in the field of computing.

CLASS IX
There will be one written paper of two hours duration 2. Elementary Concept of Objects and Classes
carrying 100 marks and Internal Assessment of
Modelling entities and their behaviour by objects, a
100 marks.
class as a specification for objects and as an object
factory, computation as message passing/method
THEORY – 100 Marks calls between objects (many examples should be
1. Introduction to Object Oriented Programming done to illustrate this). Objects encapsulate state
concepts (attributes) and have behaviour (methods). Class as
a user defined data type.
(i) Principles of Object Oriented Programming,
(Difference between Procedure Oriented and A class may be regarded as a blueprint to create
Object oriented). objects. It may be viewed as a factory that produces
All the four principles of Object Oriented similar objects. A class may also be considered as
Programming should be defined and a new data type created by the user, that has its own
explained using real life examples (Data functionality.
abstraction, Inheritance, Polymorphism,
Encapsulation). 3. Values and data types

(ii) Introduction to JAVA - Types of java Character set, ASCII code, Unicode, Escape
programs – Applets and Applications, Java sequences, Tokens, Constants and Variables, Data
Compilation process, Java Source code, Byte types, type conversions.
code, Object code, Java Virtual Machine Escape sequences [\n, \t, \\, \”, \’], Tokens and its
(JVM), Features of JAVA. types [keywords, identifiers, literals, punctuators,
Definition of Java applets and Java operators], primitive types and non-primitive types
applications with examples, steps involved in with examples, Introduce the primitive types with
compilation process, definitions of source size in bits and bytes, Implicit type conversion and
code, byte code, object code, JVM, features Explicit type conversion.
of JAVA - Simple, Robust, secured, object
oriented, platform independent, etc. 4. Operators in Java
Forms of operators, Types of operators, Counters,
Accumulators, Hierarchy of operators, ‘new’
operator, dot ( . ) operator.
Forms of operators (Unary, Binary, Ternary), types
of operators (Arithmetic, Relational, Logical,
Assignment, Increment, Decrement, Short hand
operators), Discuss precedence and associativity of

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 operators, prefix and postfix, Creation of dynamic finite and infinite, delay, multiple counter variables
memory by using new operator, invoking members (initializations and updations). Demonstrate break
of class using dot operator, Introduce and continue statements with the help of loops.
System.out.println() and System.out.print() for
Loops are fundamental to computation and their
simple output.
need should be shown by examples.
(Bitwise and shift operators are not included).
9. Nested for loops
5. Input in Java
Introduce nested loops through some simple
Initialization, Parameter, introduction to packages, examples. Demonstrate break and continue
Input streams (Scanner Class), types of errors, statements with the help of nested loops.
types of comments
Programs based on nested loops [ rectangular,
Initialization – Data before execution, Parameters triangular [right angled triangle only] patterns],
– at the time of execution, input stream – data entry series involving single variable.
during execution – using methods of Scanner class (Nested while and nested do while are not
[nextShort(), nextInt( ), nextLong( ), nextFloat ( ), included.)
nextDouble( ), next( ), nextLine( ), next ( )
.charAt(0) ] 10. Computing and Ethics
Discuss different types of errors occurring during Ethical Issues in Computing.
execution and compilation of the program (syntax
errors, runtime errors and logical errors).Single Intellectual property rights; protection of
line comment (//) and multiline comment (/* … */ ) individual’s right to privacy; data protection on
the internet; protection against Spam; software
6. Mathematical Library Methods piracy, cybercrime, hacking, protection against
Introduction to package java.lang [ default ], malicious intent and malicious code. The stress
methods of Math class. should be on good etiquette and ethical practices.
pow(x,y), sqrt(x), cbrt(x), ceil(x), floor(x), round
(x), abs(a), max(a, b), min(a,b), random( ). INTERNAL ASSESSMENT - 100 Marks
Java expressions – using all the operators and This segment of the syllabus is totally practical
methods of Math class. oriented. The accent is on acquiring basic
programming skills quickly and efficiently.
7. Conditional constructs in Java
Programming Assignments (Class IX)
Application of if, if else, if else if ladder,
switch-case, default, break. Students are expected to do a minimum of
20 assignments during the whole year to reinforce the
if, if else, if else if, Nested if, switch case, break concepts studied in the class.
statement, fall through condition in switch case,
Menu driven programs, System.exit(0) - to Suggested list of Assignments:
terminate the program. The laboratory assignments will form the bulk of the
course. Good assignments should have problems
8. Iterative constructs in Java which require design, implementation and testing.
Definition, Types of looping statements, entry They should also embody one or more concepts that
controlled loops [ for, while], exit controlled loop have been discussed in the theory class. A
[do while] , variations in looping statements, and significant proportion of the time has to be spent in the
Jump statements. laboratory. Computing can only be learnt by doing.
Syntax of entry and exit controlled loops, break and The teacher-in-charge should maintain a record of all
continue, Simple programs illustrating all three the assignments done as a part of practical work
loops, inter conversion from for – while – do while,

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throughout the year and give it due credit at the time (vii) Programs based on Looping Statement
of cumulative evaluation at the end of the year.
(a) Programs based on for looping statement.
Some sample problems are given below as examples.
(b) Programs based on printing simple series,
The problems are of varying levels of difficulty:
summation of simple series, product of
(i) Programs using Assignment statements. simple series.
Example: Calculation of Area / Volume /
(c) Prime number, perfect number, composite
Conversion of temperature / Swapping of values
number, Fibonacci series. Lowest Common
etc.
Multiple (LCM), Highest Common Factor
(ii) Programs based on– Input through parameters. (HCF) etc.
Example: Implementation of standard formula
(d) To find the biggest and smallest number
etc.
from n number of entered numbers.
(iii) Programs based on – Input through Scanner
(e) Program based on while loop like
class.
Armstrong number, Spy number, Niven
Example: Implementation of standard formula
number, Palindrome number, etc.
etc.
(viii) Programs based on nested loops
(iv) Programs based on Mathematical methods.
[rectangular, triangular(right angled triangle
Example: larger/smaller of two numbers, cube
only) patterns], series involving single variable.
root, square root, absolute value, power, etc.
(ix) Generate first n multiples of numbers from 1 to
(v) Programs based on if, if else, if else if ladder,
the limit input by the user.
nested if etc.
(x) Menu Driven programs.
(a) if programs
• Larger / smaller of two numbers Important: This list is indicative only. Teachers and
• To check divisibility of a number, etc. students should use their imagination to create
innovative and original assignments.
(b) if - else programs
EVALUATION
• Odd or even number
• Eligibility to vote Proposed Guidelines for Marking
• Upper case or lower case The teacher should use the criteria below to judge the
• Positive or negative number internal work done. Basically, four criteria are being
• Vowel or Consonant suggested: class design, coding and documentation,
• Buzz number etc. variable description and execution or output. The
actual grading will be done by the teacher based on
(c) if-else-if programs his/her judgment. However, one possible way: divide
• Programs based on discount/interest/ the outcome for each criterion into one of 4 groups:
bonus/ taxes/ commission. excellent, good, fair/acceptable, poor/unacceptable,
then use numeric values for each grade and add to get
• Programs based on slab system.
the total.
• Programs based on Nested if.
Class design:
(vi) Programs on switch case.
Has a suitable class (or classes) been used?
(a) Day of a week Are all attributes with the right kinds of types present?
(b) Name of the month Is encapsulation properly done?
(c) Names of the seasons Is the interface properly designed?
(d) Calculator
(e) Vowel or consonant etc.

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Coding and Documentation: Evaluation of practical work (Assignments) will be
done as follows:
Is the coding done properly? (choice of names, no
unconditional jumps, proper organization of Subject Teacher (Internal Examiner): 100 Marks
conditions, proper choice of loops, error handling code
layout). Is the documentation complete and readable? Criteria Class Variable Coding and Execution
(class documentation, variable documentation, (Total- design description Documentation OR
100 (20 (20 marks) (20 marks) Output
method documentation, constraints, known bugs – if marks) marks) (40
any). marks)
Variable and Description
Excellent 20 20 20 40
Format for variable description:
Name of the Data Type Purpose/Description
Good 16 16 16 32
variable

Fair 12 12 12 24

Poor 8 8 8 16

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 CLASS X
There will be one written paper of two hours duration Returning values from the methods , use of
carrying 100 marks and Internal Assessment of multiple methods and more than one method with
100 marks. the same name (polymorphism - method
overloading).
THEORY – 100 Marks
4. Constructors
1. Revision of Class IX Syllabus Definition of Constructor, characteristics, types of
(i) Introduction to Object Oriented Programming constructors, use of constructors, constructor
overloading.
concepts, (ii) Elementary Concept of Objects and
Default constructor, parameterized constructor,
Classes, (iii) Values and Data types, (iv) Operators
constructor overloading., Difference between
in Java, (v) Input in Java, (vi) Mathematical constructor and method.
Library Methods, (vii) Conditional constructs in
Java, (viii) Iterative constructs in Java, (ix) Nested 5. Library classes
for loops.
Introduction to wrapper classes, methods of
2. Class as the Basis of all Computation wrapper class and their usage with respect to
numeric and character data types. Autoboxing and
Objects and Classes Unboxing in wrapper classes.
Objects encapsulate state and behaviour – Class as a composite type, distinction between
numerous examples; member variables; attributes primitive data type and composite data type or
or features. Variables define state; member class types. Class may be considered as a new
methods; Operations/methods/messages/ methods data type created by the user, that has its own
define behaviour. functionality. The distinction between primitive
and composite types should be discussed through
Classes as abstractions for sets of objects; class examples. Show how classes allow user defined
as an object factory; primitive data types, types in programs. All primitive types have
composite data types. Variable declarations for corresponding class wrappers. Introduce
both types; difference between the two types. Autoboxing and Unboxing with their definition
Objects as instances of a class. and simple examples.
Consider real life examples for explaining the
The following methods are to be covered:
concept of class and object.
int parseInt(String s),
3. User - defined Methods
long parseLong(String s),
Need of methods, syntax of methods, forms of float parseFloat(String s),
methods, method definition, method calling,
double parseDouble(String s),
method overloading, declaration of methods,
boolean isDigit(char ch),
Ways to define a method, ways to invoke the
methods – call by value [with programs] and call boolean isLetter(char ch),
by reference [only definition with an example], boolean isLetterOrDigit(char ch),
Object creation - invoking the methods with boolean isLowerCase(char ch),
respect to use of multiple methods with different boolean isUpperCase(char ch),
names to implement modular programming, using
data members and member methods, Actual boolean isWhitespace(char ch),
parameters and formal parameters, Declaration char toLowerCase (char ch)
of methods - static and non-static, method char toUpperCase(char ch)
prototype / signature, - Pure and impure methods,
- pass by value [with programs] and pass by
reference [only definition with an example],

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6. Encapsulation int compareToIgnoreCase(String str)
Access specifiers and its scope and visibility. String replace (char oldChar,char newChar)
Access specifiers – private, protected and public. String substring (int beginIndex)
Visibility rules for private, protected and public
String substring (int beginIndex, int endIndex)
access specifiers. Scope of variables, class
variables, instance variables, argument variables, boolean startsWith(String str)
local variables.
boolean endsWith(String str)
7. Arrays String valueOf(all types)
Definition of an array, types of arrays, declaration, Programs based on the above methods, extracting
initialization and accepting data of single and and modifying characters of a string, alphabetical
double dimensional arrays, accessing the elements order of the strings in an array [Bubble and
of single dimensional and double dimensional Selection sort techniques], searching for a string
arrays. using linear search technique.
Arrays and their uses, sorting techniques -
selection sort and bubble sort; Search techniques INTERNAL ASSESSMENT - 100 Marks
– linear search and binary search, Array as a
composite type, length statement to find the size of This segment of the syllabus is totally practical
the array (sorting and searching techniques using oriented. The accent is on acquiring basic
single dimensional array only). programming skills quickly and efficiently.
Declaration, initialization, accepting data in a Programming Assignments (Class X)
double dimensional array, sum of the elements in The students should complete a minimum of
row, column and diagonal elements [ right and 20 laboratory assignments during the whole year to
left], display the elements of two-dimensional reinforce the concepts studied in class.
array in a matrix format.
Suggested list of Assignments:
8. String handling The laboratory assignments will form the bulk of the
String class, methods of String class, course. Good assignments should have problems
implementation of String class methods, String which require design, implementation and testing.
array They should also embody one or more concepts that
have been discussed in the theory class. A
The following String class methods are to be significant proportion of the time has to be spent in the
covered: laboratory. Computing can only be learnt by doing.
String trim () The teacher-in-charge should maintain a record of all
String toLowerCase() the assignments done by the student throughout the
year and give it due credit at the time of cumulative
String toUpperCase() evaluation at the end of the year.
int length( ) Some sample problems are given below as examples.
char charAt (int n) The problems are of varying levels of difficulty:
int indexOf(char ch) (i) User defined methods
(a) Programs depicting the concept of pure,
int lastIndexOf(char ch)
impure, static, non- static methods.
String concat(String str) (b) Programs based on overloaded methods.
boolean equals (String str) (c) Programs involving data members, member
boolean equalsIgnoreCase(String str) methods invoking the methods with respect to
the object created.
int compareTo(String str)

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(ii) Constructors EVALUATION
(a) Programs based on different types of The teacher-in-charge shall evaluate all the
constructors mentioned in the scope of the assignments done by the student throughout the year
syllabus. [both written and practical work]. He/she shall ensure
(b) Programs / outputs based on constructor that most of the components of the syllabus have been
overloading used appropriately in the assignments. Assignments
(iii) Library classes should be with appropriate list of variables and
comment statements. The student has to mention the
(a) Outputs based on all the methods mentioned
output of the programs.
in the scope of the syllabus.
Proposed Guidelines for Marking
(b) Programs to check whether a given character
is an uppercase/ lowercase / digit etc. The teacher should use the criteria below to judge the
internal work done. Basically, four criteria are being
(iv) Encapsulation suggested: class design, coding and documentation,
Questions based on identifying the different variable description and execution or output. The
variables like local, instance, arguments, private, actual grading will be done by the teacher based on
public, class variable etc. his/her judgment. However, one possible way: divide
the outcome for each criterion into one of 4 groups:
(v) Arrays excellent, good, fair/acceptable, poor/unacceptable,
(a) Programs based on accessing the elements of then use numeric values for each grade and add to get
an array. the total.
(b) Programs based on sort techniques mentioned Class design:
in the scope of the syllabus. Has a suitable class (or classes) been used?
(c) Programs based on search techniques Are all attributes with the right kinds of types present?
mentioned in the scope of the syllabus. Is encapsulation properly done?
Is the interface properly designed
(d) Programs on Double dimensional arrays as
given in the scope of the syllabus. Coding and documentation:
(vi) String handling Is the coding done properly? (Choice of names, no
(a) Outputs based on all the string methods unconditional jumps, proper organization of
mentioned in the scope of the syllabus. conditions, proper choice of loops, error handling,
code layout) Is the documentation complete and
(b) Programs based on extracting the characters readable? (class documentation, variable
from a given string and manipulating the documentation, method documentation, constraints,
same. known bugs - if any).
(c) Palindrome string, pig Latin, alphabetical Variable description:
order of characters, etc.
Format for variable description:
Important: This list is indicative only. Teachers and
students should use their imagination to create Name of the Data Purpose/description
innovative and original assignments. Variable Type

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Execution or Output: • 2 periods – Lecture cum demonstration by the
Instructor.
Does the program run on all sample input correctly?
Evaluation of practical work will be done as • 2 periods – Assignments/Practical work.
follows: The hardware and software platforms should be such
that students can comfortably develop and run
Subject Teacher (Internal 50 marks
programs on those machines.
Examiner)
Since hardware and software evolve and change very
External Examiner 50 marks rapidly the schools shall need to upgrade them as
Criteria Class Variable Coding and Execution required. Following are the minimal specifications as
(Total- design description Documentation OR of now.
50 (10 (10 marks) (10 marks) Output
marks) marks) (20 RECOMMENDED FACILITIES:
marks)
• A lecture cum demonstration room with a
Excellent 10 10 10 20 MULTIMEDIA PROJECTOR/ an LCD and
Overhead Projector (OHP) attached to the
Good 8 8 8 16 computer.
Fair 6 6 6 12 • A white board with white board markers should be
available.
Poor 4 4 4 8 • A fully equipped Computer Laboratory that allows
one computer per student.
An External Examiner shall be nominated by the Head • The computers should have a minimum of
of the School and may be a teacher from the faculty, 1 GB RAM and at least a P - IV or Equivalent
but not teaching the subject in the relevant Processor.
section/class. For example, A teacher of Computer • Good Quality printers.
Science of class VIII may be deputed to be the • A scanner, a web cam/a digital camera (Should be
External Examiner for class X. provided if possible).
The total marks obtained out of 100 are to be sent to
CISCE by the Head of the school. SOFTWARE FOR CLASSES IX & X

The Head of the school will be responsible for the Any suitable Operating System can be used.
online entry of marks on CISCE’s CAREERS portal For teaching fundamental concepts of computing
by the due date. using object oriented approach, Blue J environment
(3.2 or higher version) compatible with JDK (5.0 or
EQUIPMENT higher version) as the base or any other editor or IDE,
There should be enough computer systems to provide compatible with JDK (5.0 or higher version) as the
for a teaching schedule where at least three-fourth of a base may be used. Ensure that the latest versions of
time available is used for programming and software are used.
assignments/practical work. The course shall require
at least 4 periods of about 40 minutes duration per
week. In one week, out of 4 periods the time should be
divided as follows:

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