Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

COMPUTING GCSE PAPER 2 OCR J277 > Paper 2 definitions > Flashcards

Paper 2 definitions Flashcards

1
Q

What is abstraction

A

The process of separating ideas from specific instances of those ideas of work. It tries to factor out details from a common pattern so the programmers can work close to the level of human thoughts, leaving out details which matter in practice, but are immaterial to the problem being solved

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is a sequence?

A

Instructions happening one after another in order

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is selection?

A

Instructions which can evaluate a Boolean expression and then branch the code to one or more alternative paths

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is iteration?

A

A selection of code which can be repeated either a set number of times (count controlled) or a variable number of times based on the evaluation of a Boolean expression (condition controlled)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is decomposition/ divide and conquer?

A

Breaking a problem down into smaller, component parts until the solution is known

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is algorithmic thinking?

A

A way of getting to a solution by identifying the steps needed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is an algorithm?

A

A set of instructions that achieve a task

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is a task?

A

A set of instructions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is an instruction?

A

One command

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is an input?

A

Data entered onto a computer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is a process?

A

Data being altered on the computer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is an output?

A

Information produced for the user by the computer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is pseudocode?

A

Notation resembling a computer language

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is a flowchart?

A

A diagram showing sequential steps, modelling an algorithm

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is a high level language?

A

A computer code that is halfway between machine code and natural speech (3rd generation languages)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a syntax error?

A

An error in the grammar of a computing language

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a logic error?

A

An error in computer code that does stop or break the program, but causes unexpected results

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is a runtime error?

A

An error that crashes a computer program when it is being executed (e.g running out of memory)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is a trace table?

A

A method of following each of the variables and the changes made during run time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What are problem processes?

A

Anything which happens to data during a system running

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are problem outputs?

A

Any information of data which leaves a system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is a structure diagram?

A

A diagram which looks like an upside tree with one node at the top and many below. It is used when designing solutions to problems in order to help break a large problem down into a number of small parts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is searching?

A

Looking for data in a list/array/database

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is sorting?

A

Putting data into numeric or alphabetical order

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What is a bubble sort?
A simple algorithm- it is inefficient when sorting larger amounts of data, as the time taken is related to the square of the number of items
26
What is an insertion sort?
A sorting algorithm that builds the final sorted array or list one item as a time. It is much less efficient on large lists than more advanced algorithms
27
What is merge sort?
A type of divide and conquer algorithm. The list is divided into the smallest unit, then each element is compared with the adjacent list to sort and merge them. Finally, all elements are sorted and merged
28
What is linear search?
a technique for looking through each element of a set of data, in sequence until the criteria matches the data
29
What is binary search?
A method of looking for a particular element of data, by starting at the midpoint and seeing if the searched for element is in the upper or lower half, repeating the same routine until the data element is found. (data has to be sorted)
30
What is a variable?
a container that contains a value that can be inspected/edited in run time
31
What is a constant?
A value that can't be changed during runtime
32
What is an assignment?
Passing a value to a variable
33
What is casting?
Determining the data type for a variable (e.g integer)
34
MOD
The remainder when one value is divided by another
35
DIV
The number of whole times a number divides into another
36
What is exponentiation?
Raising a number by a power
37
What is initialising?
The first time a variable is assigned a value
38
What is an integer?
A whole number (including negative numbers)
39
What is a real number (float)?
A number with a fractional quantity
40
What is boolean?
A value that can only take one of two values
41
What is a character?
A symbol
42
What is a string?
A collection of symbols
43
What is concatenation?
Combining 2 strings together
44
What is truncation/slicing?
Getting rid of parts of a string
45
What is an array?
A data structure that is of fixed length and must contain the same data types
46
What is a function?
A subprogram that returns a value
47
What is a procedure?
A subprogram that doesn't return a value
48
What is file handling?
The use of files to permanently store data
49
Open
Provide access to a file
50
Close
To stop accessing a file
51
Write
Add data to a file
52
Read
To accept data from a file
53
Append
To add data to the end of a file
54
What is a record?
A data structure that groups together related items of data
55
What is SQL?
Structured Query Language, used to interrogate a database
56
SELECT (SQL)
To choose a particular element of data
57
FROM (SQL)
To choose where the data is being selected
58
WHERE (SQL)
A criteria given to SQL to narrow the choice of data being selected
59
AND (SQL)
Narrows a selection
60
OR (SQL)
Widens a selection
61
What is a wildcard (*) (SQL)?
Allows the choice of any data (e.g. S* selects all data that starts with an S)
62
What is authentication?
Verifying the identity of a user
63
What is validation?
Checking that the data being inputted is sensible
64
What is a range check?
Checks data is between an upper and lower numeric bound
65
What is a format check?
Checks the data conforms to a particular combination of letters, digits and symbols
66
What is a presence check?
Checks that data has been entered
67
What is a lookup check?
Cross-references the data with an existing list of acceptable answers
68
What is a check digit?
The use of a calculation performed data is transmitted, the same calculation is performed by the recipient and the answers compared. If they don't match, an error has occurred
69
What is parity?
The use of the number of ones and zeroes in a data stream to check that the data is incorrect
70
What is a length check?
Checks that the data has the correct number of digits, characters and symbols
71
What is a type check?
Checks the data is the correct type
72
What is maintainability?
Making sure that your programs are easy to edit at a later date
73
What is indentation?
Grouping parts of the program by use of tabs or spaces
74
What are naming conventions?
Making sure that variables, constants and subprograms are labelled clearly with their functions
75
What is commenting?
Placing comments in your program that helps future programmers follow your logic
76
What is modularisation?
Decomposing the task into smaller, more achievable tasks such as functions
77
What is iterative testing?
Each module of a program is tested as it is developed
78
What is final/terminal testing?
Testing that all the modules of a program work together as expected and checking that the program meets the expectations of the user with real data
79
What is test data?
Values used to test a program
80
What is normal test data?
Data supplied to a program which you would expect eg for 0-100, 32,86,74
81
What is boundary test data?
Data supplied to a program which is designed to test the boundaries of a problem eg for 0-100, 99, 100, 101
82
What is invalid test data?
Data of the correct type but outside accepted validation limits eg for 0-100, -5, 150
83
What is erroneous test data?
Data of the incorrect type which should be rejected by the computer system eg for 0-100, 'hello' or 3.725
84
What is null test data?
Entering no data into the system
85
What is a test plan?
A table used to organise the tests that a programmer will use
86
What is alpha testing?
Testing used by the developers during production
87
What is beta testing?
Testing completed by volunteers, not employed by the software organisation
88
What is a logic gate?
The smallest electronic circuit in a digital machine
89
What is a logic circuit?
Several logic gates connected together
90
What is an AND gate?
A logic gate that only produces an output if both inputs are high
91
What is an OR gate?
A logic gate that produces an output when either/both inputs are high
92
What is a NOT gate?
A logic gate that reverses the signal of input
93
What is a truth table?
A way of showing all of the possible inputs to a system and describes all possible outputs
94
What is a low level language?
A language that can be directly interpreted by a computer
95
What is assembly language?
A language that uses mnemonics and has a one-to-one correlation with machine code
96
What is machine code?
The most basic computer language, written in binary
97
What is an interpreter?
A translator that converts each line of code into machine code, one after the other as the program is running
98
What is a compiler?
A translator that converts all of the source code into machine code in one go to produce an executable file
99
What does an assembler do
Translates assembly language into machine code
100
What does a translator do?
A way of converting high level languages into machine code
101
What is source code?
The programming language that a computer program has been written in
102
What is object code?
Another word for machine code once the program has been translated
103
What is an IDE?
Integrated development environment: software that allows programmers to write, edit and test their programs
104
What is an editor?
Software that allows programmers to type their code
105
What are error diagnostics?
A way of giving the programmer help with errors that stop the program running
106
What is a run-time environment?
The software, interpreter, that allows the programmer to run their program
107
What are debuggers?
Ways of tracking at errors
108
What is a translator?
Software that converts source code into object code to be run on the computer
109

COMPUTING GCSE PAPER 2 OCR J277 (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions