Chapter 1
Information Representation
Data Representation
Number systems, binary arithmetic, BCD, hexadecimal, two's complement, and data units.
Multimedia – Graphics, Sound
Representing images and sound, bit depth, sample rate, resolution, and file size calculations.
Compression
Lossy vs lossless compression, run-length encoding, dictionary-based methods, and audio/video compression.
Chapter 2
Communication
Chapter 3
Hardware
Computers and Their Components
Main components of a computer system — the processor and its parts, primary memory, secondary storage, and input/output hardware.
Logic Gates and Logic Circuits
Logic gates (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR), truth tables, circuit construction, and logic expressions.
Chapter 4
Processor Fundamentals
Central Processing Unit (CPU) Architecture
Von Neumann model, CPU registers, components, buses, performance factors, F-E cycle, and RTN.
Assembly Language
Assembly language programming, addressing modes, instruction formats, and assembly code examples.
Bit Manipulation
Bitwise operations (AND, OR, XOR, NOT, shifts), masks, and practical applications of bit manipulation.
Chapter 5
System Software
Chapter 6
Security, Privacy & Data Integrity
Chapter 7
Ethics and Ownership
Ethics
Moral and ethical considerations of computing — privacy, the digital divide, GDPR, and professional codes of conduct.
Copyright Legislation & Software Licensing
Copyright frameworks and software licensing — patents, Creative Commons, free and open-source software, and commercial licences.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI concepts and implications — automated decision-making, bias in intelligent systems, and the ethical impact of AI.
Chapter 8
Databases
Database Concepts
Relational databases, entities, attributes, relationships, primary and foreign keys, and indexing.
Database Management Systems (DBMS)
DBMS features, data dictionaries, query optimisation, transaction processing, and ACID properties.
DDL and DML
SQL Data Definition Language (CREATE, ALTER, DROP) and Data Manipulation Language (SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE).
Chapter 9
Algorithm Design & Problem-Solving
Computational Thinking Skills
Decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking for problem-solving.
Algorithms
Writing, tracing and expressing algorithms in pseudocode and flowcharts, with standard solution patterns for common problems.
Chapter 10
Data Types and Structures
Data Types and Records
Variables, primitive data types (INTEGER, REAL, STRING, CHAR, BOOLEAN), constants, and records.
Arrays
1D and 2D arrays, indexes and bounds, traversing and manipulating array data in pseudocode.
Files
Reading and writing text files in pseudocode — OPENFILE, READFILE, WRITEFILE, EOF and CLOSEFILE — and processing stored records.
Abstract Data Types (ADTs)
Stacks, queues and linked lists as ADTs — Push, Pop, Enqueue, Dequeue, insertion, deletion, traversal, and real-world applications.
Chapter 11
Programming
Programming Basics
Program fundamentals — identifiers, variables and constants, basic data types, input/output statements, and built-in functions.
Programming Constructs
Selection (IF/CASE), iteration (FOR/WHILE/REPEAT), and nesting constructs for program flow control.
Structured Programming
Procedures, functions, parameters (by value and reference), scope, and modular programming.
Chapter 12
Software Development
Programming Development Lifecycle
The program development life cycle — analysis, design, coding, testing and evaluation — from problem statement to working solution.
Program Design
Program design tools — top-down decomposition with structure charts, and modelling system behaviour with state transition diagrams.
Program Testing and Maintenance
Test data types (normal, abnormal, extreme, boundary), trace tables, black-box/white-box testing.