Programming
Develops algorithms to solve problems and uses python programming language to encode algorithms
Exam objectives
- Describe the steps of the problem-solving process: understand, define, plan, implement
Important areas to cover
- Low period weight — usually a short conceptual question
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Exam objectives
- Apply stepwise refinement/modularization to break a problem into sub-problems
- Draw a structure chart for a given solution
Important areas to cover
- Structure chart drawing recurs as a short-to-medium structured question
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Exam objectives
- Draw a flowchart using standard symbols for a given problem
- Write pseudocode for a given problem
- Hand-trace an algorithm to verify its output for given input
Important areas to cover
- Flowchart/pseudocode writing plus a hand-trace table is a near-guaranteed Paper II component, often paired with 9.7-9.8
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Exam objectives
- Compare imperative, declarative and object-oriented paradigms
Important areas to cover
- Short definitional/MCQ material
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Exam objectives
- Compare interpreters, compilers and the hybrid approach, and describe the role of a linker
Important areas to cover
- Compiler vs interpreter comparison is a reliable short-answer question
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Exam objectives
- Identify IDE features (open/save, compile/execute, debug) and use them practically
Important areas to cover
- Mostly practical/MCQ material; low essay weight
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Exam objectives
- Identify a Python program's structure, comments, constants/variables and primitive data types
- Use arithmetic, relational, logical and bitwise operators with correct precedence
- Write code that reads keyboard input and prints output to standard devices
Important areas to cover
- "Evaluate this expression" operator-precedence questions are a recurring MCQ/short-answer trap
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Exam objectives
- Use sequence, selection (if/elif/else) and repetition (for/while) structures correctly
- Apply nested control structures to solve a multi-step problem
- Predict the output of a given Python code segment containing control structures
Important areas to cover
- "Trace this code and give the output" for nested loops/conditionals is one of the most reliably repeated Programming-unit question types
- Writing a complete program using control structures for a stated scenario is a standard essay component
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Exam objectives
- Distinguish built-in from user-defined functions and describe function structure
- Use parameters, arguments, return values and default values correctly
- Compare local vs global variable scope and lifetime
Important areas to cover
- Writing a user-defined function with parameters and a return value for a stated task is a standard essay question
- Local vs global scope trace questions are a recurring MCQ trap
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Exam objectives
- Use strings, lists, tuples and dictionaries appropriately in a Python program
- Choose the correct data structure for a described data-storage need
Important areas to cover
- List/dictionary manipulation (indexing, slicing, key-value access) is regularly tested in code-writing/tracing questions
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Exam objectives
- Open, read, write, append and close files using basic file operations in Python
Important areas to cover
- A short program combining file I/O with another concept (loops, functions) is a common combined question
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Exam objectives
- Embed SQL statements in a Python program to connect to, retrieve from, and modify a database
Important areas to cover
- Directly links Units 8 and 9 — expect a combined database-plus-programming question
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Exam objectives
- Implement sequential search and trace it on a given list
- Implement bubble sort and trace it step-by-step on a given list
Important areas to cover
- "Trace bubble sort pass-by-pass on this list" is a very frequently repeated Paper II question
Lesson content not added yet.