The 100th & Final Post Of 2017...

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I can't believe I actually reached 100 posts this year considering I started late August and I missed some days out. Anyway, I wanted to make a post about the inspiration behind my revision guide but then decided for this last post (since it reaches the 100 benchmark), i'm just going to highlight my plans for 2018.

First off, I've decided I won't be posting everyday anymore. So from now on, i'm only going to post on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until I change my mind. I also have tons of ideas for more resources which I don't want to reveal yet but rest assured, they will come out soon InShaAllah.

What I can tell you is that i'm definitely looking to complete my long overdue summmary presentation series in January InShaAllah so keep an eye out for that. That's all for now, and as always... 

Hope this helps! 

The Inspiration Behind My Resources: (Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

After the The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary, the next resource I made was (Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science.

There wasn't really a direct inspiration from a specific resource for this one but what made me make this was the need to have all the algorithms in the spec all in one place. I also realised that the textbooks and revision guides I was using were simply inadequate since they didn't have all of the algorithms needed, let alone in one place.

Finding the "right" version of the algorithms was really tricky as well since different textbooks used different programming languages to write their algorithms. Unlike the old spec, the new spec exams don't require you to know how to code in specific languages (apart from a bit of LMC, SQL, HTML, CSS & JavaScript of course).

I decided it would be best to use pseudocode to write the algorithms in my resource as it's the easiest and most convenient way for everyone. Anyway, the spec just mentions the algorithms in it's typical vague fashion without specifying if you have to know them or be able to implement them. 

My advice is to get loads of practice writing algorithms by doing past paper questions from the old spec programming papers which you can access here.

Hope this helps!

The Inspiration Behind My Resources: The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

You may have wondered from where do I get my ideas for my resources, well, wonder no more for i'm making a series of blog posts where I divulge everything regarding the inspiration for my resources (well, almost everything).

My very first resource, The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary, was actually based entirely on my own revision notes. That's the first version anyway. As time progressed, I found ways of improving it and now we're at version 4.0 with the next (and probably final iteration) coming very soon InShaAllah.

One thing that I noticed was that out of the 5 textbooks/revision guides that I've used, none of them had a glossary. I mean if it was a subject like maths i'd be like OK but for a subject like this which is about 80% theory, how can you not have a glossary? 

Maybe they were too lazy to make one or whatever but that really amazed me especially since some of these textbooks were actually endorsed by OCR themselves which doesn't mean anything in my humble opinion. However, it does go to show how poor resources get endorsed so easily by an exam board that has a poorly written specification.

Apart from the poor quality resources I've used, the main inspiration was actually a resource I didn't use because it was quite possibly the worst resource I had ever laid my eyes on. 

It was so bad that I even made a blog post titled: Possibly The Worst Computing Resource Ever which you can check out by clicking the link. Anyway, the resource itself, like my own resource, is simply a glossary or "dictionary" as I like to call it of all the key terms you need to know for the exam.

Suffice to say the resource didn't go through anything even remotely related to its spec which really annoyed me. So, instead of just complaining like everyone else I decided to do something about it.

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 2.3

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Here's the final abbreviations of the sort of useless series of blog posts if i'm being completely honest. Just need to complete the last 4 summary presentations which is taking a bit long so for the time being you're just going to have to wait.

DSPA = Dijkstra Shortest Path Algorithm
A*SPA = A* Shortest Path Algorithm

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 2.2

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

There's only one for this section somehow and it's a fairly commonly used one but anyway, here it is for those who don't know:

IDE = Integrated Development Environment

Hope this helps!

The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 2.1

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

There wasn't any abbreviations for this section so I decided to finally release the summary presentation on this topic. It's a relatively short one which is due to the fact that this part of the spec is extremely vague.

Here's the link: 2.1 Elements of computational thinking

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 1.5

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

In this topic, the only abbreviations used are for the computer laws you need to know:

• CMA = Computer Misuse Act
• DPA = Data Protection Act
• CDPA = Copyright, Designs & Patents Act
• RIPA = Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 1.4

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Only a few abbreviations used in this section but it's still worth making this short list just in case:

• ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange
• LIFO = Last In First Out
• FIFO = First In First Out
• BST = Binary Search Tree

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 1.3

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

The next set of abbreviations are from the content of my resources covering section 1.3:

• RLE = Run Length Encoding
• DB = Database
• RDB = Relational Database
• FFDB = Flat File Database
• PK = Primary Key
• FK = Foreign Key
• SK = Secondary Key
• ERD = Entity Relationship Diagram
• 1NF = 1st Normal Form
• 2NF = 2nd Normal Form
• 3NF =3rd Normal Form
• DBMS = Database Management Software
• SQL =Structured Query Language
• QBE = Query By Example
• MAC = Media Access Control
• IP = Internet Protocol
• DHCP = Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
• TCP/IP = Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
• DNS = Domain Name Server
• OSI = Open Systems Interconnection
• LAN = Local Area Network
• WAN =Wide Area Network
• SAN = Storage Area Network
• PAN = Personal Area Network
• SSL = Secure Sockets Layer
• NIC = Network Interface Card
• WAP = Wireless Access Point
• P2P = Peer To Peer
• HTML = Hypertext Markup Language
• CSS = Cascading Style Sheets
• JS = JavaScript
• SEI = Search Engine Indexing
• PRA = PageRank Algorithm

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 1.2

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Here's all the abbreviations that may have left you dumbfounded in section 1.2 of my resources:

• OS = Operating System
• HCI = Human Computer Interaction
• UI = User Interface
• ISR = Interrupt Service Routine
• BIOS = Basic Input Output System
• OSS = Open Source Software
• EXE = Executable
• DFD = Data Flow Diagram
• XP = Extreme Programming
• RAD = Rapid Application Development
• HLL = High Level Language
• LLL = Low Level Language
• 3GL = 3rd Generation Language
• LMC = Little Man Computer
• OOP = Object Oriented Programming

Hope this helps!

A Few Common & Not So Common Abbreviations Used In My Resources: 1.1

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I decided to start this "series", well it's more of a clarification of some content in my resources to avoid confusion when using them. Most of the abbreviations I use are quite normal, but there are a few here and there where you think, what does this even mean? 

Anyway, without further ado, here's the list of abbreviations for section 1.1:

• CPU = Central Processing Unit
• ALU = Arithmetic Logic Unit
• CU = Control Unit
• PC = Program Counter
• ACC = Accumulator
• CIR = Current Instruction Register
• MAR = Memory Address Register
• MDR = Memory Data Register
• GPR = General Purpose Register
• FDE = Fetch Decode Execute
• CISC = Complex Instruction Set Computer
• RISC = Reduced Instruction Set Computer
• GPU = Graphics Processing Unit
• SIMD = Single Instruction Multiple Data
• MIMD = Multiple Instruction Multiple Data
• I/O = Input/Output
• R/W = Read/Write
• RAM = Random Access Memory
• ROM = Read Only Memory

Hope this helps! 

Here's All The Examiners' Reports For All The OCR A Level Computer Science H046/H446 Past Papers

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

One doesn't normally consider examiners' reports are a useful resource, but going through these, I realized they're actually extremely helpful. You get to know what the examiners were looking for in previous exam series and since there's only 2 so far in this spec, I'd definitely give them a read.

For a list of all the papers of the new H046/H446 spec (excluding the 2017 ones of course), click here. 

Here's the links:

1. June 2016 AS Papers Report
2. June 2017 AS Papers Report
3. June 2017 A level Papers Report

Hope this helps!

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 2.3

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Here's the last set of resources covering section 2.3. I don't really have that many for the programming project so i'm going to conclude this "Big list" in this post. Anyways, I may have a couple of other miscellaneous resources to share after this but from now on i'm focusing on trying to make my own resources InShaAllah.

Here's the link: 2.3 Algorithms

Hope this helps!

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 2.2

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

The next set of resources in this "Big list" cover section 2.2 of the H046/H446 specification. There aren't that many of them on this topic, so I added a couple of general programming resources for good measure that may prove useful for practicing your algorithm skills or even for the programming project.

Here's the link: 2.2 Problem solving and programming

Hope this helps! 

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 2.1

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Even though I haven't really shared any resources on this topic before, I've managed to find a few on OCR's website which I guess is enough to merit a label on this section. This part of the spec is more vague than the rest of it so it's really hard to find resources for it but anyways.

Here's the link: 2.1 Elements of computational thinking

Hope this helps!

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 1.4

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

These are the last set of resources for Component 1 on this blog. I know what you're thinking, what about section 1.5? Well, somehow I haven't even shared a single resource on that section ever because it's very rare to find a resource for that topic. 

Anyways, you can always use the resource made by me which cover the entire spec here.

Here's the link: 1.4 Data types, data structures & algorithms

Hope this helps!

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 1.3

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

The third set of resources in this "Big list" cover section 1.3 of the OCR A level Computer Science specification. I'm not even keeping track of how many resources is that in total but anyways.

Here's the link: 1.3 Exchanging data

Hope this helps!

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 1.2

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Here's the next set of resources that I have previously shared on this blog about section 1.2 all in a single Drive folder. In other news, i'm looking to complete my summary presentation series (or at least Component 2) by the end of next week InShaAllah. That's all for now.

Here's the link: 1.2 Software and software development

Hope this helps!

The Big List Of All OCR A Level Computer Science Resources On This Blog: 1.1

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I was supposed to make version 2.0 of the "Big List" when I hit the 200 resources target but I got busy with my summary presentation series so I totally forgot. Anyway, since there's so many resources, I decided to put them into different folders according to what section of the spec they cover (1.1, 1.2, 1.3... and so on).

Here's the link: 1.1 The characteristics of contemporary processors. input. output and storage devices

Hope this helps!

Possibly The Worst Computing Resource Ever

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I've seen my fair share of bad resources whilst looking for ones to post on my blog. This "resource" however is by far the worst I've ever seen. Believe it or not, it was meant for the old OCR A level Computing course but I cannot even imagine how it is useful in any way.

Honestly, just take a look at it. Not only are the terms in the resource irrelevant to that specification, some of them aren't even related to computing! But every resource has it's benefits too. 

This very resource actually inspired me to start the Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary series which you can find here along with all my other resources. I don't even want to go through in detail about how useless this resource is, but what I do want to illustrate is the quality of the average computer science resource. 

Resources like these ultimately influenced me to start this blog. I know, I know, computer science (especially at A level) isn't a popular subject. Now I could add myself to the hundreds or even thousands of students who complain about how the exam boards write terrible specifications or horrendous exam papers but I decided not to.

I decided to do something about it by creating resources and sharing them on this blog for free. And I may not see the fruits of my efforts now, but I hope that soon enough these resources will reach to everyone taking this subject which is why for the first time i'm going to ask everyone reading this to please spread the word.

Also, if you have any suggestions or ideas just comment them below and together we can make computer science a subject that is fun, rewarding and easy to learn.

Here's the link: Computing Glossary Of Terms

Hope this helps (I guess)?

The Big List Of OCR A Level Computer Science Resources Created By The Muslim CompSci Version 3.0

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I know I've been posting really inconsistently these days which is because I am extremely busy - seriously, I haven't even started making the summary presentations for Component 2 yet. 

I've also ran out of half decent resources to share so it's become harder to post something everyday. Anyway, for today's post I thought I'd make an updated list of all the resources I've made. Without further ado, here's the Big List version 3.0:

The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary

• Version 1.0
• Version 2.0
• Version 3.0
• Version 4.0

(Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science

• Version 1.0
• Version 2.0

(Almost) Everything You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science

• Version 0.0
• Version 1.0

The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science

• Version 0.0
• 1.1.1 Structure and function of the processor
• 1.1.2 Types of processor
• 1.1.3 Input, output and storage
• 1.2.1 Systems Software
• 1.2.2 Applications Generation
• 1.2.3 Software Development
• 1.2.4 Types of Programming Language
• 1.3.1 Compression, Encryption & Hashing
• 1.3.2 Databases
• 1.3.3 Networks
• 1.3.4 Web Technologies
• 1.4.1 Data Types
• 1.4.2 Data Structures
• 1.4.3 Boolean Algebra
• 1.5.1 Computing Related Legislation
• 1.5.2 Moral & Ethical Issues

Hope this helps!

Look What I Found...

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I know I haven't posted for 2 days, but hopefully today's post will make up for it. I was looking for the AS and A level 2017 exam papers for OCR Computer Science and I didn't manage to find the latter, but I did find scanned versions of the AS ones on Reddit.

Unfortunately, they don't come with mark schemes however, a bit more digging led to me to a TSR thread where a couple of people attempted to make an unofficial mark scheme for Paper 1 of the AS exams.

Personally, i'm not really for making unofficial mark schemes for exams unless they have definitive answers like maths. Making an unofficial mark scheme can be misleading for most questions as they can have numerous answers and even the official mark schemes don't show every answer that can be acceptable, they usually just show indicative content or possible answers. 

Anyway, kudos to those who tried to shed some light on the exam. I reckon the A level 2017 exam papers are out there somewhere but it's going to have to take a bit more digging.

Here's the links:

• OCR A level Computer Science June 2017 AS Paper 1
• OCR A level Computer Science June 2017 AS Paper 2

Hope this helps!

The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 1.5.2 Moral & Ethical Issues

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

This is the last summary presentation of Component 1 and the 16th in this series. It's another relatively short one with only 10 slides and concludes section 1.5 as well. Now there's just 4 left for Component 2 and one for the Programming Project which I hope to complete before the end of this year InShaAllah.

1.5.2 Moral & Ethical Issues

Hope this helps!

The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 1.5.1 Computing Related Legislation

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Here's a short summary presentation of only 6 slides covering everything you need to know about this topic. Funnily enough, this resource is also the first on this blog that covers this topic. There's not even a label for it yet. 

Here's the link: 1.5.1 Computing Related Legislation

Hope this helps!

The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 1.4.3 Boolean Algebra

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

This is the first and only Boolean algebra resource on this entire blog. Literally, there's not even a label for this topic which goes to show how hard it is to find good computer science resources that are free (something i'm always yammering on about). 

Anyway, this is presentation 14 which has 13 slides and is also the last of 3 on section 1.4

Here's the link: 1.4.3 Boolean Algebra

Hope this helps!

The Most Detailed Yet Concise Summary Of OCR A Level Computer Science: 1.4.2 Data Structures

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Summary presentation 13 of my revision series covers this topic in only 9 slides. That brings the total number if slides across all presentations to 160 for those still keeping count. Anyway, there's only 3 more to go for Component 1 and then 4 for Component 2 and the last one is going to be on the Programming Project InShaAllah.

Here's the link: 1.4.2 Data Structures

Hope this helps!