(Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science (version 2.0)

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I didn't plan on making a second iteration to this resource but then I realised having it in a presentation format is much more convenient than the original. As before, it contains the same 17 algorithms:

1. Linear Search
2. Iterative Binary Search
3. Recursive Binary Search
4. Bubble Sort
5. Insertion Sort 
6. Merge Sort
7. Quick Sort
8. Dijkstra's Algorithm
9. A* Search Algorithm
10. Depth-first Graph Traversal
11. Breadth-first Graph Traversal
12. Algorithm For Outputting Linked List In Order
13. Algorithm For Searching Item in Linked List
14. Queue PUSH Operation
15. Queue POP Operation
16. Stack PUSH Operation
17. Stack POP Operation

Here's the link: (Almost) All The Algorithms You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science (v2.0)

Hope this helps!

OCR A Level Computer Science 101: Computer Architecture

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

Was writing my personal statement yesterday and then the Internet died so I not only didn't finish it, but I also missed yesterday's post. Anyway, I've completed my UCAS application today which is quite early considering it's still only September and I would definitely advise you all to try and finish it asap.

Whether or not you're applying for Oxbridge, medicine, vet med or dentistry, I think it's a good idea to try and get your application out of the way so you can focus on your A levels. Plus, the personal statement can take a bit of time to write so take that into consideration before starting your application.

Whatever you do, DO NOT leave it till January and apply on deadline day, it won't do you or your application any favours. The timing of your application can make a difference as well. Sending it earlier will show unis that you're punctual and well organised. If your deadline isn't October 15, then I would advise sending your application straight after the Oxbridge deadline.

Anyway, that wasn't the purpose of today's post. I found this handy presentation covering pretty much everything of section 1.1 of the spec. It's not strictly catered to the H046/H446 spec so there's a few things missing but most of this stuff is still applicable to OCR's course.

Don't forget the sneak peek of my revision guide includes all of the section 1.1 content and it is as clear and concise as you can get. That's all from me for now. Enjoy!

Here's the link: Computer Architecture Presentation

Hope this helps!

A Sneak Peek At My Revision Guide

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

I know what you're thinking, WHERE WERE YOU?! Well, as the more intuitive among you may be able to decipher from what the title suggests, I was busy writing the revision guide I said I wanted to make a long time ago.

It's still not finished but since I haven't posted for 4 days (which would have been 5 if I didn't have the decency to post today either), I thought I might as well give a sneak peek of things to come. 

I'd say the revision guide is about 60% completed more or less (which is pretty impressive since I literally started to work on it 6 days ago). The designing of it took longer than writing the actual content strangely enough as I wanted this revision guide to be really unique but more importantly, really concise. 

I've written 20 pages and I reckon it will take about 20 pages more to complete it which includes the title page, contents page, index page, glossary page and what have you. I guess I just want some feedback as well on this now that I'm just over half way through. You could say I'm doing some beta testing.

I still have no idea when I will finish this. I want to finish it before the end of 2017 but I also don't want to rush it. And I also need a break because this takes A LOT of effort so for the time being I'll be back to posting daily InShaAllah and resume writing my revision guide in the near future InShaAllah.

That's all for now folks, check out the revision guide and make sure to leave some comments below! Honestly, I need to know i'm not talking to a brick wall here, talk to me people! Say anything, anything at all!

Here's the link: (Almost) Everything You Need To Know For OCR A Level Computer Science (v0.0)

Hope this helps!

A bit of an unusual ending, but I really need to change these labels.

Some Interview Preparation Tips, Links & Documents For Computer Science

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

This post may or may not be of use to you (depending on if you're planning on doing a Computer Science degree at a university where they require an interview). Anyway, it's nearly the UCAS deadline for Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry & Veterinary Medicine applications so I thought I'd share a couple of interview preparation resources.

Most unis don't require an interview for Computer Science but a few such as Cambridge, Oxford (duh) and Imperial do. Interviews may seem like a nightmare, so much so they may even put you off from applying to a certain university but don't worry, there's plenty of help at hand! And I don't just mean this blog, there's tons of interview preparation resources and material all over the Internet to help you prepare as best you can.

I've found a couple of documents relating to technical computer science questions you may be asked at your interview (including examples from Oxford interviews). If you're applying Oxbridge, you should be aware that they require an admissions test for their Computer Science degrees.

Cambridge recently (by that I mean like 2 years ago) introduced the CSAT (Computer Science Admissions Test) for ALL Computer Science applicants, not just the Maths and Computer Science ones (although if you're applying for this you'll have to do STEP.

Oxford on the other hand, require the MAT (Maths Admission Test) for Computer Science but that's nothing new. Imperial's requirements are a different beast altogether. Since last year, they have included STEP II as part of their Computing degree requirements so good luck with that one.

Anyway, back to the interview preparation. In short, just be yourself (and oh yeah, make sure you don't mess up the interview). That's literally all i'm going to say. I'm not even joking. That's all I got, good luck.

Here's the link: Interview Preparation Examples & Questions

Hope this helps!

Here's A Few Resources For Learning Floating Point Representation & Normalisation

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

You may remember my previous post on floating point representation, if you don't then basically I shared a resource with some exercises that at the time I could not find the answers for.

After a bit of digging I found it and a couple of other useful resources all related to the binary part of the spec. I'm not saying these resources are created for the new spec, but binary is a topic in Computer Science that pretty much stays universally the same across all specifications.

Anyway, alongside the answers to the exercises aforementioned there's a floating point representation presentation (that does go a bit overboard on the topic so make sure to check with the spec and the subject content clarification guide on what exactly do you need to know) and some normalisation resources.

As I've said before (probably), this topic isn't hard at all. Just because it looks a bit mathematical doesn't mean it's impossible to do for those of you who don't like maths. Besides, Computer Science has loads of Maths in it anyway but luckily the OCR spec doesn't go too deep into the mathematical side.

Here's the link: Binary Resources Folder

Hope this helps!   

The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary (version 4.0)

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

It's been a while, but version 4.0 is finally here. I tried something different with this one, instead of listing all the definitions in a Word document I thought some people may prefer it in a PowerPoint presentation where each slide has a definition. 

If you read my previous post where I ranked all the resources I've used you'll notice that Criag 'n' Dave have something similar (except the one they have is a blank template of all the definitions and to get the full version you have to subscribe to premium i.e. you have to pay £149 per year!). 

Obviously all the resources on this blog are free so you don't have to worry about paying that giant price tag. Anyway, the presentation is still colour coded so the definitions correlate to the section of the spec they belong in.

I know when I released version 3.0 I said I won't be making any new resources because I wanted to create a revision guide but I don't want to rush it so i'm still creating resources as I work on the revision guide which I have no idea how long it's going to take so don't ask.

I already have a few ideas for version 5.0 which will come out in the near future InShaAllah but for this iteration I think there's been enough of a change to merit a new version.

Here's the link: The Ultimate OCR A Level Computer Science Dictionary (v4.0)

Hope this helps!

Top 10 Resources For OCR A Level Computer Science Part 2

As Salamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh World!

If you haven't checked out the first part, click here. Anyway, let's jump straight into part 2 because this is going to be a really long post.


5: Hodder Education OCR A Level Computer Science & My Revision Notes

OCR A Level Computer Science Textbook

1. Content 10/10: This textbook is actually endorsed by OCR (not that that means much) so by default it covers it's entire course and yes it includes material on the coursework.
2. Concision 8/10: Not as long as the Cambridge Elevate Student Book which was over 300 pages but still has lot of useless information in it and is 270 pages long.
3. Presentation 9/10: Very clear layout, good use of space on each page makes the textbook very easy to read. Includes images and diagrams to further enhance the aesthetic appeal. 
4. Accessibility 7/10: Has loads of errors which I think they've now fixed in the new edition or something, but judging by the textbook I have then I have to say it was really annoying finding so many errors in a resource that was supposedly endorsed by OCR.
5. Price 8/10: £31 for the textbook which is slightly overpriced in my opinion since the Cambridge one was only £28 (but I'd recommend this one over that). Well, I guess they can do that since they're endorsed by OCR. Don't worry though, a quick search on Ebay or Amazon and you can get this used for as little as £25. 

Final Score & Verdict: If the price would be a bit lower this resource is a must buy in my opinion. If you're lucky enough to get it for free from your school then definitely use it, there's a lot of good stuff in here. 8.4/10

My Revision Notes Textbook

1. Content 9/10: This textbook isn't endorsed by OCR and it doesn't have anything for the coursework component. Heavily focused on the exam components which is OK for a revision guide sort of thing (although I don't consider it one).
2. Concision 8/10: Only 168 pages but still has the same style of delivering content as the other textbook. An improvement but just too much waffling to be honest.
3. Presentation 9/10: Again, very clear layout, good use of space on each page makes the textbook very easy to read. Includes images and diagrams to further enhance the aesthetic appeal. No faults here.
4. Accessibility 8/10: Has a few mistakes here and there and sometimes misses some content completely so it's hard get a good understanding of some topics as a whole. I guess that's why it's not endorsed by OCR.
5. Price 9/10: £17. Decent price for a fairly high quality resource. Hard to find anything cheaper on Ebay or Amazon since this is not as popular as the other textbook.

Final Score & Verdict: If this resource is supposed to be a revision guide, I wouldn't say it's great one but as a textbook it get's the job done in getting all the content across in it's own way (which can be unnecessarily long sometimes). Even though this is cheaper, I would recommend the other one as it fully supports the specification. 8.6/10

Final Hodder Education Series Score: 8.5/10

4: PG Online Textbook

1. Content 9/10: This textbook is endorsed by OCR as well but strangely misses out on the programming project.
2. Concision 9/10: Almost 100 pages longer than the Hodder Education textbook yet doesn't have any useless information and minimal waffling. It's just very detailed which is OK but personally I think it could've been shorter
3. Presentation 9/10: Same as the other textbooks. Very clear layout, good use of space on each page makes the textbook very easy to read. Includes images and diagrams to further enhance the aesthetic appeal. 
4. Accessibility 8/10: Initially had a few mistakes which were corrected but is still a solid textbook that actually deserves an endorsement by OCR.
5. Price 8/10: £30 for the textbook which isn't bad at all. £1 cheaper than the Hodder Education one and is better in my opinion. Unfortunately, a quick search on Ebay or Amazon will not get you anything cheaper.

Final Score & Verdict: It's a great textbook, covers everything (apart from the programming project) in great detail. If I had to choose between this and the Hodder Education one it's a close call because both of them are very good but this one edges it for me. Again. if you're lucky enough to get one of these for free from your school you should definitely use it. 8.6/10

Final PG Online Textbook Score: 8.6/10

3: CGP OCR A Level Computer Science Revision Guide

Error 404: Not Found (For some reason CGP haven't got a revision guide for A level Computer Science but if they did I'd reckon it would be amazing).

3: ZigZag Education Revision Guide & Course Companion

Revision Guide

1. Content 9/10: This one is a bit of a punt since the full A level revision guide is going to be released this October but judging by the AS revision guide (which is excellent), I think it may just include everything apart from the coursework component.
2. Concision 10/10: Very, very concise. Doesn't beat around the bush and just gives you all the information you need in minimal space. Definitely the best revision guide available right now (unfortunately, CGP haven't got one for A level Computer Science otherwise I think it would be equally good).
3. Presentation 10/10: A very unique way of displaying the information that works very well. Everything is separated into boxes that fill the page very nicely. Despite it being in black and white this revision guide is presented amazingly well.
4. Accessibility 10/10: Surprisingly easy to understand. Even though it gives the content you need to know without any waffling or introductions (which is great) it makes it very easy to digest the info via bullet points and short paragraphs.
5. Price 6/10: £79 for the AS guide and £119 for the A level guide. Obviously that's way too expensive for your average student to afford but this guide is absolutely brilliant so I would highly recommend that you ask your teacher to pre-order the A level revision guide coming out in a few weeks.

Final Score & Verdict: This is definitely by far the best paper resource out there. Beats all the textbooks in everything except price. I would highly recommend you get your school to get this resource because it's definitely worth it. 9/10

Course Companion

1. Content 9/10: This one is already available but doesn't have anything on the programming project either. Covers all other parts of the spec very well.
2. Concision 9/10: This resource uses more of a textbook approach in explaining things and is about 240 pages long which is shorter than all the other textbooks in this list. Again, very concise but can have a bit of waffling here and there.
3. Presentation 8/10: Generally displays the content well but not the presentation is not as good as the other textbooks in my opinion. Maybe it's because of its monochromatic images or simply because there's no colour whatsoever. 
4. Accessibility 10/10: Quality of accessibility is pretty much the same as the revision guide. No complaints here. 
5. Price 6/10: £119 for AS guide and £179 for the full A level. Again, it's way too expensive but if you can get your teacher to purchase it then go for it.

Final Score & Verdict: This is definitely one of the best paper resources out there. Very good but is unfortunately very expensive as well. Again, I would highly recommend you get your school to get this resource because it's definitely worth it. 8.4/10

Final ZigZag Education Resources Score: 8.7/10

2: Dynamic Learning Package

1. Content 10/10: The plethora of resources available in the package fully support the specification
2. Concision 10/10: Most of the resources are actually summary presentations of the Hodder Education textbook which condense all the important information from 270 pages in short slides.
3. Presentation 10/10: All the interactive activities, worksheets, tests and the summary presentations are extremely well presented. Can't fault anything here.
4. Accessibility 10/10: All the resources are very easy to understand, much more accessible than the textbook.
5. Price 5/10: Now all these wonderful resources come at a price. It's £400 for the package which is sort of crazy but these resources are excellent and a must buy for all schools providing this course.

Final Score & Verdict: The best online resource available plain and simple (that isn't endorsed by OCR for some reason). 9/10

1: OCR Past Papers

1. Content 10/10: Need I say more?
2. Concision 10/10: Markschemes are the best resource of all in my opinion. Clear, concise and get straight to the point. It simply tells you everything the examiners are looking for without any unnecessary information.
3. Presentation 10/10: As past papers go, there isn't much else you can improve here.
4. Accessibility 9/10: Going to have to give a slight downgrade here since OCR (along with pretty much every other exam board) are quite notorious for writing "evil" papers. 
5. Price 10/10: They're free, duh.

Final Score & Verdict: It's absolutely essential to do past papers in order to succeed in the final exam. All the other resources on this list are irrelevant if you do not do all the past papers available, and yes that means both old H047/H447 and new H046/H446 spec ones. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can only do each paper once so you should start doing them in like March or something. Start NOW, I mean it. It doesn't matter if you have to do them more than once, if anything it'll help you understand the exam patterns and make it easy to memorise markschemes. Obviously skip the questions in the old spec papers that aren't relevant to the new spec but by all means do the rest.

Final OCR Past Papers Score: 9.8/10

(Cheeky) Honorable Mention

This blog: http://themuslimcompsciblog.blogspot.co.uk/

It's nearly been a month since I've made this blog and I know it isn't amazing (#stay humble) but I would be really grateful if everyone reading this could just spread this around. It would honestly mean the world to me even if one person would benefit from this blog :) .

Anyway, enough self advertising. That's my list of the top 10 resources for OCR A level Computer Science that I have used personally, do you agree with it? Is there any resource I missed? Put your comments below and as always...

Hope this helps!