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!