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Cambridge (CIE) O Level Your notes

Computer Science
Programming Concepts
Contents
Variables & Constants
Data Types
Input & Output
Sequence
Selection
Iteration
Totalling & Counting
String Handling
Arithmetic, Logical & Boolean Operators
Procedures & Functions
Local & Global Variables
Library Routines
Maintaining Programs

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Variables & Constants

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Variables & Constants
What is a variable?
A variable is an identifier that can change in the lifetime of a program
Identifiers should be:
In mixed case (Pascal case)
Only contain letters (A-Z, a-z)
Only contain digits (0-9)
Start with a capital letter and not a digit
A variable can be associated a datatype when it is declared
When a variable is declared, memory is allocated based on the data type indicated

Pseudocode

DECLARE <identifier> : <datatype>

DECLARE Age : INTEGER

DECLARE Price : REAL

DECLARE GameOver : BOOLEAN

Python

score = int() # whole number

cost = float() # decimal number

light = bool() # data can only have one or two values

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What is a constant?
A constant is an identifier set once in the lifetime of a program Your notes
Constants are named in all uppercase characters
Constants aid the readability and maintainability
If a constant needs to be changed, it should only need to be altered in one place in the whole program

Pseudocode

CONSTANT <identifier> ← <value>

CONSTANT PI ← 3.142

CONSTANT PASSWORD ← "letmein"

CONSTANT HIGHSCORE ← 9999

Python

PI = 3.142

VAT = 0.20

PASSWORD = "letmein"

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Data Types
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Data Types
What is a data type?
A data type is a classification of data into groups according to the kind of data they represent
Computers use different data types to represent different types of data in a program
The basic data types include:

Data type Used for Pseudocode Example

Integer Whole numbers INTEGER 10, -5, 0

Real Numbers with a fractional part (decimal) REAL 3.14, -2.5, 0.0

Character Single character CHAR 'a', 'B', '6', '£'

String Sequence of characters STRING "Hello world", "ABC", "@#!%"

Boolean True or false values BOOLEAN True, False

It is important to choose the correct data type for a given situation to ensure accuracy and efficiency
in the program
Data types can be changed within a program, this is called casting

Programming data types

Data type Pseudocode Python

Integer Number ← 5 number = 5

Real RealNumber ← 3.14 realNumber = 3.14

Character FirstNameInitial ← "a" firstNameInitial = "a"

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String Password ← "letmein" password = "letmein"

Your notes
Boolean LightSensor ← True lightSensor = True

WORKED EXAMPLE
Name and describe the most appropriate programming data type for each of the examples of data
given. Each data type must be different
[6]
Data: 83
Data: [email protected]
Data: True
Answers
Data type name: Integer [1]
Data type description: The number is a whole number [1]
Data type name: String [1]
Data type description: It is a group of characters [1]
Data type name: Boolean [1]
Data type description: The value is True (or could be False) [1]

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Input & Output

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Input & Output
What is an input?
An input is a value that is read from an input device and then processed by a computer program
Typical input devices include:
Keyboards - Typing text
Mice - Selecting item, clicking buttons
Sensors - Reading data from sensors such as temperature, pressure or motion
Microphone - Capturing audio, speech recognition
Without inputs, programs are not useful as they can't interact with the outside world and always
produce the same result
In programming the keyboard is considered the standard for user input
If the command 'INPUT' is executed, a program will wait for the user to type a sequence of characters
In other programming languages different command words can be used

Examples
Pseudocode (INPUT <identifier>) Python

INPUT Name name=input("Enter your name: ")

IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN... if name == "James" or name == "Rob":

What is an output?
An output is a value sent to an output device from a computer program
Typical output devices include:
Monitor - Displaying text, images or graphics
Speaker - Playing audio
Printer - Creating physical copies of documents or images

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In programming the monitor is considered the standard for user output

If the command 'OUTPUT' is executed, a program will output to the screen Your notes
In other programming languages different command words can be used
Examples
Pseudocode (OUTPUT <identifier(s)>) Python

INPUT Name name=input("Enter your name: ")

IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN if name == "James" or name == "Rob":

OUTPUT "Great names!" print("Great names!")

INPUT Name name=input("Enter your name: ")

IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN if name == "James" or name == "Rob":

OUTPUT "Love the name ", Name print("Love the name "+name)

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Sequence
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Sequence
What is sequence?
Sequence refers to lines of code which are run one line at a time
The lines of code are run in the order that they written from the first line of code to the last line of code
Sequence is crucial to the flow of a program, any instructions out of sequence can lead to
unexpected behaviour or errors

Example 1
A simple program to ask a user to input two numbers, number two is subtracted from number one and
the result is outputted

Line Pseudocode

01 OUTPUT "Enter the first number"

02 INPUT Num1

03 OUTPUT "Enter the second number"

04 INPUT Num2

05 Result ← Num1 - Num2

06 OUTPUT Result

A simple swap of line 01 and line 02 would lead to an unexpected behaviour, the user would be
prompted to input information without knowing what they should enter

Example 2
Python example

def calculate_area(length, width):

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"""
This function calculates the area of a rectangle Your notes
Inputs:
length: The length of the rectangle
width: The width of the rectangle
Returns:
The area of the rectangle
"""
# Calculate area
return area

area = length * width

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------# Main program

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------
length = 5

width = 3

correct_area = calculate_area(length, width)

print(f"Correct area (length * width): {correct_area}")

In the example, the sequence of instructions is wrong and would cause a runtime error
In the calculate_area() function a value is returned before it is assigned
The correct sequence is:
# Calculate area
area = length * width
return area

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Selection
Your notes
What is Selection?
Selection is when the flow of a program is changed, depending on a set of conditions
The outcome of this condition will then determine which lines or block of code is run next
Selection is used for validation, calculation and making sense of a user's choices
There are two ways to write selection statements:
if... then... else...
case...

If Statements
What is an If statement?
As If statements allow you to execute a set of instructions if a condition is true
They have the following syntax:

IF <condition>
THEN
<statement>
ENDIF
A detailed look at a Python IF statement:

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Your notes

Example
Concept Pseudocode Python

IF-THEN-ELSE IF Answer ← "Yes" if answer == "Yes":

THEN print("Correct")

OUTPUT "Correct" elif answer == "No":

ELSE print("Wrong")

OUTPUT "Wrong" else:

ENDIF print("Error")

Nested Selection
What is nested selection?
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Nested selection is a selection statement within a selection statement, e.g. an If inside of another If
Nested means to be 'stored inside the other' Your notes
Example
Pseudocode

IF Player2Score > Player1Score

THEN

IF Player2Score > HighScore

THEN

OUTPUT Player2, " is champion and highest scorer"

ELSE

OUTPUT Player2, " is the new champion"

ENDIF

ELSE

OUTPUT Player1, " is still the champion"

IF Player1Score > HighScore

THEN

OUTPUT Player1, " is also the highest scorer"

ENDIF

ENDIF

Python

// Prompt the user to enter a number

print("Enter a number: ")
test_score = int(input())

// Outer statement to check the test_score is above 40

if test_score > 40:

// Inner statement to assign the result from the test

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if test_score > 70:

result = "Distinction" Your notes

elif test_score > 55:

result = "Merit"

elif test_score > 40:

result = "Pass

else:

result = "Fail"

// Output the result

print(result)

Case Statements
What is a case statement?
A case statement can mean less code but it only useful when comparing multiple values of the same
variable
If statements are more flexible and are generally used more in languages such as Python
The format of a CASE statement is:
CASE OF <identifier>
<value 1> : <statement>
<value 2>: <statement>
....
OTHERWISE <statement>
ENDCASE

Concept Pseudocode Python

CASE INPUT Move match day:

CASE OF Move case "Sat":

'W' : Posistion ← Posistion - 10 print("Saturday")

'E' : Posistion ← Posistion + 10 case "Sun":

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'A' : Posistion ← Posistion - 1 print("Sunday")

'D' : Posistion ← Posistion + 10 case _: Your notes

OTHERWISE OUTPUT "Beep" print("Weekday")

ENDCASE

EXAM TIP
Make sure to include all necessary components in the selection statement:
the condition,
the statement(s) to execute when the condition is true
any optional statements to execute when the condition is false
Use proper indentation to make the code easier to read and understand
Be careful with the syntax of the programming language being used, as it may differ slightly
between languages
Make sure to test the selection statement with various input values to ensure that it works as
expected

WORKED EXAMPLE
Write an algorithm using pseudocode that:
Inputs 3 numbers
Outputs the largest of the three numbers
[3]
Exemplar answer

Psuedocode

INPUT A

INPUT B

INPUT C

IF A > B

THEN

IF A > C

THEN

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OUTPUT A

ELSE Your notes

OUTPUT C

ENDIF

ELSE

OUTPUT B

ENDIF

Python

if A > B AND A > C:

print(A)
elif B > C:

print(B)
else:

print(C)

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Iteration
Your notes
What is iteration?
Iteration is repeating a line or a block of code using a loop
Iteration can be:
Count controlled
Condition controlled
Nested

Count Controlled Loops

What is a count controlled loop?
A count controlled loop is when the code is repeated a fixed number of times (e.g. using a for loop)
A count controlled loop can be written as:

FOR <identifier> ← <value1> TO <value2>

<statements>
NEXT <identifier>
Identifiers must be an integer data type
It uses a counter variable that is incremented or decremented after each iteration
This can be written as:

FOR <identifier> ← <value1> TO <value2> STEP <increment>

<statements>
NEXT <identifier>
A detailed look at a Python FOR statement:

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Your notes

Examples
Iteration Pseudocode Python

Count controlled FOR X ← 1 TO 10 for x in range(10):

OUTPUT "Hello" print("Hello")

NEXT X

This will print the word "Hello" 10 times

FOR X ← 2 TO 10 STEP 2 for x in range(2,12,2):

OUTPUT X print(x)

NEXT X # Python range function excludes end value

This will print the even numbers from 2 to 10 inclusive

FOR X ← 10 TO 0 STEP -1 for x in range(10,-1,-1):

OUTPUT X print(x)

NEXT X # Python range function excludes end value

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This will print the numbers from 10 to 0 inclusive

Your notes
Condition Controlled Loops
What is a condition controlled loop?
A condition controlled loop is when the code is repeated until a condition is met
There are two types of condition controlled loops:
Post-condition (REPEAT)
Pre-condition (WHILE)

Post-condition loops (REPEAT)

A post-condition loop is executed at least once
The condition must be an expression that evaluates to a Boolean (True/False)
The condition is tested after the statements are executed and only stops once the condition is
evaluated to True
It can be written as:

REPEAT
<statement>
UNTIL <condition>

Iteration Pseudocode Python

Post-condition REPEAT # NOT USED IN PYTHON

INPUT Colour

UNTIL Colour ← "red"

REPEAT # NOT USED IN PYTHON

INPUT Guess

UNTIL Guess ← 42

Pre-condition loops (WHILE)

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The condition must be an expression that evaluates to a Boolean (True/False)

The condition is tested and statements are only executed if the condition evaluates to True Your notes
After statements have been executed the condition is tested again
The loop ends when the condition evaluates to False
It can be written as:

WHILE <condition> DO
<statements>
ENDWHILE
A detailed look at a Python WHILE statement:

Iteration Pseudocode Python

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Pre-condition WHILE Colour != "Red" DO while colour != "Red":

INPUT Colour colour = input("New colour") Your notes

ENDWHILE

INPUT Temperature temperature = float(input("Enter temperature: "))

WHILE Temperature > 37 DO while temperature > 37:

OUTPUT "Patient has a fever" print("Patient has a fever")

INPUT temperature temperature = float(input("Enter temperature: "))

END WHILE

Nested Iteration
What is nested selection?
Nested iteration is a loop within a loop, e.g. a FOR inside of another FOR
Nested means to be 'stored inside the other'

Example
Pseudocode

Total ← 0

FOR Row ← 1 TO MaxRow

RowTotal ← 0

FOR Column ← 1 TO 10

RowTotal ← RowTotal + Amount[Row, Column]

NEXT Column

OUTPUT "Total for Row ", Row, " is ", RowTotal

Total ← Total + RowTotal

NEXT Row

OUTPUT "The grand total is ", Total

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Python
Your notes
// Program to print a multiplication table up to a given number
// Prompt the user to enter a number
number=int(input("Enter a number: "))

// Set the initial value of the counter for the outer loop
outer_counter = 1

// Outer loop to iterate through the multiplication table

while outer_counter <= number:

// Set the initial value of the counter for the inner loop
inner_counter = 1

// Inner loop to print the multiplication table for the current number
while inner_counter <= 10:

// Calculate the product of the outer and inner counters

product = outer_counter * inner_counter

// Print the multiplication table entry

print(outer_counter, " x ", inner_counter, " = ", product)

// Increment the inner counter

inner_counter = inner_counter + 1

// Move to the next number in the multiplication table

outer_counter = outer_counter + 1

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Totalling & Counting

Your notes
Totalling & Counting
How do you use totalling in a program?
Totalling involves adding up values, often in a loop
A total variable is set to 0 at the beginning of the program and then updated within a loop, such as:

Pseudocode Python

Total ← 0 total = 0

FOR I ← 1 to 10 for i in range(1, 11):

INPUT Num num = int(input("Enter a number: "))

TOTAL ← TOTAL + Num total = total + num

NEXT I print("Total:", total)

OUTPUT Total

How do you use counting in a program?

Counting involves keeping track of the number of times a particular event occurs
A count variable is set to 0 and then updated within a loop, such as:

Pseudocode Python

Count ← 0 count = 0

FOR I ← 1 to 10 for i in range(1, 11):

INPUT Num num = int(input("Enter a number: "))

IF Num > 5 if num > 5:

THEN count = count + 1

Count ← Count + 1 print("Count:", count)

ENDIF

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NEXT I

OUTPUT Count Your notes

WORKED EXAMPLE
Write an algorithm using pseudocode that:
Inputs 20 numbers
Outputs how many of these numbers are greater than 50
[3]
Answer
FOR x ← 1 TO 20 [1]

INPUT Number

IF Number > 50

THEN

Total ← Total + 1 [1]

NEXT x

PRINT total [1]

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String Handling
Your notes
String Handling
What is string manipulation?
String manipulation is the use of programming techniques to modify, analyse or extract information
from a string
Examples of string manipulation include:
Case conversion (modify)
Length (analyse)
Substrings (extract)

Case conversion
The ability to change a string from one case to another, for example, lower case to upper case

Function Pseudocode Python Output

Uppercase Name ← "Sarah" Name = "Sarah" "SARAH"

OUTPUT UCASE(Name) print(Name.upper())

Lowercase Name ← "SARAH" Name = "SARAH" "sarah"

OUTPUT LCASE(Name) print(Name.lower())

Length
The ability to count the number of characters in a string, for example, checking a password meets the
minimum requirement of 8 characters

Pseudocode Python Output

Password ← "letmein" Password = "letmein" 7

OUTPUT LENGTH(Password) print(len(Password))

Password ← "letmein" Password = "letmein" "Password too short"

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IF LENGTH(Password) >= 8 if len(Password) >= 8:

THEN print("Password accepted") Your notes

OUTPUT "Password accepted" else:

ELSE print("Password too short")

OUTPUT "Password too short"

ENDIF

Substring
The ability to extract a sequence of characters from a larger string in order to be used by another
function in the program, for example, data validation or combining it with other strings
Extracting substrings is performed using 'slicing', using specific start and end to slice out the desired
characters
Substring has a start position of 1 in pseudocode and 0 in Python

Pseudocode Python Output

Word ← "Revision" Word = "Revision" "Rev"

OUTPUT SUBSTRING(Word, 1, 3) print(Word[0:2])

Word ← "Revision" Word = "Revision" "visi"

OUTPUT SUBSTRING(Word, 3, 6) print(Word[2:5])

WORKED EXAMPLE
The function Length(x) finds the length of a string x. The function substring(x,y,z) finds a substring of x
starting at position y and z characters long. The first character in x is in position 1.
Write pseudocode statements to:
Store the string “Save my exams” in x
Find the length of the string and output it
Extract the word exams from the string and output it
[6]
Answer

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X ← "Save my exams"

[1] for storing string in X Your notes

OUTPUT LENGTH(X)

[1] for calling the function length. [1] for using the correct parameter X
Y←9

Z←5

OUTPUT SUBSTRING(X,Y,Z)

[1] for using the substring function.

[1] for correct parameters
[1] for outputting length and substring return values

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Arithmetic, Logical & Boolean Operators

Your notes
What is an operator?
An operator is a symbol used to instruct a computer to perform a specific operation on one or more
values
Examples of common operators include:
Arithmetic
Logical
Boolean

Arithmetic Operators
Operator Pseudocode Python

Addition + +

Subtraction - -

Multiplication * *

Division / /

Modulus (remainder after division) MOD %

Quotient (whole number division) DIV //

Exponentiation (to the power of) ^ **

To demonstrate the use of common arithmetic operators, three sample programs written in Python are
given below
Comments have been included to help understand how the arithmetic operators are being used
Arithmetic operators #1 - a simple program to calculate if a user entered number is odd or even
Arithmetic operators #2 - a simple program to calculate the area of a circle from a user inputted
radius
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Arithmetic operators #3 - a simple program that generates 5 maths questions based on user
inputs and gives a score of how many were correctly answered at the end
Your notes
Python code

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Arithmetic operators #1
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Get the user to input a number
user_input = int(input("Enter a number: "))

# if the remainder of the number divided by 2 is 0, the number is even

if user_input % 2 == 0:
print("The number is even.")
else:
print("The number is odd.")

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Arithmetic operators #2
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Get the radius from the user
radius = float(input("Enter the radius of the circle: "))

# Calculate the area of the circle

area = 3.14159 * radius ** 2

# Display the calculated area

print("The area of the circle with radius",radius,"is",area)

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Arithmetic operators #3
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Set the score to 0
score = 0

# Loop 5 times
for x in range(5):
num1 = int(input("Enter the first number: "))
operator = input("Enter the operator (+, -, *): ")
num2 = int(input("Enter the second number: "))
user_answer = int(input("What is "+str(num1)+str(operator)+str(num2)+"? "))

# Check the answer and update the score

if operator == '+':
correct_answer = num1 + num2
elif operator == '-':
correct_answer = num1 - num2

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elif operator == '*':

correct_answer = num1 * num2
Your notes
if user_answer == correct_answer:
score = score + 1
else:
print("Sorry that's incorrect.")

print("Your score is:", score)

Logical Operators
Operator Pseudocode Python

Equal to == ==

Not equal to <> !=

Less than < <

Less than or equal to <= <=

Greater than > >

Greater than or equal to >= >

Boolean Operators
A Boolean operators is a logical operator that can be used to compare two or more values and return a
Boolean value (True or False) based on the comparison
There are 3 main Boolean values:
AND: Returns True if both conditions are True
OR: Returns True if one or both conditions are True
NOT: Returns the opposite of the condition (True if False, False if True)
To demonstrate the use of common Boolean operators, three sample programs written in Python are
given below

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Comments have been included to help understand how the Boolean operators are being used
Common Boolean operators #1 - a simple program that assigns Boolean values to two variables Your notes
and outputs basic comparisons
Common Boolean operators #2 - a simple program to output a grade based on a users score
Common Boolean operators #3 - a simple program reads a text files and searches for an inputted
score
Python code

# -----------------------------------------------------------
# Common Boolean operators #1
# -----------------------------------------------------------
# Assign a Boolean value to a and b
a = True
b = False

# print the result of a and b

print("a and b:", a and b)
# print the result of a or b
print("a or b:", a or b)
# print the result of not a
print("not a:", not a)

# -----------------------------------------------------------
# Common Boolean operators #2
# -----------------------------------------------------------
# Take input for the score from the user
score = int(input("Enter the score: "))

# Compare the score and output the corresponding grade

if score >= 90 and score <= 100:
print("Grade: A")
elif score >= 80 and score < 90:
print("Grade: B")
elif score >= 70 and score < 80:
print("Grade: C")
elif score < 70:
print("Fail")

# -----------------------------------------------------------
# Common Boolean operators #3
# -----------------------------------------------------------
# Open the file for reading

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file = open("scores.txt","r")
# Set flags to false
end_of_file = False Your notes
found = False
score = input("Enter a score: ")
# While it's not the end of the file and the score has not been found
while not end_of_file and not found:
# read the line
scores = file.readline().strip()
# if the line equals the score
if score == str(scores):
found = True
print("Score found")
# if the line is empty
if scores == "":
end_of_file = True
print("Score not found")
file.close()

EXAM TIP
Boolean operators are often used in conditional statements such as if, while, and for loops
Boolean operators can be combined with comparison operators
Be careful when using the NOT operator, as it can sometimes lead to unexpected results
It is always a good idea to test your code with different inputs to ensure that it works as
expected

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Procedures & Functions

Your notes
What are functions and procedures?
Functions and procedures are a type of sub program, a sequence of instructions that perform a
specific task or set of tasks
Procedures and functions are defined at the start of the code
Sub programs are often used to simplify a program by breaking it into smaller, more manageable
parts
Sub programs can be used to:
Avoid duplicating code and can be reused throughout a program
Improve the readability and maintainability of code
Perform calculations, to retrieve data, or to make decisions based on input
Parameters are values that are passed into a sub program
Parameters can be variables or values and they are located in brackets after the name of the sub
program
Example: FUNCTION TaxCalculator(pay,taxcode) OR PROCEDURE TaxCalculator(pay,taxcode)
Sub programs can have multiple parameters
To use a sub program you 'call' it from the main program

What's the difference between a function and procedure?

A Function returns a value whereas a procedure does not

Procedures
Procedures are defined using the PROCEDURE keyword in pseudocode or def keyword in Python
A procedure can be written as:

PROCEDURE <identifier>
<statements>
ENDPROCEDURE
Or if parameters are being used:

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PROCEDURE <identifier>(<param1>:<data type>, <param2>:<data type>...)

<statements>
ENDPROCEDURE Your notes
Creating a procedure

Pseudocode

PROCEDURE calculate_area(length: INTEGER, width: INTEGER)

area ← length * width

OUTPUT "The area is " + area

END PROCEDURE

Python

def ageCheck(age):

if age > 18:

print("You are old enough")

else:

print("You are too young")

To call a procedure, it can be written as:

CALL <identifier>
CALL <identifier>(Value1,Value2...)

Calling a procedure

Pseudocode

CALL Calculate_area

CALL Calculate_area(5,3)

Python

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ageCheck(21)

print(ageCheck(21)) Your notes

Examples
A Python program using procedures to display a menu and navigate between them
Procedures are defined at the start of the program and the main program calls the first procedure to
start
In this example, no parameters are needed

Procedures

# Procedure definition
def main_menu():

# Outputs the option

print("1. Addition")
print("2. Subtraction")
print("3. Multiplication")
print("4. Division")
print("5. Exit")

# Asks the user to enter their choice

choice = int(input("Enter your choice: "))
if choice == 1:
addition()
elif choice == 2:
subtraction()
elif choice == 3:
multiplication()
elif choice == 4:
division()
elif choice == 5:
exit()

# Procedure definition
def addition():
num1 = int(input("Enter the first number: "))
num2 = int(input("Enter the second number: "))
print(num1 + num2)

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def subtraction():
num1 = int(input("Enter the first number: "))
num2 = int(input("Enter the second number: ")) Your notes
print(num1 - num2)

def multiplication():
num1 = int(input("Enter the first number: "))
num2 = int(input("Enter the second number: "))
print(num1 * num2)

def division():
num1 = int(input("Enter the first number: "))
num2 = int(input("Enter the second number: "))
print(num1 / num2)

# Main program
main_menu() # Calls the main_menu procedure

Functions
Functions are defined using the FUNCTION keyword in pseudocode or def keyword in Python
Functions always return a value so they do not use the CALL function, instead they are called within an
expression
A function can be written as:

FUNCTION <identifier> RETURNS <data type>

<statements>
ENDFUNCTION
Or if parameters are being used:

FUNCTION <identifier>(<param1>:<data type>, <param2>:<data type>...) RETURNS <data type>

<statements>
ENDFUNCTION

Creating and using a function

Pseudocode

FUNCTION calculate_area(length: INTEGER, width: INTEGER)

area ← length * width

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RETURN area

ENDFUNCTION Your notes

// Output the value returned from the function
OUTPUT(calculate_area(5,3))

Python

def squared(number):

squared = number^2

return squared

// Output the value returned from the function

print(squared(4))

Examples
A Python program using a function to calculate area and return the result
Two options for main program are shown, one which outputs the result (# 1) and one which stores the
result so that it can be used at a later time (# 2)

Functions

# Function definition, length and width are parameters

def area(length, width):
area = length * width # Calculate area
return area # Return area

# Main program #1
length = int(input("Enter the length: "))
width = int(input("Enter the width: "))
print(area(length, width))

# Main program #2
length = int(input("Enter the length: ")) length
width = int(input("Enter the width: "))
area = area(length, width) # Stores the result of the function in a variable
print("The area is " + str(area) + " cm^2")

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WORKED EXAMPLE
Your notes
An economy-class airline ticket costs £199. A first-class airline ticket costs £595.
(A) Create a function, flightCost(), that takes the number of passengers and the type of ticket as
parameters, calculates and returns the price to pay.
You do not have to validate these parameters
You must use :
a high-level programming language that you have studied [4]
(B) Write program code, that uses flightCost(), to output the price of 3 passengers flying economy.
You must use :
a high-level programming language that you have studied [3]
How do I answer this question?
(A)
Define the function, what parameters are needed? where do they go?
How do you calculate the price?
Return the result
(B)
How do you call a function?
What parameters does the function need to return the result?
Answers

Part Python

A def flightCost(passengers, type):

if type == "economy":

cost = 199 * passengers

elif type == "first":

cost = 595 * passengers

return cost

B print(flightCost("economy", 3)

OR
x = flightCost("economy", 3)

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print(x)

Your notes

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Local & Global Variables

Your notes
Local Variables
What is a local variable?
A local variable is a variable declared within a specific scope, such as a function or a code block
Local variables are accessible only within the block in which they are defined, and their lifetime is
limited to that particular block
Once the execution of the block ends, the local variable is destroyed, and its memory is released

Python example
In this python code, you can see that the localVariable (with the value 10) is declared inside of the
function printValue
This means that only this function can access and change the value in the local variable
It cannot be accessed by other modules in the program

Local variables

def printValue():
localVariable = 10 # Defines a local variable inside the function
print("The value of the local variable is:", localVariable)

printValue() # Call the function

Global Variables
What is a global variable?
A global variable is a variable declared at the outermost level of a program.
They are declared outside any modules such as functions or procedures
Global variables have a global scope, which means they can be accessed and modified from any part
of the program

Python example
In this python code, you can see that the globalVariable (with the value 10) is declared outside of the
function printValue

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This means that this function and any other modules can access and change the value in the global
variable
Your notes
Global variables

globalVariable = 10 # Defines a global variable

def printValue():
global globalVariable
print("The value into the variable is:", globalVariable)

printValue() # Call the function

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Library Routines
Your notes
Library Routines
What are library routines?
A library routine is reusable code that can be used throughout a program
The code has been made public through reusable modules or functions
Using library routines saves programmers time by using working code that has already been tested
Some examples of pre-existing libraries are:
Random
Round

Random
The random library is a library of code which allows users to make use of 'random' in their programs
Examples of random that are most common are:
Random choices
Random numbers
Random number generation is a programming concept that involves a computer generating a random
number to be used within a program to add an element of unpredictability
Examples of where this concept could be used include:
Simulating the roll of a dice
Selecting a random question (from a numbered list)
National lottery
Cryptography

Concept Pseudocode Python

Random numbers RANDOM(1,6) import random

number = random.randint(1,10)

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number = random.randint(-1.0,10.0)

Your notes
Random choice import random

choice = random.choice()

Examples in Python
Random code

# importing random library

import random

# asking user to enter a username and password

user = input("Enter a username: ")
pw = input("Enter a password: ")

# checking if the user and password are correct

if user == "admin" and pw == "1234":

# generating a random 4 digit code

code = random.randint(1000,9999)

print("Your code is", code)

National lottery

import random

# Create a list of numbers for the national lottery

lottery_numbers = list(range(1, 50))

# Create an empty list to store the chosen numbers

chosen_numbers = []

# Loop to pick 6 numbers from the list

for _ in range(6):

# Use random.choice to pick a number from the list

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number = random.choice(lottery_numbers)

# Add the chosen number to the list of chosen numbers Your notes
chosen_numbers.append(number)

# Remove the chosen number from the list of available numbers

lottery_numbers.remove(number)

# Sort the chosen numbers in ascending order

chosen_numbers.sort()

# Output the chosen numbers

print("The winning numbers are:", chosen_numbers)

Round
The round library is a library of code which allows users to round numerical values to a set amount of
decimal places
An example of rounding is using REAL values and rounding to 2 decimal places
The round library can be written as:

ROUND(<identifier>, <places>)

Concept Pseudocode Python

Round Cost ← 1.9556 number = 3.14159 rounded_number = round(number, 2)

OUTPUT ROUND(Cost,2) print(rounded_number)

// Outputs 1.95 // Outputs 3.14

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Maintaining Programs
Your notes
Maintaining Programs
How do you write programs that are easy to maintain?
Easy to maintain programs are written using techniques that make code easy to read
Programmers should be consistent with the use of techniques such as:
Layout - spacing between sections
Indentation - clearly defined sections of code
Comments - explaining key parts of the code
Meaningful variable names - describe what is being stored
White space - adding suitable spaces to make it easy to read
Sub-programs - Functions or procedures used where possible
When consistency is applied, programs are easy to maintain

Example easy to-maintain program

Python code

def calculate_area_of_triangle(base, height):

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
"""
Calculates the area of a triangle given its base and height.
Inputs:
base (float): The length of the triangle's base (positive value).
height (float): The height of the triangle from the base (positive value).
Returns:
The calculated area of the triangle (float).
Raises:
ValueError: If either base or height is non-positive.
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"""
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Your notes
if base <= 0 or height <= 0:

raise ValueError("Base and height must be positive values.")

area = 0.5 base height

return area

def main():

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Prompts the user for triangle base and height, calculates and prints the area
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
try:

base = float(input("Enter the base of the triangle: "))

height = float(input("Enter the height of the triangle: "))

# Call the area calculation function

area = calculate_area_of_triangle(base, height)

print(f"The area of the triangle is approximately {area:.2f} square units.")

except ValueError as error:

print(f"Error: {error}")

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Main program
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------
main()

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