Applications Generation | OCR A-Level Computer Science (H446)

Applications Generation

64 questions
5 subtopics
Component 01: Computer systems
Component 01

Applications Generation is examined on component 01 of OCR Computer Science, Computer systems.

64 recall questions across 5 subtopics.

Sample questions from Applications Generation

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Applications and utilities

What is application software?

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Software that carries out a task the end user actually wants done, rather than running or maintaining the computer itself - for example a word processor, a spreadsheet, a web browser, a database front end, a photo editor or a game. It relies on system software to reach the hardware.
Open source and closed source

What is open source software?

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Software released with its source code, under a licence that allows anyone to read it, modify it and redistribute it. It is usually, though not necessarily, free of charge; the defining feature is the freedom granted by the licence, not the price.
Translators: interpreters, compilers and assemblers

What is a compiler?

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A translator that takes the whole of a high-level source program and translates it in one operation into object or machine code, producing an executable file. Once compiled, the program can be run repeatedly without the compiler or the source code being present.
The stages of compilation

What is a token?

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A short standard code standing for one lexical unit of the program - a keyword, an operator, a bracket, an identifier or a literal value. Replacing every unit with a fixed-length token means the later stages work on a compact uniform stream rather than on raw text of varying length.
The stages of compilation

What does syntax analysis produce?

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An abstract syntax tree representing the structure of the program, plus a list of any syntax and semantic errors found and an updated symbol table.
Linkers, loaders and libraries

What is a library, in the context of program development?

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A collection of pre-written, pre-compiled and tested subroutines, classes or functions for common tasks - mathematical operations, sorting, graphics, encryption, file and network access - that a programmer can call from their own code rather than writing the same thing again.

The 5 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Applications and utilities	Recall questions on application software and utility programs, common utilities, defragmentation on hard disks and solid state drives, lossy and lossless compression, generic and bespoke software, and justifying applications for a given purpose.	12
Open source and closed source	Recall questions on open source and closed source software, the arguments for and drawbacks of each, whether open source means free, how companies profit from open source, security arguments, and choosing between them for a scenario.	11
Translators: interpreters, compilers and assemblers	Recall questions on assemblers, compilers and interpreters, the differences between compiling and interpreting, debugging, speed and distribution, bytecode, one-to-one assembly translation, portability, and choosing a translation approach for a project.	14
The stages of compilation	Recall questions on lexical analysis, tokens and the symbol table, syntax analysis and the abstract syntax tree, syntax and semantic errors, code generation, optimisation and its cost, and which errors are caught at compile time.	15
Linkers, loaders and libraries	Recall questions on linkers and loaders and the difference between them, libraries and their advantages and disadvantages, static and dynamic linking compared, and patching a vulnerable library under each kind of linking.	12

Applications Generation is 64 of the 1,549 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £9

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.