AQA A Level Computer Science Key Terms
questions and answers
Absolute Error - The difference between the actual number and the nearest
representable value.
Abstract data type (ADT) - A data type whose properties are specified
independently of any particular programming language.
Abstraction - Representation that is arrived at by removing unnecessary details.
Aggregation - Relationship between two object types in which one object type has
a component which is of the other type.
Ajax - Web technology that allows only the part of a web page that needs
updating to be fetched from the web server.
Algorithm - A sequence of unambiguous instructions for solving a problem. It can
be represented as a Turing machine program.
Application programming interface (API) - A layer of software that allows
application programs to call on the services of the operating system.
,AQA A Level Computer Science Key Terms
questions and answers
Association - If the relationship is not inheritance and it is not aggregation then it
is an association.
Asymptotic behaviour of f - It is the behaviour of the function f(n) for very large
values of n.
Asynchronous serial data transmission - Transmission system in which the sender
and receiver have separate clocks which are not kept synchronised. Instead, the
clocks are synchronised temporarily at the start of a transmission. The arrival of
data cannot be predicted by the receiver; s a start bit is used to signal the arrival
of data and to synchronise the transmitter and receiver temporarily.
Attribute - A property or characteristic of an entity (databases) or an object (OOP).
Automation - Turning an abstraction into a form that can be processed by a
computer.
Backus-Naur Form, (BNF) - Backus-Naur Form, (BNF)
, AQA A Level Computer Science Key Terms
questions and answers
Bandwidth - For a transmission medium, the range of signal frequencies it may
transmit.
Base case - A value that has a solution which does not involve any reference to the
general case solution.
Baseband system - A system that uses a single data channel system in which the
whole bandwidth of the transmission medium is dedicated to one data channel at
a time.
Basic operation - The operation which contributes most to the total running time.
Baud rate - The rate at which signals on a wire may change.
Behaviours - The functions of the object or what the object does.
Bit rate - The number of bits transmitted per second
questions and answers
Absolute Error - The difference between the actual number and the nearest
representable value.
Abstract data type (ADT) - A data type whose properties are specified
independently of any particular programming language.
Abstraction - Representation that is arrived at by removing unnecessary details.
Aggregation - Relationship between two object types in which one object type has
a component which is of the other type.
Ajax - Web technology that allows only the part of a web page that needs
updating to be fetched from the web server.
Algorithm - A sequence of unambiguous instructions for solving a problem. It can
be represented as a Turing machine program.
Application programming interface (API) - A layer of software that allows
application programs to call on the services of the operating system.
,AQA A Level Computer Science Key Terms
questions and answers
Association - If the relationship is not inheritance and it is not aggregation then it
is an association.
Asymptotic behaviour of f - It is the behaviour of the function f(n) for very large
values of n.
Asynchronous serial data transmission - Transmission system in which the sender
and receiver have separate clocks which are not kept synchronised. Instead, the
clocks are synchronised temporarily at the start of a transmission. The arrival of
data cannot be predicted by the receiver; s a start bit is used to signal the arrival
of data and to synchronise the transmitter and receiver temporarily.
Attribute - A property or characteristic of an entity (databases) or an object (OOP).
Automation - Turning an abstraction into a form that can be processed by a
computer.
Backus-Naur Form, (BNF) - Backus-Naur Form, (BNF)
, AQA A Level Computer Science Key Terms
questions and answers
Bandwidth - For a transmission medium, the range of signal frequencies it may
transmit.
Base case - A value that has a solution which does not involve any reference to the
general case solution.
Baseband system - A system that uses a single data channel system in which the
whole bandwidth of the transmission medium is dedicated to one data channel at
a time.
Basic operation - The operation which contributes most to the total running time.
Baud rate - The rate at which signals on a wire may change.
Behaviours - The functions of the object or what the object does.
Bit rate - The number of bits transmitted per second
