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4.6 Fundamentals of computer systems

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are programming languages classified and what are the main paradigms?

Understand the classification of programming languages by level (low and high) and by paradigm (imperative, object-oriented, declarative and functional), and the use of machine code and assembly language.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Computer Science 4.6.4, covering the classification of programming languages by level (low and high) and by paradigm (imperative, object-oriented, declarative and functional), and the use of machine code and assembly language.
8 min answer →

What is the difference between hardware and software, and what does an operating system do?

Understand the relationship between hardware and software, the classification of software into system and application software, and the role of the operating system and utility programs.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Computer Science 4.6.1, covering the relationship between hardware and software, the classification of software into system and application software, and the role of the operating system and utility programs.
8 min answer →

How do logic gates and Boolean algebra build a computer's logic?

Understand the logic gates NOT, AND, OR, XOR, NAND and NOR, their truth tables, combining gates into logic circuits, and simplifying expressions using Boolean algebra.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Computer Science 4.6.2 and 4.6.3, covering the logic gates NOT, AND, OR, XOR, NAND and NOR, their truth tables, building logic circuits, and simplifying Boolean expressions using the laws of Boolean algebra.
9 min answer →

How is source code translated to run, and what does a compiler actually do?

Understand assemblers, compilers and interpreters, the differences between them, the stages of compilation (lexical analysis, syntax analysis, code generation and optimisation), and intermediate code.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Computer Science 4.6.5, covering assemblers, compilers and interpreters and their differences, the stages of compilation (lexical analysis, syntax analysis, code generation and optimisation), and intermediate code such as bytecode.
9 min answer →