AQA GCSE Computer Science key terms

A secondary storage device that uses solid-state technology to retain data in electrical circuits.

Non-volatile storage that uses electronic circuits to store binary data, without moving mechanical parts.

A type of secondary storage that uses electrical circuits and non-volatile memory to store data, with no moving parts.

A precise sequence of steps for arranging data in a chosen order, such as numbers from smallest to largest.

The program instructions written by a programmer, before translation or interpretation.

Malware that secretly monitors a user's activity and gathers information without their knowledge or consent.

A language used to retrieve and manipulate data in a relational database.

A person or group affected by a decision, such as customers, employees, owners or the wider community.

The default destination for a program’s output; in AQA pseudocode, OUTPUT displays its items on the monitor or screen.

The amount of data a storage device can hold, commonly measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB).

An ordered sequence of characters treated as text.

The number of characters in a string, including spaces and punctuation.

A hierarchical diagram showing how a whole problem or system is divided into smaller tasks.

An approach to developing programs by breaking a problem into manageable sub-problems and implementing their solutions as organised, connected subroutines.

A smaller list formed from part of a larger list.

A smaller problem that forms part of a larger problem and has a clearly identifiable task to accomplish.

A routine within a program that can be called to perform a particular task.

An instruction that runs a named subroutine, supplying any values it requires.

The code that gives a subroutine its name and specifies the instructions it will execute when called.

The defined way that other code uses a subroutine, including its name, parameters and any return value.

A sequence of consecutive characters taken from a string.

An exchange of the positions of two values.

A mistake that breaks the grammatical rules of a programming language, preventing the affected code from being executed.

A logical, organised method of understanding a problem, designing a solution, implementing it, testing it and evaluating whether it meets the requirements.

Software that operates or manages the computer system and provides a platform for running applications.

A collection of records with the same field structure, usually about one subject, such as students.

The value that a search algorithm is trying to find.