Resources / Materials: At home you will need to download Visual Basic 2010 Express.

Learn VB Coding:
VBnet1-5Console (VBnet1-5Windows<not needed until A2) VBnet6-10Console

Autumn 1: Top - Down Problem Solving, Algorithms and VB Code: Consider solving a Suduko Puzzle - In pairs, so that you can discuss... Try some simple ones - Try to write down the steps you take => Constraint or advantage of Computers is that they follow in sequence without variation (unless told to!). Pass your steps to another pair to follow. Using VB Code to output number sequences & play a simple quiz. The use of a "Dry Run" to help find and solve problems. Write a basic quiz of 5 Questions (< Complete by next lesson).

Now look at this revised piece of code. Is this more top down? Can you dry run it first?

Autumn 2: List Processing: Arrays & Loops. Have a look at 02MathsQuiz - What code is new? dry run it then enter into VB. (<Complete by next lesson or enter the code!). Having Dry run the program run it and see if you are correct! Now try these 03loops at the end there is an extension to the Maths Quiz!

Autumn 3: Quick Progs: Average of 2, 3 ,4...n numbers; Higher / Lower Game (Numbers - 1/2 Player) 2 versions Numbers or Cards + 1 or 2 player / multiple games); Dealing a card from a pack; Higher / Lower Game (1 Player Version 1.0 1.1 & 2 Player) - Also see card display; Pontoon; Dice Game1 (+Code for VB); A Fruit Machine; A Sports Tournament; Explore (A walk through B Block!); Conversion routines (Temperature / Money Exchange / Age from DoB / Pay from Hours); Solving a Quadratic; Coin Tossing; How many Vowels?; The Search for Pythagorean Triangles! >

Autumn 4: More Advanced code... Mastermind / Connect 4 / Suduko Solver / Noughts and Crosses / Battleships / Adventure Game / Top Trumps. Further challengs can be found in past papers from the British Informatics Olympiad.

Additional materials > See the KES Code Page

Spring1: Read 07 Star Movement.

Dice Cricket: Research the rules. Create Arrays for the 2 dice (similar code as for Playing cards, though it might be an idea to have 2 arrays for each die - one string which describes the event like 'Run Out' and one which is an Byte or integer to give the runs scored). Create Integers/Bytes to store the Runs and Wickets for the innings. First set up to play one player one innings. Ensure the Output tells the story of the innings (ie 1 run, 4 runs, HOWZAT - bowled, 5 for 1, HOWZAT - not out, 2 runs etc.). Once it is working for one player, introduce two players over 1 innings - it might be an idea to move your esisting code into a function so that Main become PlayerOneScore=Innings(), PlayerTwoScore=Innings(). Then write the winning score (& player name) to a 'log' file, which should be updated after every game at this point.

Dice Cricket 2: Look at the first of the two versions here. Add your code and write a comparsion. Now look at the second version in depth. Read through it and try it out. Task1 - the two table at the bottom of the Word document for the Version 2 code. That is, make a list of all the Subroutines / Function and Variables / Constants used and describe them.

Look at past paper COMP1-QP-JUN11

COMP1 - Revision Guide Crosswords! AS Technical Computing1 (<Old spec very similar) A2 Technical AQA-Wiki

VB websites... VBTutor SchoolFreeware(You Tube) < If you try these.. pleaselet us know how useful they are!

Pre Pre-release Exercise - Download the VB Code.
1. Dry run the code with the following Data (2, 3, Peter, Willis, wrong, correct, wrong, Louis, Brown, correct, correct, wrong). State what will be on screen and in the file Out.csv.
2. Describe what the program does.
3. The code for the Sort subroutine is missing add a BubbleSort, take care with the Array structure. You may re-write the original code into a language of your choice or paste it into VB.
4. The whole routine is poorly written, that is it is not "Structured". Rewrite the code so that it is structured. List the 5 key changes you have made (see page 89 of Bond and Langfield book).
5. Suggest data that could be used to test the modified program from a) a "Black box" & b) "White box" perspective.
6. Test your final code following the plans from qu5. Following your tests suggest further developments to make it more robust.

Past Paper - Questions

COMP1-QP-JUN09 COMP1-QP-Jun10 Comp1-QP-Jun11

Past Paper Answers

COMP1-MS-JUN09 COMP1-MS-Jun10 Comp1-MS-Jun11