Theoretical knowledge

At the simplest level, computers are little more than a collection of transistors and circuits. They connect together to form logic gates, which in turn are used to form logic circuits.

High-level languages allow programmers to write instructions in a language that is easier to understand than low-level languages. Translators translate programs written in high-level languages into the machine code that a computer understands.

Computer systems are a combination of both hardware and software working together. Hardware is the physical components of a computer and software is the programs that run on a computer.

Networking computers brings many benefits to users. Without networking, many computing applications would not be possible.

Networks can be arranged in different topologies. Encryption is used to ensure that messages can be sent securely over a network.

Computer systems are at risk of intrusion, theft, and deletion. Cybercrime is evolving at the same rate as the technology around us.

Understand the use of a relational database to eliminate data inconsistency and data redundancy, and be aware of the various uses of SQL within a relational database.

The use of computers has brought about ethical, legal and environmental impacts. These issues increasingly affect people's daily lives.