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how are you preparing for the trial exam? (1 Viewer)

Wild Dan Hibiki

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past papers? going over the textbook? practicing algorithms? what are you guys doing for the upcoming trial exam?
 

Winston

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Think logically in every single case, break down the question so that you build up confidence from knowing parts of the questions and work from there. There's generally two parts of extended response questions, they will provide some form of real world situation whereby X company would like to implement a new system, which they most possibly would ask about which method of implementation to use i.e. Pilot, Direct Cut, Parallel, Phased. When you do these questions, at many cases it's really common sense at times, so just empathise the situation as if you were in that stance and what is the most appropriate thing to do.

We then have our suckered long Algorithms which everyone hates, all i can say to you guys is, break down on each control structure, well also know all your control structures, i.e. IF THEN, CASEWHERE (It's CASEWHERE not Select Case for you VB users), WHILE ENDWHILE (Not WEND for VB Developers). Remember that a call (invokation to a particular function) is always UNDERLINED. So if you were asked to describe what a certain algorithm is trying to achieve, break down the psuedocode logic to it, look at it in sections, if there's a loop firs identify what the loop is there for, what it does for that section of psuedocode. Know between what a Logic Error, Run-time Error, and Syntax Error.

Know all your EBNF/BNF, Railway diagrams symbols and syntax, generally asked in Multiple Choice Questions.

Make sure you know how to generate a reasonable set of test data which will test boundarys. It's also good at cases to justify why certain test data was used. Make sure you also know about what Regression Testing is, i.e. it's basically when the developer uses an old set of Test Data, and feeds it into a newer version of the system, why? because this sees if the integrity of the system is still intact due to any new add-ons to the system, because if old test data still works, then we can be sure that new changes to the system, did not break the old system.

Scope of variables, someone asked this before, make sure you know that too, Local Variable, Global Variables, and what is meant by the scope of a variable.

I forgot all my feasibility studies, but there's still some in the mind, the general OH & S aspects might creep up, but very rarely, feasibility study is always a famous one they ask about.

Some miscellaneous items, know the Fetch-Execute-Cycle, and if you have any time brush up on a little bit of Decimal to Binary Conversion, Decimal to Hexadecimal conversion (yes i know these are really part of the Software Devs. View of Hardware, but it's part of the Year 11 Preliminary course, and it's expected you know how to do that, just like last years 2003 HSC paper, Evolution of Programming Language, students felt it was unfair because there was a question that required Hexadecimal conversion knowledge).


I don't know what else to say, but all the best, and good luck!!!!!!! :D
 

raymes

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what do u meain prepare for the trials
mine were last week!!!
last one today
 

simonj2

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mine are tomorrow... gone over 3 cssa papers, just need to brush up on some conversion, fetch execute cycle and fesibility study...
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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oh crap, after reading all ur guys responses i feel so unprepared
i'm practicing some algorithms and doing the exercises in the textbook. i looked at the '01 hsc paper and i was completely lost. oh wells :confused:
 

neuro_logik

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Mines tomorrow arvo, i havnt started yet, just need to read over notes and do some past papers and the day after i have physics :vcross:
 

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