Advanced Higher Computing 2012
Discussion for all types of Scottish exams, help on Scottish Results Day and advice on Clearing.
-
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
- Location: Motherwell
- Posts: 184
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Hey, nice to see another person doing the course
I got the option of going up to one of the local schools for 2 periods on a Wednesday afternoon to do the course, the teacher up there went through the Computer Architecture unit using the scholar notes on the smart board and just left us to do the Computer systems part on our own. We also just got given a date and told to have the project in for then. Not ideal, but i tried to think of it as good preparation for uni next year, which is what 6th year is all about.
For the project i designed a Hangman game with several advanced features using Visual Basic (Which I entirely taught myself over the few months we had to do the project) I scored 75/80 for that section, thankfully!
Done a few calculations and I'll only need around 50% in the exam for an A, 30ish for a B.
In all honesty i haven't studied for the exam yet, I've not even sat down and done an entire past paper - expect for the prelim where i got a high A.
My plan is just to kind of wing it and hope the questions are as repetitive as usual and make full use of the 2 and a half hours to make a good attempt at all of the question. I'll settle for a B
Hows your experience of the course been? -
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Junior Member
- Posts: 51
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012The course overall has been pretty good. For the prelim I got a low A - not too disappointed but I know I could have done better. For my project I created a kind of platform-based running game in Flash, got 71/80 so pretty pleased at that - means I need 70 marks for an A and 50 marks for a B. Just started revising now using the Scholar books.
How have you found the Architecture unit? -
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
- Location: Motherwell
- Posts: 184
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012The Architecture unit has been fine for me, some bits were pretty interesting. Alot of it all ties in quite nicely too which makes it easier. From studying the recent past papers theres a definite pattern to what can come up, there's only really so many things they can ask you in the unit.
It's the Computer Systems which is the problem for me, I never properly learned any of it to start with. The first question - usually about the software development process - is always easy. It's the ones writing code and the other problem solving questions that can be very tricky. -
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Junior Member
- Posts: 51
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Yeah I would agree. I think I heard somewhere that the exam is approximately 40% knowledge and understanding, 60% problem solving. Writing the sorting and searching algorithms is pretty easy, its just remembering it. But questions that ask you to identify a particular line, for instance, that stops the algorithm from working can be very hard.
-
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Junior Member
- Posts: 51
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Nice. What was your project?(Original post by AMGULAW)
I'm doing computer architecture too for my optional unit.
And I got 79/80 in the coursework so I only need around half marks in the exam for an A, should be achievable
-
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Junior Member
- Posts: 51
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012If you got a decent project mark then I am sure you will be fine.(Original post by Danny1994)
I don't feel as confident for this exam as I have for my others this year ): -
- Reputation:
- Full Member
- Location: Scotland
- Posts: 105
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012I got 65, my teacher tries to be as strict as possible incase he gets moderated :/(Original post by Inheritorz)
If you got a decent project mark then I am sure you will be fine. -
- Reputation:
- New Member
- Posts: 13
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Hangman in Visual Basic 6(Original post by Inheritorz)
Nice. What was your project?
-
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
- Location: Motherwell
- Posts: 184
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Pretty easy i have to say. I got answers to all of the questions, most of them seemed right. Pretty sure i managed >50% so i should get my A(Original post by Danny1994)
How did you all find it?
Any questions you want to compare answers for? -
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Junior Member
- Posts: 51
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012I thought it was a decent paper. Answered most of the questions. There were a few that threw me though. The assembly language questions were pretty hard I thought. I didn't really have any answer for the one asking about a 'service' and the one where you had to calculate the 'theoretical improvement in performance' when using SIMD instructions on the 8 128-bit registers, I just didn't seem to get. Apart from that it went OK. Probably didn't get a high A but ill stick with an A.(Original post by Danny1994)
How did you all find it? -
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
- Location: Motherwell
- Posts: 184
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Yep im pretty much in the same position as you mate.(Original post by Inheritorz)
I thought it was a decent paper. Answered most of the questions. There were a few that threw me though. The assembly language questions were pretty hard I thought. I didn't really have any answer for the one asking about a 'service' and the one where you had to calculate the 'theoretical improvement in performance' when using SIMD instructions on the 8 128-bit registers, I just didn't seem to get. Apart from that it went OK. Probably didn't get a high A but ill stick with an A.
The assembly code ones were tricky - think i put JMP and XTY - both i think are wrong, the XTY should be TXY at least. I left out the SIMD one too. One of the pseudocode ones were abit iffy. I also mixed up the simple sort/bubble sort comparison one - nxn and n(n+1)/2, completely forgot the log^2n thing as well. The operating system layers from higher i couldn't quite remember perfectly either lol and indeed the services bit.
Overall I'm very happy with how it went considering I only studied the night before it, done no past papers fully and basically self taught the course lol. -
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
- Location: Motherwell
- Posts: 184
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Give an example and description of an instruction for:(Original post by TheUnbeliever)
What were the assembly and SIMD questions?
i) An Unconditional Branch
ii) Transferring a value from one register to another register
both 2 markers
A processor has a set of SIMD instructions that can operate on eight special 128 bit SIMD registers.
The program currently running is displaying pixels in 32 bit colour. Calculate the theoretical improvement in performance that the use of SIMD instructions would bring compared to a processor which applied the operation to one pixel at a time. Show all working for the calculation.
Another 2 marker -
- Reputation:
- TSR Demigod
- Location: Scotland
- Posts: 5,838
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Do these have to be a specific architecture? JMP should be fine.(Original post by stephenmca)
i) An Unconditional Branch
MOV is what they probably expect, but there are all sorts that would fit the description.ii) Transferring a value from one register to another register
Dreadful question. Assuming the unspecified operation is amenable to such parallelization, we can now work on 4 pixels simultaneously. Knowing the number of SIMD registers is of no use without much more context.A processor has a set of SIMD instructions that can operate on eight special 128 bit SIMD registers.
The program currently running is displaying pixels in 32 bit colour. Calculate the theoretical improvement in performance that the use of SIMD instructions would bring compared to a processor which applied the operation to one pixel at a time. Show all working for the calculation. -
- Reputation:
- Full Member
- Location: Scotland
- Posts: 105
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012Yeah that one was quite weird, I put 32x brighter 128*8/32 that was my logic :/ the end of section 1 completely threw me, so I don't know ): see for the fetch execute, did you get 115 for the value in the accumulator?(Original post by stephenmca)
Give an example and description of an instruction for:
i) An Unconditional Branch
ii) Transferring a value from one register to another register
both 2 markers
A processor has a set of SIMD instructions that can operate on eight special 128 bit SIMD registers.
The program currently running is displaying pixels in 32 bit colour. Calculate the theoretical improvement in performance that the use of SIMD instructions would bring compared to a processor which applied the operation to one pixel at a time. Show all working for the calculation.
Another 2 marker -
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Junior Member
- Posts: 51
Re: Advanced Higher Computing 2012I cant remember what I got for that question, but the one about conducting a dry run on the assembly code, what did you say it did?(Original post by Danny1994)
Yeah that one was quite weird, I put 32x brighter 128*8/32 that was my logic :/ the end of section 1 completely threw me, so I don't know ): see for the fetch execute, did you get 115 for the value in the accumulator?
