Exam questions: Applications Generation

Question 1

9 marks

1(a) 5 marks

State the most appropriate application software for each task in the table.

Task	Application Software
Creating graphics such as a logo
Writing letters to clients to confirm their appointment date and time
Calculating the company profits at the end of each month
Storing, searching and updating client details and purchases
Creating brochures and flyers about the organisation

Your answer

Mark scheme 1(a)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

1 mark for each correct application software

Task

Application Software

Creating

graphics such as

a logo

Graphics/image editing

software

Writing letters to

clients to confirm

their appointment

date and time

Word processing software

Calculating the

company profits

at the end of

each month

Spreadsheet/Accounting

software

Storing,

searching and

updating client

details and

purchases

Database software

Creating

brochures and

flyers about the

organisation

Desktop publishing

software / DTP

Guidance

Allow any sensible software. e.g. text editor for WP
e.g. photo/image editor for row 1

BOD publication editor for DTP

DNA brand names - ignore brand name if application type is also given.

Examiner’s Comments

Many candidates were able to score at least 4 marks on this question. Those who gave brand names were not given marks as is standard for these types of question. Few candidates were able to give DTP for the fifth application type. Many gave email for the second application type which would not be the most appropriate for writing letters to clients.

Your mark for 1(a)

out of 5

1(b)

OCR Solutions make use of software libraries when writing their programming code. They also make use of linkers and loaders to compile and run the program.

1(b)(i) 2 marks

Describe what linker means.

Your answer

Mark scheme 1(b)(i)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

1 mark per bullet to max 2:

Combines/links code/programs to files/software libraries...
...to form a single executable file

Guidance

Allow one mark for valid description of static and/or dynamic linkers e.g. Static linkers combine code and libraries into one file / Dynamic linkers link/add addresses to libraries

Examiner’s Comments

The majority of candidates were able to gain one mark on this question for stating that a linker links code with libraries but few went on to then describe it forming a single executable file.

Your mark for 1(b)(i)

out of 2

1(b)(ii) 2 marks

Describe what loader means.

Your answer

Mark scheme 1(b)(ii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

1 mark per bullet to max 2:

It is part of the operating system
Loads an executable file (into memory)...
...from secondary storage
Loads the required software libraries

Guidance

MP2 - Allow loads
applications/programs

Examiner’s Comments

Many candidates confused loaders with compilers and IDEs and talked about being able to use libraries in source code or loading code into the compiler.

Your mark for 1(b)(ii)

out of 2

Question 2

2 marks

2 2 marks

All source code needs to be translated into object code using a translator.

A software development company has written a new computer game in a high-level language.

Identify which type of translator would be the most suitable for the computer game and give a reason why.

Type

Reason

Your answer

Mark scheme 2

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Compiler ...
... Would protect their source code / keep their IP secret
... meaning competitors cannot steal their ideas
... Protect their money making ideas
...would mean the game would run quicker (than if it were interpreted).

Guidance

Examiner’s Comments

Although many candidates correctly selected ‘compiler’ for the type of translator, this was often not followed up with a suitable reason.

Your mark for 2

out of 2

Question 3

11 marks

3(a)

A secondary school is upgrading their computers. They decide to install "thin client" computers. A thin client computer is when users access their computer in the usual way with a keyboard, mouse and monitor. However, all processing takes place on the virtual machine on a server rather than the computer at their desk.

The virtual machines will have utility software and application software installed.

3(a)(i) 2 marks

Describe the difference between utility software and application software.

Your answer

Mark scheme 3(a)(i)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Application software allows the user to solve a problem / complete a task.
Utility software is designed to monitor / manage / maintain a computer system

Guidance

Examiner’s Comments

This question was generally answered well.

Your mark for 3(a)(i)

out of 2

3(a)(ii) 4 marks

The application software installed will be used by students to complete their school work.

Name two different types of application software that may be used by students, giving an example of how each may be used.

TYPE 1

Name

Example

TYPE 2

Name

Example

Your answer

Mark scheme 3(a)(ii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Word Processor ...

E.g

Allows students to write essays / reports
Spreadsheets ...

E.g.

Allow students to track/aggregate/calculate data
Create charts
Model situations / experiments
Presentation ...

E.g.

Allows students to create presentations on a particular topic

Guidance

Allow any sensible application that could be used in a school
environment as part of a student’s workflow (e.g. photo editor, email client, web-browser).

Example must be specific to a school environment

Do not allow brand names for type of application

If a brand name is used, allow follow through mark for a valid example

Examiner’s Comments

Although this question was generally answered well, some candidates have used brand names for applications

which is not allowed. Where a valid application was given, this was generally followed up with an appropriate example.

Your mark for 3(a)(ii)

out of 4

3(a)(iii) 2 marks

The application software installed on the virtual machines can be closed source software or open source software.

Explain one advantage to the school of using open source software.

Your answer

Mark scheme 3(a)(iii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Open Source Software allows access/modification to/of the source code... ...can tailor the software to their specific needs ...may be more widely bug fixed ...there may be a wider pool of support available in the community

Or

There will likely be no cost to purchasing a license to use the software... ...saving the school money

Guidance

Examiner’s Comments

This question was generally answered well although some candidates stated that the software can be modified rather than stating that the source code can be modified.

Your mark for 3(a)(iii)

out of 2

3(b) 3 marks

Name three different types of utility software.

1

2

3

Your answer

Mark scheme 3(b)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

e.g.

Disk defragmentation
File management
Device driver
System cleanup
Anti-virus/Anti-malware
Firewall
Backup
Compression

Guidance

Allow other examples if valid (no duplicates)

Examiner’s Comments

The majority of candidates have selected three utilities correctly in their response.

Your mark for 3(b)

out of 3

Question 4

4 marks

4 4 marks

All source code needs to be translated into object code using a translator.

Tick one box in each row to indicate which type of translator is being used.

	Compiler	Interpreter	Assembler
Creates an executable file
Creates one line of object code for each line of source code
Translates all the high-level code at once
A program needs to be translated each time it is run

Your answer

Mark scheme 4

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Compiler

Interpreter

Assembler

Creates

an

executable

file

X

(X)

Creates

one line of

object

code for

each line

of source

code

X

Translates

all the

high-level

code at

once

A program

needs to

be

translated

each time

it is run

X

Guidance

For “creates an executable file”, accept any of the following
combinations:

Compiler
Assembler
Compiler and assembler

Examiner’s Comments

Most candidates gained all four marks for this question. Although the question states to tick ‘one box’, candidates were given a mark if they

selected either assembler or compiler or both options for ‘creates an executable file’.

Your mark for 4

out of 4

Question 5

8 marks

5 3 marks

A small manufacturing business uses networked computers with closed source application software installed.

A spreadsheet application package is used to calculate employee’s wages.

Your answer

Mark scheme 5

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

5(iii) (3 marks)

No access to source code
Cannot modify/improve to meet business needs
Cannot fix bugs
(Usually) cost to purchase licences / licenceconditions to meet/ongoing fees

Guidance

Do not award a reverse of the mark point by describing open source

Examiner’s Comments

Candidates who understood that the source code is not available did well on this question as they were then able to expand their answer and gain full marks. Some candidates described open source without giving a drawback of closed source.

Your mark for 5

out of 3

5(i) 1 mark

Give one benefit of using a spreadsheet application for this task compared to calculating wages manually.

Your answer

Mark scheme 5(i)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

e.g.

Fewer mistakes (likely to be made) / More accurate
Faster as you can apply the same formula to multiple cells / By example
What-if analysis can be performed
Values can be changed and results automatically(re)calculated (by using formulas)
Can be shared electronically

Guidance

Do not accept “faster” on its own without clarification of what/why it is faster.

Examiner’s Comments

Candidates who had a good knowledge of software were able to gain the mark on this question although many gave answers like faster or easier without saying what made it faster or easier.

Your mark for 5(i)

out of 1

5(ii) 4 marks

Give two other types of application packages that the small business could use, giving an example of a task that the business could use each application for.

Application 1

Example of task 1

Application 2

Example of task 2

Your answer

Your mark for 5(ii)

out of 4

Question 6

12 marks

6(a)

A programmer creates this function shown in Fig. 5 using a high-level language.

[Diagram redrawn from the original paper by an AI model (Gemma 4 12B). It may contain mistakes.]

function mystery(x,y)

    total = x + y

    while x >= 10 then

        x = x - 10

        y = y - 10

        total = total + x + y

    endwhile

    return total

endfunction

Fig. 5

Before the code in Fig. 5 can be executed, a translator must be used.

6(a)(i) 1 mark

State the purpose of a translator.

Your answer

Mark scheme 6(a)(i)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

To convert (high-level or assembly) code to low level/machine code

Guidance

Do not allow answers referring to making the program executable, given in question.

Examiner’s Comments
This question was generally well answered, though some candidates thought that a translator translated machine code into source code or that it translated code into something the computer could understand, without specifying what that was.

Your mark for 6(a)(i)

out of 1

6(a)(ii) 4 marks

Explain two differences between a compiler and an interpreter.

Difference 1

Difference 2

Your answer

Mark scheme 6(a)(ii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Compiler translates code all at once/before it’s executed
Interpreter translates code line by line / during runtime
Compiler produces executable file for reuse / Doesn’t need to be translated everytime it is run
Interpreter needs to re- translate next time program is run
Compiler lists all errors/Compiled code doesn’t run if there are any errors
Interpreter stops at the first error
Compiled programs have the source code hidden
Interpreted programs have the source code visible

Guidance

Mark answers in pairs

Max 2 marks per answer space

Examiner’s Comments
This question was well answered by many candidates who showed two distinct differences.

Your mark for 6(a)(ii)

out of 4

6(b) 5 marks

For each statement shown in Table 5, tick (✓) one box in each row to indicate which stage of compilation each action takes place at.

	Lexical analysis	Syntax analysis	Code generation
Comments and whitespace are removed
Keywords are replaced with tokens
Object code is created
Symbol table created for variables
Builds an abstract syntax tree

Table 5

Your answer

Mark scheme 6(b)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Lexical

analysis

Syntax

analysis

Code

generation

Comments

and

white-

space

are

removed

x

Keywords

are

replaced

with

tokens

x

Object code

is

created

x

Symbol

table

created

for

variables

x

Builds an

abstract

syntax tree

x

Guidance

One mark per row. No mark if more than one/no box is ticked.

Accept other marks that clearly indicate choice (e.g. X)

Your mark for 6(b)

out of 5

6(c) 2 marks

Describe the purpose of code optimisation.

Your answer

Mark scheme 6(c)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

To make the program run faster/ code is more efficient
To make the program use fewer resources/less memory

Guidance

Examiner’s Comments
Many candidates gave good descriptions of how code is optimised, but they did not answer the question which asked what the purpose of optimisation is.

Your mark for 6(c)

out of 2

Question 7

15 marks

7(a) 2 marks

Charlie owns a veterinary surgery in her local town. She has purchased a new computer for her business so she can complete her accounts, write letters to her customers and keep a record of her customers’ personal and appointment details.

She intends to install application software and utility software.

Charlie will install database application software on her computer.

State one additional type of application software Charlie could install and give an example of what she might use it for.

Your answer

Mark scheme 7(a)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

1 mark per bullet up to a maximum of 2 marks, e.g:

Word Processing o Writing letters to customers
Spreadsheets o Completing accounts
Presentation Software o Create\Show business plans
DTP o Creating marketing literature
Graphics Package o Editing photographs of procedures/marketing photos

Guidance

1 Mark for a suitable package and 1 mark for a relevant example for that package.

Do not allow:

Non-business software (E.g. games)
Brand names (e.g Word/ Excel)
Database software

Examiner’s Comments
This question was generally answered well. Several candidates wrote brand names which was not an acceptable answer. Some candidates gave an example of a utility which was required for Question 2 (b).

To gain both marks, candidates were required to choose a suitable application type which would be useful in the given scenario.

Candidates are reminded not to use brand names for questions of this type.

Your mark for 7(a)

out of 2

7(c) 9 marks

* Charlie will use database management software to store customers’ personal and appointment details. Charlie is considering both open source and closed source database software.

Compare the differences between open source software and closed source software and recommend which type of database software Charlie should use.

You should refer to the following in your answer:

Cost
Usability
Extensibility
Security
Support available

Your answer

Mark scheme 7(c)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Mark Band 3–High Level
(7-9 marks)
The candidate demonstrates a thorough knowledge and
understanding of open and closed source software; the material is generally accurate and detailed. The candidate has covered all 4 sections of cost, usability, security and Support available and for the top of this mark band will have covered all 4 well. Evidence/examples will be explicitly relevant to the explanation.

There is a well-developed line of reasoning which is clear and logically structured. The information presented is relevant and substantiated.

Mark Band 2-Mid Level
(4-6 marks)
The candidate demonstrates reasonable knowledge and
understanding of open and closed source software; the material is generally accurate but at times underdeveloped.
The candidate has covered all at least 2 of the 4 sections of cost, usability, security and Support available. Evidence/examples are for the most part implicitly relevant to the explanation.

There is a line of reasoning presented with some structure. The information presented is in the most part relevant and supported by some evidence.

Mark Band 1-Low Level
(1-3 marks)

The candidate demonstrates a basic knowledge of how the layers of open and closed source software; the material is basic and contains some inaccuracies.
The candidate makes a limited attempt to apply acquired knowledge and understanding to the context provided.
The candidate provides nothing more than an unsupported assertion.

The information is basic and communicated in an unstructured way. The information is supported by limited evidence and the relationship to the evidence may not be clear.

0 marks
No attempt to answer the question or response is not worthy of credit.

Guidance

Knowledge:
Cost
Open Source

(generally) free to use
May have to purchase maintenance contracts
Staff training if “non-standard”

Closed Source

(sometimes) have to pay to license the software
If paid will (usually) it will come with some level of support

Usability/extensibility
Open Source

Tends to have a lower focus on UI
Source code released (under license)
Source can be edited
Can be redistributed (under license)

Closed Source

Professionally developed
Distributed with a restrictive license
Only executable/object code is distributed/source code not distributed
Cannot be redistributed

Security
Open Source

potentially massive bank of volunteer developers working on the product
Many of the contributors may not be professional
Code available to be scrutinised by anyone…
…but this may include people with malicious intentions

Closed Source

Closed teams of developers
More work scrutiny for code
security fixes usually addressed quicker

Support Available
Open Source

Source code released (under license)
Source can be edited
Open communities mean lots of support options could be available

Closed Source

Support may be available from the company producing the software.

Application:
Cost
Open Source

Lower overheads to company
Extra staff training and hardware cost could lead to total cost of ownership being higher

Closed Source

Support from vendor can lead to quicker fixes.

Usability
Open Source

The ability to edit source code means bespoke functionality can be developed in house
Lower focus on UI can mean a harder to use product (leading to higher training costs)

Closed Source

Due to professional development, finish tends to be a higher standard
As the organisation protects their IP they generally tend to be less buggy as the organisation reputation/business model will rely on it
Lack of source code means extra features can only be developed by the vendor.

Security
Open Source

Tends to be less secure as more people working on it, not always under rigorous oversight
No paid developers mean people may not work on security fixes straight away

Closed Source

Developers work under tighter standards
Code being scrutinised more will mean less likely to be ship with bugs
Professional standards lead to quicker turnaround of bugs

Support Available
Open Source

Editable source code means could self-support
Open communities mean there is vast amounts of knowledge available.

Evaluation:
Open Source

Open source would lead to potential cost savings if Charlie looked to self support by using online communities or handling the code herself.

Closed Source

If Charlie lacked technical skills, the better UI design from professional developers may make the UX smoother
Charlies would have a legal obligation to the data stored for her business. Closed source tighter security may strengthen this
Charlies business will rely on the uptime of her system. Professional support offered by the developers may mean less downtime in the case of software issues.

Examiner’s Comments
Candidates were assessed on the quality of their extended response in this question. Most of the candidates were clear on the basic difference between open and closed source software but did not link this in with the scenario. Mid-level responses were common with few candidates having a balanced discussion with coverage of all four of the required sections.

Your mark for 7(c)

out of 9

Question 8

7 marks

8(a) 1 mark

The Little Man Computer (LMC) instruction set can be used to write programs using assembly language.

State the type of translator that is used to convert assembly language into machine readable code.

Your answer

Mark scheme 8(a)

Assembler

8(b)

Fig. 3 shows assembly code written using the LMC instruction set.

[Diagram redrawn from the original paper by an AI model (Gemma 4 12B). It may contain mistakes.]

INP
STA X
SUB Y
BRP jump
LDA X
STA Z
HLT
jump LDA Y
STA Z
HLT
X DAT 0
Y DAT 5
Z DAT 0

Fig. 3

8(b)(i) 1 mark

Tick one box to indicate the programming construct that is not used in Fig. 3.

Sequence

Selection

Iteration

Your answer

Mark scheme 8(b)(i)

Iteration

8(b)(ii) 1 mark

When the program is run, 7 is input by the user.

State the value that will be in the memory location Z when the program has run with this input.

Your answer

Mark scheme 8(b)(ii)

5

8(b)(iii) 4 marks

Write an equivalent version of the LMC assembly code shown in Fig. 3 for a procedural programming language.

You should write your code using pseudocode or program code.

Your answer

Mark scheme 8(b)(iii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

1 mark per bullet up to a maximum of 4 marks, e.g:

Initialise Y and Z AND set X
Correct use of IF
Correct condition (e.g. if X >= Y then)
Assignment of Z in correct places

Guidance

X Y Z variable alternatives are acceptable
Solution:

X = input()
Y = 5
Z = 0
if X >= Y then
   Z = Y
else
   Z = X
Endif

Your mark for 8(b)(iii)

out of 4

Question 9

13 marks

9(a)

Imogen installs a compiler for a high-level programming language onto her computer and makes use of an open source IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

9(a)(i) 2 marks

State what is meant by the term ‘open source software’.

Your answer

Mark scheme 9(a)(i)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Source code / program code is freely available
…to edit/amend recompile.

Your mark for 9(a)(i)

out of 2

9(a)(ii) 1 mark

Give one benefit to Imogen of using an open source IDE rather than a closed source IDE.

Your answer

Mark scheme 9(a)(ii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

e.g.

Can modify code and adapt IDE to her needs
Is likely to be financially free of cost.
Can recompile to work on different systems
Has the benefit of a community potentiallyimproving the system
Can learn from others
Can ensure no backdoors / malware

Guidance

Do not accept simply seeing the code (previous question).

Your mark for 9(a)(ii)

out of 1

9(b)

When Imogen creates programs in a high-level language, she makes use of libraries.

9(b)(i) 3 marks

Explain what is meant by a library, giving one example of when one may be used.

Your answer

Mark scheme 9(b)(i)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Sections of code / program file
Written by other authors / already written
Containing useful routines
Suitable example (e.g. GUI routines, databaseaccess routine, encryption, graphics)

Guidance

Maximum 2 for definition, 1 for example

Your mark for 9(b)(i)

out of 3

9(b)(ii) 2 marks

Describe one advantage of the use of library files to programmers.

Your answer

Mark scheme 9(b)(ii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Save time…
…because no need to rewrite code
Use expertise of others..
…to complete tasks that require specialistknowledge / abstract away complexity.
Has already been tested/the programmer doesn’thave to test it themselves
Making debugging easier/saving time

Your mark for 9(b)(ii)

out of 2

9(b)(iii) 2 marks

Describe one disadvantage of the use of library files to programmers.

Your answer

Mark scheme 9(b)(iii)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

May (significantly) increase size of compiled file…
…as library contains many routines that aren‘t beingused.
Not written by the programmer
…so introduces uncertainty / require further testing /programmer needs to spend time familiarisingthemselves with it

Your mark for 9(b)(iii)

out of 2

9(b)(iv) 3 marks

Explain how linkers are used during the compilation process.

END OF QUESTION PAPER

Your answer

Mark scheme 9(b)(iv)

Tick each point your answer makes. Your mark is worked out from your ticks, and you can change it.

Links the main program to libraries
..can either include them in the final executablecode
..or get the executable code to point to the externallibraries

Guidance

Accept terms static and dynamic for bullets 2 and 3, but only if these are explained.

Your mark for 9(b)(iv)

out of 3