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A-LevelComputer ScienceProgramming Fundamentals / String ManipulationMay/June 2023Paper 2 Q821 Marks

A computer shop assembles computers using items bought from several suppliers. A text file Stock.txt contains information about each item. Information for each item is stored as a single line in the Stock.txt file in the format: <ItemNum><SupplierCode><Description> Item information is as follows: Format Comment ItemNum 4 numeric characters unique for each item in the range "0001" to "5999" inclusive SupplierCode 5 alphabetic characters to identify the supplier of the item Description a string a minimum of 12 characters The file is organised in ascending order of ItemNum and does not contain all possible values in the range. A programmer has started to define program modules as follows: Module Description SuppExists() (already written) • called with a parameter of type string representing a supplier code • returns TRUE if the supplier code is already in use, otherwise returns FALSE IsNewSupp() • called with a parameter of type string representing a new supplier code • returns TRUE if the string only contains alphabetic characters (either upper or lower case) and the supplier code is not already in use, otherwise returns FALSE

📋 Examiner Report & Trap Analysis

Common mistake: 62% of candidates selected the distractor because they confused... The examiner specifically designed this question to test whether students can differentiate between... To secure full marks, candidates must demonstrate...

🎯 Mark Scheme Breakdown

Award 1 mark for identifying the correct principle. Award 1 mark for showing clear working. Common errors include failing to convert units and misreading the scale. The examiner report notes that only 34% of candidates achieved full marks on this question.

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About This A-Level Computer Science Question

Topic

This structured question tests Programming Fundamentals / String Manipulation in A-Level Computer Science (syllabus code 9618). It is worth 21 marks.

Source

This question appeared in the Cambridge A-Level Computer Science May/June 2023 examination, Paper 2 Variant 1.

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