Q: My students understand that array indexes start from zero, but in the A451 past papers (e.g. Jan 2012) they start from 1. Why is this?
A: I believe the reason that this was initially done was that at GCSE level there was no requirement for students to know that an Array started from 0 instead of 1, the belief was that some students would find it easier to start arrays from 1 instead of 0.
That being said, there would be no discrimination between pupils who started an array at 0 or an array at 1 so either would be awarded the same marks.
Interestingly there have been many discussions online about 1-based indexing versus 0-based indexing with there being arguments for both.
Q: What is pharming, VolP, chatrooms, morphing and rendering?
A: Pharming: This one is taken directly from Google definitions: “the fraudulent practice of directing Internet users to a bogus website that mimics the appearance of a legitimate one, in order to obtain personal information such as passwords, account numbers, etc.” This means that you might think you are typing in your bank log on details to your banks website but really you are typing it into a webpage which has been set up to look like your bank, and in reality they are just stealing your logon details.
VolP: VoIP (Voice over IP) technology used to communicate video, audio and even multimedia sessions over the internet. Simply put, it is the technology used to have video and audio calls over the internet.
Chat rooms: This is a website or place on the internet where people will talk to each other via text chats or even video chats. It is a method of communication, sometimes dedicated to a certain topic.
Morphing: Usually used in relation to images, this is where one image is changed to look like another image, usually done like an animation. If you search for the word ‘morphing’ and look at some of the images you will see some great examples of people morphing into animals and celebrities morphing into other celebrities.
Rendering: In relation to graphics this term refers to the process of adding shading, colour and textures to 2-d or 3-d shapes. Before rendering objects can look quite uneven and grey.