VCE IT Lecture Notes by Mark Kelly, McKinnon Secondary College

VCE IT Applications 2011-2014

Visit the Software Development Theory Summary Page

Details of the mandated problem solving methodology are here.

The VCE IT Applications (ITA) study design is here.

Click the icons to see the Powerpoint slideshows
Click the hyperlinked text to read the web page.

Also refer to the VCAA IT FAQ published for the new study design and the glossary

Exam Post Mortems

ITA Unit 3 Outcome 1

ITA U3O1 KK01 - types, purposes and functionality of websites that support information exchange within online communities

Types of networks, as defined by VCAA for this outcome, include:

• blogs
• chat rooms
• forums
• social networking
• wikis.

• ITA U3O1 KK02 - types of networks [LAN,WAN,internet] and
• the functions of their key hardware and software components
• Networking index page
• Network summary
• Designing a LAN
• Network services (e.g. email, FTP, Telnet)
• Why set up a network? Justification and resource benefits.
• Peer to peer (P2P) architecture
• VoIP - Voice over IP

TOPOLOGIES, PROTOCOLS

• Network topologies
• Protocols
• Token ring - a rare topology
• Internet Addressing (IP addresses, DNS)
• Ethernet
• TCP-IP - the protocols that run the internet

NETWORKING HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

• Network cables
• Routers
• Hubs vs Switches
• Network interface cards (NICs)
• Wireless networking
• Types of servers (file, proxy, web etc)
• Reasons for getting a file server
• Building a file server
• Network operating systems
• Modems

ITA U3O1 KK04 - hardware and software requirements for setting up websites on servers, including

• operating system
• web server software
• protocols
• security - encryption, firewalls, spyware, trojans, viruses, worms
• proxy servers

ITA U3O1 KK05 -stages of the problem-solving methodology

Analysis

Design

Development

Evaluation

ITA U3O1 KK06 - types and purposes of online communities including

• social,
• work-based,
• project/interest-based that support the purposes of collaboration,
• knowledge sharing and
• collective identity

ITA U3O1 KK09 - design elements that influence the functionality and appearance of websites

Factors that contribute to the functionality and appearance of solutions.

In this study the elements related to functionality are

• structure
• usability
• accessibility

including

• navigation and load time
• appropriateness and relevance.

Design elements related to appearance are

• proportion (visual hierarchy)
• orientation (direction/ aspect)
• clarity and consistency
• colour and contrast.

ITA U3O1 KK10 - design tools for representing website solutions

You'd be mainly thinking of:

• site maps
• storyboards
• screen mockups / layout diagrams

ITA U3O1 KK11 - functions of web authoring software used to manipulate data

• create HTML code based on the use of GUI controls
• upload and download files from a remote server
• check for errors in HTML code
• check for broken links
• easily add head and alt tags
• automate tasks such as formatting, inserting images, reformatting tables
• show page previews
• do browser compatibility tests
• allow searching/replacing over many pages
• create and apply of CCS styles
• add pre-written Javascript widgets to add features to pages (e.g. menus)
• insert media (e.g. video, animation) into pages
• create clickable image maps
• import & reformat text from editors such as MS Word
• record and play back macros for commonly-used procedures
• synchronise local and remote copies of a site
• allow teams to work on the same site and the same time (using file check in/check out)

ITA U3O1 KK12 - manual and electronic validation techniques

ITA Unit 3 Outcome 2

ITA U3O2 KK01 - reasons why organisations acquire data via websites, including

• 24-hour customer access
• improved efficiencies through direct data entry by customers
• improvements in effectiveness
• access to global market economies

ITA U3O2 KK02 - reasons why individuals and organisations supply data via websites, including

• purchasing of goods and services
• voting
• social networking
• exchanging information

ITA U3O2 KK03 - techniques used by organisations to acquire data on websites and reasons for their choice

• Hosting a web discussion forum
• Providing online chat
• Supplying a web form to request information
• Creating a webpage, blog etc to get information
• Allowing visitors to upload files
• Publishing an online database
• Giving access to an intranet or extranet

ITA U3O2 KK04 - techniques used by organisations to protect the rights of individuals and organisations supplying data, including

• security protocols
  • e.g. SSL or TLS to encrypt web traffic.
  • Logins with usernames and passwords.
  • Requiring strong passwords.
  • Using Captcha to deter robotic logins.
  • Automatic timeout of idle connections.
  • Using secret questions to back up passwords.
• stating policies regarding privacy, shipping and returns

Also

• A contacts link for people to use in case their rights may not have been protected.
• Sending a verification email before signing someone up to a mailing list or a site.
• Only allowing password changes by sending an email to a user’s registered email address.
• etc

ITA U3O2 KK06 - purposes of an RDBMS

ITA U3O2 KK07 - naming conventions to support efficient use of an RDBMS

• Field and table names (and forms, reports, queries etc) should be
  • self-explanatory
  • not so long that they invite typing errors or get cut off when displayed
  • not so short that their meaning is lost
  • usually free of special punctuation (which may choke some RDBMSs)
• Preferably do not use spaces in names - use underscores instead.
• A common technique is Hungarian Notation where names are prefixed by an identifier, e.g.
  • txtName ('txt' reminds you of the datatype)
  • frmOrders ('frm' indicates the object is a form to avoid confusion with a Query with the same name)
  • g_UserID (where g_ indicates a global field for Filemaker users)

ITA U3O2 KK08 - data types, including

• text (string)
• number
• date
• currency
• logic (Boolean)

Data types determine the storage requirements and properties of fields.

For example, defining DOB as type Date not only lets the RDBMS allocate the exact amount of storage space, but it also notifies the database that it can perform date calculations with that field. If the DOB field had been defined as text, an operation like (DateToday - DOB)/365.25 would not be possible for calculating an age.

ITA U3O2 KK09 - data formats, including

• limited length ["text" type in Access] (text)
• unlimited length ["memo" type in Access] (text)
• integer (number)
• long (number)
• date (date/time)
• 24-hour clock (date/time)
• dollar (currency);
• true and false (representation of Boolean logic)

Remember that data types affect how data is stored e.g. as a number with no decimal part.

Data formats affect how data is displayed (e.g. 5 or 5.0, 1/2/11 or 1 Feb 2011)

ITA U3O2 KK10 - a methodology for creating an RDBMS structure:

• identifying tables
• identifying fields and their data types and field sizes
• identifying primary key and foreign key fields
• creating relationships to normalise tables

ITA U3O2 KK11 - ways in which normalisation can ensure the integrity of data in an RDBMS

More coverage on 1NF, 2NF, 3NF and how to tell them apart

Even more on normalisation - a worked example, step by step.

Normalisation is the process where tables are created and relationships set up between them so data repetition is removed and powerful data lookups are made possible.

Referential integrity is an option in Access, and non-existent in Filemaker.

Referential Integrity in databases

It simply means that if you define a relationship with a key field and a foreign key, the value in the foreign key field must exist in the values in the key field. In other words, you can't make up an ID in the related table that does not already exist the table it's related to.

ITA U3O2 KK12 - design tools for describing data types [data dictionaries], and the value of entity relationship (ER) diagrams [new! April for representing the structure of an RDBMS

ERD

Data structure charts, data structure tables, data structure diagrams

Database design tools slideshow

Data Structure Diagrams show the relationships between tables in a database.

ITA U3O2 KK13 - design tools for representing solutions

Database design tools

DFD (not examinable in ITA)

Other Design Tools

Website design tools

Use case diagrams (not examinable in ITA)

ITA U3O2 KK14 - functions and techniques within an RDBMS to efficiently and effectively manipulate and validate data

Manipulation

Functions - Extensive range of functions to process data - Filemaker has 254 arithmetic, logical, text, statistical, date/time, system information and other functions, rivalling the power of Excel. And if you need a function that Filemaker doesn't have (e.g. rounding a number to the nearest 0.25), you can create your own custom functions. Using the functions of an RDBMS can calculate sophisticated information from data stored in fields. e.g. If you have people's name data stored, you can generate all sorts of new information, e.g.

Title & " " & LEFT(Gname,1) & "." & UPPER(LEFT(Surname,1)) & LOWER(RIGHT(Surname),LENGTH(Surname)-1))

would take

Title: Mr
Gname: Fred
Surname: SMITH

to create a new piece of information: Mr F.Smith

Electronic validation to check whether a value entered is

• within a reasonable range
• entered at all
• a certain length
• of the right type (e.g. a number)
• present in a limited list of approved values (e.g. states of Australia)
• unique (e.g. an ID)
• pre-existing
• validated by a formula

Below is Filemaker's validation dialogue box...

ITA U3O2 KK15 - functions and techniques to retrieve required information through searching, sorting, filtering and querying (finding in) data sets

ITA Unit 4 Outcome 1

ITA U4O1 KK01 - types of goals of organisations and information systems

ITA U4O1 KK02 - role of components of information systems

ITA U4O1 KK03 - characteristics of strategic, tactical and operational decisions made in organisations

ITA U4O1 KK04 - stages of the problem-solving methodology

ITA U4O1 KK05 - problem-solving activities relating to the analysis of ongoing information problems

ITA U4O1 KK06 - design tools for representing the functionality and appearance of solutions

ITA U4O1 KK07 - criteria for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of solutions to ongoing information problems

Read up on the difference between evaluation and testing.

ITA U4O1 KK08 - functions, techniques and procedures for efficiently and effectively manipulating data using an RDBMS or spreadsheet software, including the application of formats and conventions, the validation of data and the management of files.

ITA U4O1 KK09 - techniques for testing solutions and user acceptance

Read up on the difference between evaluation and testing.

ITA U4O1 KK10 - strategies for evaluating the extent to which solutions meet organisations' needs

ITA U4O1 KK11 - content and types of onscreen user documentation, including quick start guide, tutorial, content sensitive help and manual

Writing good documentation for ITA U4O1

Onscreen documentation

Note that the user documentation for ITA U4O1 must be onscreen documentation and created with web authoring or multimedia authoring software. Software Development also has user documentation in U4O1 but it does not have to be onscreen documentation. If you do SD and ITA, don't get the two confused!

ITA U4O1 KK12 - characteristics of efficient and effective user interfaces and information architecture

ITA U4O1 KK13 - functions, techniques and procedures for efficiently and effectively manipulating data using web authoring or multimedia authoring software.

ITA Unit 4 - Outcome 2

ITA U4O2 KK02 - key legislation that affects how organisations control the storage, communication and disposal of their data and information

• Privacy Act
• Copyright Act
• Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (VIC) (sections 13,14 and 15)
• Spam Act 2003 (Part 1.3, Simplified outline).

• Information Privacy Act 2000,
• Health Records Act 2001,

ITA U4O2 KK05 - the advantages and disadvantages of using cloud computing for storing, communicating and disposing of data and information

[This topic is only available as a slideshow]

ITA U4O2 KK07 - strategies for resolving legal, ethical and social tensions between stakeholders arising from information management strategies

• an ombudsman can arbitrate disputes e.g. regarding alleged privacy act breaches
• moderator in a forum etc can settle disputes and make authoritative decisions
• a court can arbitrate in civil cases, e.g. copyright violation
• founders, 'elders' or leaders within a community can exert pressure on people breaking community norms
• online protocols (netiquette) rules and recommendations can make people of how to behave, avoiding the breaking of conventions

ITA U4O2 KK10 - criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of information management strategies.

• The amount of data that has been lost or damaged.
• Time taken to recover from catastrophic data loss.
• The reduction in hacking, phishing or malware infection attempts.
• The number of staff who can pass a test on data security procedures.
• The percentage of staff using strong passwords.

Read up on the difference between evaluation and testing.