IGCSE 0478 Pseudocode Crash Course

Phase 1: Turbo Basics (under 20 minutes)

Syntax Essentials

• Assignment ( ← ): Use the left arrow for assignment, e.g. X ← 5 sets X to 5 1 .

• Pitfall: Don’t confuse assignment ( ← ) with comparison ( = ); use ← to store a value.
• Arithmetic: Use + , - , * , / as usual. For integer math, use DIV (integer division) and
MOD (remainder) 2 .
• Pitfall: Integer division ( DIV ) truncates the result. Always use parentheses to clarify order (e.g.
(A + B) * C ).
• Input/Output: Read values with INPUT var , and display with OUTPUT 3 . You can output
literals, variables or comma-separated items.
• Pitfall: Remember to output variables (not just compute them) if the exam question asks for
output.
• Comparison & Boolean logic: Use =, ≠, <, >, ≤, ≥ for comparisons. Combine conditions
with AND , OR , and NOT (all uppercase) 4 .
• Pitfall: Parenthesize complex conditions. For example,
IF (A ≥ 0 AND A < 10) OR NOT Flag THEN… .

INPUT age // read an integer into age

IF age ≥ 18 THEN // comparison and branching
OUTPUT "Adult"
ELSE
OUTPUT "Minor"
ENDIF

Core Structures

• IF…THEN…ELSE…ENDIF: Use an IF <condition> THEN … ENDIF block; include ELSE for

two-way decisions 5 . Always end with ENDIF . Indent the THEN / ELSE clauses by two
spaces (run-on lines should be avoided) 6 .
• Pitfall: Never forget the final ENDIF , and avoid writing ELSE IF on the same line—use nested
IFs instead.
• CASE…OF…OTHERWISE…ENDCASE: For multi-branch selection, use CASE <variable> OF
<value> : <statements> … OTHERWISE : <statements> ENDCASE 7 . Each case
(including OTHERWISE ) must end with a colon, and the block ends with ENDCASE .

• Pitfall: Don’t omit ENDCASE , and use OTHERWISE as the final case for “else”. Each case should
be a single statement or a simple block.

• FOR loop: Use a count-controlled loop:

1
 FOR i ← start TO end [STEP increment]
<statements>
NEXT

This runs i from start up to end (inclusive) 8 . The default step is +1, or specify STEP k for
increments/decrements 9 .

• Pitfall: Always include NEXT (optionally followed by the loop variable for clarity). If start >
end , the loop body does not execute. Watch off-by-one errors (the loop includes both bounds).

• WHILE…DO…ENDWHILE: Use a pre-condition loop:

WHILE <condition> DO
<statements>
ENDWHILE

The condition is tested first; if true, the block executes and repeats until false 10 .

• Pitfall: Ensure the loop variable/condition changes inside the loop, or you’ll get an infinite loop
(or no execution if the condition is false initially).

• REPEAT…UNTIL: Use a post-condition loop:

REPEAT
<statements>
UNTIL <condition>

The body runs at least once, then repeats until <condition> is true 11 .

• Pitfall: Don’t forget UNTIL <condition> . If you need to loop until a password or valid input,
use REPEAT…UNTIL .

FOR i ← 1 TO 5 // FOR loop example

Sum ← Sum + i
NEXT
OUTPUT "Sum is ", Sum

WHILE count > 0 DO // WHILE loop example

OUTPUT count
count ← count - 1
ENDWHILE

REPEAT // REPEAT…UNTIL example

INPUT password

2
 OUTPUT "Enter password"
UNTIL password = "secret"

• Arrays: Declare fixed-size arrays with bounds:

DECLARE A : ARRAY[1:10] OF INTEGER

DECLARE Matrix : ARRAY[1:3, 1:3] OF INTEGER

(Indices start at 1 by convention 12 13 .) Access elements with brackets: A[i] , or

Matrix[row, col] for 2D 14 15 .

• Pitfall: Always declare arrays with their size before use. You cannot assign to a whole slice at
once; use a loop to initialize many elements (e.g. FOR i ← 1 TO 10: A[i] ← 0 ). Remember
array bounds to avoid index errors.

• Strings: Use built-in string functions. For example, LENGTH(s) returns the length of string s
16 . To extract substrings, use something like SUBSTRING(s, start, count) (Cambridge
docs call this MID(s, start, count) 17 ). First character is position 1.

• Pitfall: Off-by-one is common (remember the first character is index 1). Calling SUBSTRING with
too large a range or negative indices should be avoided unless specified.

DECLARE Names : ARRAY[1:3] OF STRING

Names[1] ← "Ali"
Names[2] ← "Bala"
Names[3] ← "Cara"
Count ← LENGTH(Names[3]) // count = 4
Word ← "computer"
Part ← SUBSTRING(Word, 1, 4) // Part = "comp"

Procedures & Functions

• Procedures: A procedure does not return a value. Define with PROCEDURE and call with CALL
18 19 . Example:

PROCEDURE PrintHello()
OUTPUT "Hello!"
ENDPROCEDURE
CALL PrintHello()

• Pitfall: Don’t use RETURN in a procedure. Always end the block with ENDPROCEDURE . Use
CALL to invoke it.

• Functions: A function returns a single value. Define with FUNCTION name(parameters)

RETURNS <type> and use RETURN inside. Example:

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 FUNCTION Max(A : INTEGER, B : INTEGER) RETURNS INTEGER
IF A > B THEN
RETURN A
ELSE
RETURN B
ENDIF
ENDFUNCTION
Result ← Max(7, 10) // Result = 10

Functions are used as part of an expression (no CALL ) 20 21 .

• Pitfall: Never forget the RETURN statement (and its data type). Unlike procedures, do not write
CALL Max(...) ; instead use Result ← Max(...) .

Functions vs Procedures: The key difference is that functions return a value (and must be declared with
RETURNS <type> ), whereas procedures do not 20 . Use functions for calculations (so you can assign
their result) and procedures for actions (like printing or swapping).

• Parameters (BYVAL vs BYREF): By default, parameters are passed by value (the function/
procedure gets a copy) 22 . To pass by reference (allowing the routine to modify the caller’s
variable), prefix the parameter with BYREF in the definition 23 . Example:

PROCEDURE Swap(BYREF X : INTEGER, BYREF Y : INTEGER)

Temp ← X
X ← Y
Y ← Temp
ENDPROCEDURE

a ← 3, b ← 5
CALL Swap(a, b)
// Now a = 5 and b = 3

• Pitfall: If you want to change the caller’s variable, you must use BYREF . Omitting BYREF
means the original will not change. (Also, do not use BYREF with functions in Cambridge
pseudocode 22 .)

PROCEDURE DisplayRange(low : INTEGER, high : INTEGER)

OUTPUT "Range is ", low, " to ", high
ENDPROCEDURE

FUNCTION Square(x : INTEGER) RETURNS INTEGER

RETURN x * x
ENDFUNCTION

// Example calls
CALL DisplayRange(1, 10)
Value ← Square(5) // Value = 25

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Practice Problem
Exercise: Write pseudocode to input an integer and check if it lies between 1 and 100 (inclusive). If it
does, output "In range" , otherwise output "Out of range" . Use an IF…THEN…ELSE structure
and OUTPUT.

Hint: You will need to INPUT the number, use a condition like IF num >= 1 AND num <= 100
THEN ... ELSE ... , and OUTPUT the appropriate message.

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https://askpakchairul.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/0478_pseudocode_guide.pdf

13 15 16 17 18 19 20 Cambridge International AS & A Level 9618 Computer Science

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Pseudocode Guide for Teachers for examination in 2026

https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/697401-2026-pseudocode-guide-for-teachers.pdf