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AQA 8525 · Section 3.2 · 3.2.6a

Records
Data Structures

Defining Records · Fields · Accessing Data

CSZoneAQA GCSE Computer Science 8525
What is a Record?

Records vs Arrays

ARRAY
Stores multiple values of the SAME type
e.g. [85, 72, 91] — all integers
RECORD
Stores multiple values of DIFFERENT types about one entity
e.g. a student: name, age, score
Example:A student record could store: name (String), age (Integer), score (Real)
Defining a Record in AQA Pseudocode

Record Structure

RECORD Student
  name: String
  age: Integer
  score: Real
END RECORD

student1 ← Student('Ahmed', 16, 87.5)

OUTPUT student1.name
← 'Ahmed'

student1.score ← 90.0
Field access:Use dot notation — recordName.fieldName
Records in Arrays

Storing Multiple Records

RECORD Student
  name: String
  score: Integer
END RECORD

class ← [Student('Ali',85), Student('Beth',72), Student('Carlos',91)]

FOR i ← 0 TO 2
  OUTPUT class[i].name + ': ' + STR(class[i].score)
ENDFOR
An array of records lets you store a collection of complex objects — like a class register or product inventory.
Exam Practice

Have a go at this question

AQA-style question
A library stores book data. Define a record called Book with fields: title (String), author (String) and pages (Integer). Show how to create a Book record for "Harry Potter" by "J.K. Rowling" with 300 pages, then output its title.
4 marks
RECORD Book
  title: String
  author: String
  pages: Integer
END RECORD
b ← Book('Harry Potter', 'J.K. Rowling', 300)
OUTPUT b.title
Key Takeaways

What to Remember

Records store multiple fields of different data types about one thing
Define with RECORD … END RECORD; each field has a name and type
Access fields with dot notation: record.field
Arrays of records let you store many complex objects together