ICSE (ISC) Class 12 Computer Science Syllabus 2025-26: Free PDF download

Course Structure:

Section A

1. Boolean Algebra
   • Propositional Logic: Understanding well-formed formulae (wff), truth values, interpretation, and construction of truth tables. Concepts of satisfiable, unsatisfiable, and valid formulae. Application of equivalence laws in simplifying wffs.
   • Binary Valued Quantities: Exploration of basic postulates of Boolean algebra involving operations such as AND, OR, and NOT, along with their respective truth tables.
   • Theorems and Applications: Study of fundamental theorems including duality, idempotence, commutativity, associativity, distributivity, operations with 0 and 1, complements, absorption, and involution. Detailed examination of De Morgan’s theorem and its practical applications. Techniques for reducing Boolean expressions to sum of products and product of sums forms. Introduction to Karnaugh maps (up to four variables) for simplification purposes.
2. Computer Hardware
   • Logic Gates: In-depth analysis of elementary logic gates such as NOT, AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR, and XNOR, including their symbolic representation and functional use in circuits.
   • Applications of Boolean Algebra: Practical applications involving the use of Boolean algebra and logic gates in designing half adders, full adders, encoders, decoders, multiplexers. Emphasis on understanding NAND and NOR gates as universal gates capable of forming any other gate.

Section B

1. Implementation of Algorithms to Solve Problems
   • Algorithm Development: Focus on designing algorithms to address computational problems. Emphasis on algorithm correctness, efficiency, and optimization.
   • Programming Assignments: Hands-on lab assignments concurrent with theoretical lectures. Each major topic is reinforced through challenging programming tasks that require students to design algorithms, implement them in Java, and perform debugging and validation.
2. Programming in Java
   • Review of Class XI Topics: A quick recap of fundamental concepts covered in the previous year to ensure a solid foundation for advanced topics.
3. Objects
   • Object-Oriented Concepts: Understanding objects as encapsulations of data (attributes) and behavior (methods). Exploration of objects as instances of classes.
   • Constructors: Study of constructors, their purpose, and how they initialize objects.
   • Real-World Examples: Analyzing real-world scenarios to identify objects and classes, fostering a practical understanding of object-oriented design.
   • Input/Output Operations: Utilizing Scanner and Printer classes from JDK for basic input and output operations. Handling input/output exceptions effectively.
   • Tokenization: Understanding tokens in an input stream, the concept of whitespace, and techniques for extracting tokens using the StringTokenizer class.
4. Primitive Values, Wrapper Classes, Types, and Casting
   • Primitive Data Types: Detailed study of primitive types including byte, int, short, long, float, double, boolean, and char.
   • Wrapper Classes: Exploring corresponding wrapper classes for each primitive type and their utility.
   • Type Conversion: Mechanisms of changing types through user-defined casting and automatic type coercion for certain primitive types.
5. Variables and Expressions
   • Variables: Understanding variables as identifiers for values and the use of named constants (final).
   • Expressions: Evaluation of arithmetic and logical expressions, considering operators, associativity, and precedence.
   • Assignment Operations: Distinguishing between the left-hand side and right-hand side of assignment operations.
6. Statements and Scope
   • Control Statements: Utilization of conditional statements (if, if-else, if-else-if, switch-case, ternary operator) and looping constructs (for, while, do-while).
   • Control Flow: Employing control flow statements like continue and break to manage the execution flow.
   • Block Grouping: Organizing statements into blocks to define scope and enhance code readability.
   • Variable Scope and Visibility: Understanding the scope and visibility of variables within different blocks and methods.
7. Methods
   • Method Definition: Creating methods as abstractions for complex user-defined operations on objects.
   • Arguments: Differentiating between formal and actual arguments in methods.
   • Behavior of Arguments: Exploring the different behaviors of primitive and object arguments when passed to methods.
   • Static Methods and Variables: Understanding the use and implications of static methods and variables.
   • The ‘this’ Operator: Utilizing the ‘this’ keyword to refer to the current object instance.
   • Algorithmic Problem Solving: Implementing methods to solve algorithmic problems such as number computations and finding roots of algebraic equations.

Conclusion

The ISC Class 12 Computer Science Syllabus 2025-26 is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in programming, data structures, Boolean algebra, and fundamental computing concepts. The syllabus not only focuses on theoretical knowledge but also emphasizes practical applications, enabling students to develop problem-solving skills, logical reasoning, and proficiency in Java programming.

With the growing demand for computer science and technology-related careers, this syllabus ensures that students are well-prepared for higher education and professional fields such as software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science. The inclusion of Boolean algebra, logic gates, and database management systems (DBMS) further enhances their understanding of the core principles of computing.