The IGCSE qualifications which require the use of computers (IGCSE ICT, IGCSE Computer Science and O-Level Computer Science) have been written so that they do not specify any particular software. This is done so that schools can choose the software that meets their personal circumstances and budget. The choose software must cover the requirements of the syllabus and allow candidates to fully demonstrate the skills of the syllabus. As an examination board we do not make any recommendations as to software and hardware as every school/centre has a unique infrastructure. It is important that software is kept up to date, so that candidates are being taught on the latest software for future careers, and the software includes the latest feature and functions, so that all of the requirements and skills of the syllabus can be demonstrated by candidates.
In the IGCSE ICT examinations 0417/02 and 0417/03, candidates will need access to word processing software, a relational database package (which allows record structures to be defined and relationships between tables to be created – a spreadsheet, for example, will not do this), charting facilities (which allow students to produce bar charts, line graphs and pie charts), a spreadsheet, web authoring software (this could be a simple text editor or a WYSIWYG editor, the produced HTML and CSS must be compliant with the latest standards), a graphics package (suitable for editing image type and colour depth, etc), a web browser, a presentation graphics package. Candidates must not have Internet access or e-mail access during the examination, so any software chosen must fully work without an internet connection.