AP Computer Science Principles treats computing from a wide frame. It contains programming but is not tied to one language, and its depth is not that of Computer Science A.
Scope
Data and its representation, algorithms, programming foundations, how the internet works, the basics of cyber security, and the social impact of computing.
The headings are broad and each is treated at a surface level. That is deliberate: the course is designed as an introduction to computing.
Two sources of score
70 percent of the score comes from the 70 question multiple choice exam in May and 30 percent from the Create performance task. In the Create task the student writes a program of their own and submits three components: the program code, a short video of the program running, and a Personalized Project Reference (screenshots of their code without comments). On exam day the student answers written questions about their own program using that reference. Submission is through the AP Digital Portfolio by the date College Board sets each year.
This is an unusual structure among AP subjects: marks lost before the exam cannot be recovered. The project deadline comes before the May exam, usually at the end of April, and there is no remedy once it passes.
The language is free
The project may be written in any language. Some of the exam questions are asked through pseudocode that does not depend on a language.
This lowers the barrier for a student who has never programmed. The same feature makes the course light for a student looking for depth.
Who it suits
It is the right start for a student interested in computing without programming experience. It also suits a social science student who wants a technology heading in the file.
For a student aiming at computer engineering it is not a sufficient signal on its own; there Computer Science A is expected.
Can both be taken
They can, and the content overlap is limited. But having both in a file does not say more than having one of them strongly.
Where time is short, one is chosen according to the intended degree and prepared properly.