IBM 486 - Quey regarding Larman and Fowler book editions

[Sam Easter]

Hi guys,
Couldn't find much info on this, and need some enlightenment. IBM recommends the SECOND EDITION of both the books mentioned below as resources for the 486 exam.

1. A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (Fowler)
2. Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and the Unified Process (Larman)

I was going to buy these books from Amazon based on the ISBN from IBM's site when I came across the THIRD editions of both the books. Could someone tell me whether I can go ahead and buy the 2nd editions or buy the latest editions. My aim solely is to clear the IBM 486 exam. I heard that the 2nd editions cover UML 1.x whereas the 3rd covers UML 2.0. What version of UML is the exam testing us on?

Cheers guys
Sam.
[ February 16, 2005: Message edited by: Sam Easter ]

[Nicholas Cheung]

If you need to pay for the books, I recommend the 3rd edition, because they are more up to date. If you can borrow the books from library, then you shall try to seek the 2nd edition, because IBM's test does not require UML 2.0.

Nick

[Sam Easter]

Thanks Nick. Do you know from the exam perspective wheteher it is mandatory that I should prepare with 2nd edition? I mean, will there be things that the exam expects from the 2nd edition that has been removed/modified/not valid anymore in the third edition?

Cheers

[Nicholas Cheung]

As the 2 books are NOT the offical study guides for IBM 486, no specific exam questions will be picked from the version.

As I have discussed with Ko Ko long time ago, personally, I prefer 2nd edition for Fowler's book, because it focus on UML fundemental, while the 3rd edition mainly compare the difference between UML 1.x and 2.0.

For Larman's book, as IBM only asks questions for general OOAD questions, you dont need to worry much for too details. I believe 3rd edition might be better, although I read 2nd edition when I prepared for the exam.

Nick