• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
programming forums Java Mobile Certification Databases Caching Books Engineering Micro Controllers OS Languages Paradigms IDEs Build Tools Frameworks Application Servers Open Source This Site Careers Other Pie Elite all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
Marshals:
  • Campbell Ritchie
  • Tim Cooke
  • paul wheaton
  • Jeanne Boyarsky
  • Ron McLeod
Sheriffs:
  • Paul Clapham
  • Liutauras Vilda
  • Devaka Cooray
Saloon Keepers:
  • Tim Holloway
  • Roland Mueller
Bartenders:

How To Prepare for SCEA

 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 295
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi,
I've browse through the topics for SCEA and am starting to prepare for part I. However I'm unsure of how to go about it.
First of all, I haven't got any reference books for SCEA preparation, except for J2EE Design Patterns (Deepak Alur) and UML book (Martin Fowler).
Do I have to purchase all the books as suggested by some ppl? For those who have taken the exam, how long would I need to prepare for part I?
Pls advise. Thanks.
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 2545
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I think spec should be enough. Just follow through all the posts here. You will learn all you should know.
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 311
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Don Liu:
I think spec should be enough....


Hi Don,
what is ment with spec or specs?
Suns J2EE/EJB/Java2/... specs?
For me all Java and EJB related topics were no problem, but there are topics a Java developer will not automatically be acquainted with when starting with J2EE architecture, like JCA (J2EE Connector Architecture) or something Sun calls "common architecture", "legacy systems" or "J2EE applicability". These are the areas one can not imagine intuitivly before failing part-I.
Could you please provide us with a detailed list of spec links or literature that you thing will be sufficient?
And another list pointing to those in the first that you think are required as minimum?
And a third list for additional links.
Thank you in advance!
To the editors of JavaRanch: To maintain such detailed min and max lists of links could and should be a project in JavaRanch: everybody sending (or posting?) her/his ideas to a ranchhand(?) or editor. And the editors discuss and decide which links to add to which list.
Would be great and I would send proposals for these centralized lists!
Thomas.
 
Sheriff
Posts: 5782
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Thomas,
We already have a SCEA links page - look at the top of this forum page. This page is maintained by one of our bartenders Rahul. You can email him additional links at [email protected]
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 2713
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
See this link for a similiar post: Which book would you recomend?
Basically, for part 1, I feel you really only need a good reference on EJB. The rest of the topics can be adequately covered using online resources. If you goal is to score extremely high (> 90%) then I would recommend picking up additional books as well.
 
Thomas Taeger
Ranch Hand
Posts: 311
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Ajith Kallambella:
SCEA links page


Hi Ajith,
the scea links page is great, but it does not lead you through the topics you need to learn and know for the exam.
What I would need is a tree of topics as online links.
Otherwise I will never know wether I have _covered_ all the topics I need for
a) the SCEA exam and
b) for later being an architect worth the trust and money he earns.
The question is not to learn _enough_ or indepth but to _cover_ all relevant topics.
Where should I know the topics from before failing part I exam?
Thomas.
 
Thomas Taeger
Ranch Hand
Posts: 311
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Chris,
the link is fine, but not sufficient.
Reading several books about EJB, JSP and for instance Mark Cade & Simon Roberts I had done for months before risking to take the exam.
Additionally I took Suns course on J2EE Design Patterns for 2,800.- EUR (a waste of money and time).
My score was:
Concepts: 100%
EJB container model: 100%
Internationalization: 100%
... but:
Common Architectures: 33%
Legacy Connectivity: 40%
Applicability of J2EE: 33%
Messaging: 33% (quite easy, but you must know that you need it!)
Finally I failed by the last 6%.
So I am a little bit disappointed when reading:

Originally posted by Chris Mathews:
The rest of the topics can be adequately covered using online resources.


In the internet you can find nearly all, if you know what you search, or nothing if you do not have the search criteria.
_After_ the exam I gave the Sun study center a phone call and asked for more resources. Nothing new, but after saying bye the collegue suddenly remembered the JavaRanch site.
Well, if I would have known JavaRanch before the exam I probabely would have passed the exam - that is a compliment too.
But I need a kind of "site map", let us call it "topic map", to see what areas must be covered and what white areas I still have to work on. You, Chris, know the topics, but I need to know that topic map.
Making mock tests helps somehow, but they far from being a good source for learning and understanding(!).
Learning means a) having a topic map, b) deciding relevance, c) understanding and d) testing and e) repeating.
A man went to the doctor. "What should I buy and eat to get rid of my stomac pain?".
"Go to the market, there you will find the best", the doctor said. Onions or cabbage?
Thomas.
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 148
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Don't know if this helps...in scea_prep, the links are available in folders representing each major topic for the exam....there's also a doc in the files section with sample weightage for each topic...
Perhaps, you find that kind of organization more convenient...In terms of contents/quality of members, JavaRanch has everything as well.
 
Chris Mathews
Ranch Hand
Posts: 2713
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Thomas Taeger:
the link is fine, but not sufficient.


Sorry, I also tend to make the assumption that the SCEA candidate is currently working with J2EE. This is definitely a huge plus and I could see where someone with very little professional exposure may need more study time/materials.
That being said, I think a lot of people over-prepare for the exam. I know that I did.
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1871
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi
Thanks all for your comments on the scea page. I am trying to update the page and the last update is over here
http://www.geocities.com/rah_73_1999/Actual.html
As suggested I plan to take each topic in SCEA exam and by browsing the Javaranch discussions put some good discussions on this page. I think this will be helpful to all and also these discussions will be updated by people.
 
Rahul Mahindrakar
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1871
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Rahul Mahindrakar:
Hi
Thanks all for your comments on the scea page. I am trying to update the page and the last update is over here
http://www.geocities.com/rah_73_1999/Actual.html
Please do provide your comments.
Thomas : I have received your zip file. I will go through it and update the scjea page.
As suggested I plan to take each topic in SCEA exam and by browsing the Javaranch discussions put some good discussions on this page. I think this will be helpful to all and also these discussions will be updated by people.

 
Thomas Taeger
Ranch Hand
Posts: 311
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Topic map
Hi Chris,
you "answered" my lead-in ("the link is fine, but not sufficient") only instead what I encouraged about providing a "topic map".
Furthermore your assumption

Originally posted by Chris Mathews:

... assumption that the SCEA candidate is currently working with J2EE


is a kind of dead lock. In these days it is very hard to get the first jobs in J2EE without allready having them in your project profile, so
a) newcomers would be cut off without a topic map and
b) even architect candidates having experiences in J2EE projects often (as Sun guys say) have been developers in those projects and usually did not all of the J2EE tasks on those projects up to JCA etc. . "Working with J2EE" in this usual sense does not enable him to know what to learn for the aarchitect test. We need that "topic map".
You should urgently give up this assumption that the SCEA candidate is currently working with J2EE (in the sense of J2EE architecture).

@Sanjay Raghavan:

Originally posted by Sanjay Raghavan:

....there's also a doc in the files section with sample weightage for each topic... [in SCEA_Prep]


Thank you for this tipp, I will try as soon as Yahoo's account server will be up again.
Thomas.
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 48
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Ajith,Chris,Rahul,Sanjay,Thomas & Clement,
I also in the preparation for SCEA.I just now finished SCWCD with 93% last week.
First of all,I thank Rahul for the updated links and Sanjay for providing excellent support in preparation.
In the past one week time,i came to know as much as i can for the preparation of SCEA thru the javaranch and [email protected].
As not being involved much in J2EE, my game plan is like this
1. Starting off with OOAD & UML.
2. EJB tutorials, Mastering EJB(TSS) & EJB Specs
3. Core J2EE Design Patterns(SUN) & Patterns in EJB(TSS)
4. Designing J2EE Apps(SUN)
5. Study Guide(Mark)
6. SCEA@Whizlabs(Mock)
Is my game plan right?.Please correct me if I am off the track.
Thanks.
 
Steven Wong
Ranch Hand
Posts: 295
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
All,
Are these resources sufficient for SCEA Part I?
1. Enterprise Java Beans - 3rd Edition (Monson-Haefel)
2. Mastering Enterprise Java Beans (Wiley)
3. UML Distilled 2nd Edition (Martin Fowler)
4. J2EE Design Patterns (Deepak Alur)
5. Online Notes (Balaji, John H, etc) from (scea_prep)
Thanks.
[ January 16, 2003: Message edited by: Clement Ng ]
 
Rahul Mahindrakar
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1871
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Clement,
I am trying to put together some valuable links that are helpful and suggestive.
Its just a gut feeling as to when one is ready to take the test.
Any how please do provide your suggestions.
Thanks
Rahul
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 351
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hello Karthi Bala,
I feel your plan is fine. I do not find it off track.
Leena
 
Greenhorn
Posts: 22
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Originally posted by Clement Ng:
All,
Are these resources sufficient for SCEA Part I?
1. Enterprise Java Beans - 3rd Edition (Monson-Haefel)
2. Mastering Enterprise Java Beans (Wiley)
3. UML Distilled 2nd Edition (Martin Fowler)
4. J2EE Design Patterns (Deepak Alur)
5. Online Notes (Balaji, John H, etc) from (scea_prep)
Thanks.
[ January 16, 2003: Message edited by: Clement Ng ]


Read #1 OR #2
#4 is not needed for part 1
 
What do you have to say for yourself? Hmmm? Anything? And you call yourself a tiny ad.
New web page for Paul's Rocket Mass Heaters movies
https://coderanch.com/t/785239/web-page-Paul-Rocket-Mass
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic