SCEA for J2EE 1.4

[Jerson Chua]

Does anyone have an idea when the new SCEA (J2EE 1.4) certification will come out?

I want to get certified but I don't want to study obsolete J2EE version.
[ January 08, 2005: Message edited by: Jerson Chua ]

[Ghulam Rashid]

Thats good question that needs to be answered. Even I am plannig for the exam.

Rashid
SCJP,
BEA Cert Dev for WLS

[Nicholas Cheung]

This question has been asked long long time ago, however, the answer is still an unknown.

Nick

[Dave Knipp]

I agree that this needs to be answered. I know there are alot of us out there waiting for the SCEA update. Maybe we should make a poll to see how many are waiting on the new version. If there are alot then maybe Sun will notice and work faster or at least give us an idea.

[Christian Naeger]

Yes, some clarification would be *really* helpfull. I am also considering preparing for SCEA and I would really like to know if I still need to learn J2EE 1.2 or if I should wait another 6 months or so in order to stick with J2EE 1.4. (Or could it be that they intend to skip 1.4 and go straight to 1.5 which would even mean 2 years or so till the SCEA update.)

[Stephen Galbraith]

I'm also more than curious to know. I asked Sun when booking my SCWCD 1.4 when it was coming out (I had to phone as you can't book the SCWCD 1.4 exam via the web in the UK) and they advised to keep checking on the US web site.

Still, this is in the future - I have to clear SCWCD first

Steve

[k.p thottam]

This question has been asked by many on my team and my response is the version of the platform does not matter . As a architect , you focus is providing the right path .

If you look at the page that describes the exam there is no reference to the J2EE version .

http://training.sun.com/US/catalog/courses/CX-310-051.html


I have to admit that the exam is pretty weak from a design pattern stand point, it is retricted to GoF and optionally Core J2EE patterns. POSA isn't covered or even mentioned .

For a J2EE standpoint the concept behind message beans is not directly referred , but is a topic you are bound to come across while dealing with messaging

[Dave Knipp]

I agree that the current version of the exam isn't bound by any version of the J2EE spec, but the requirements are outdated. I would also assume that the questions on the multiple choice are out dated as well and would require you to learn certain aspects of older J2EE spec.

If i'm going to spend ~$400 for a certification it better be the best it can and thus I would want to take the latest and greatest. Anyways they have said in the past that they are working on upgrading it. Who knows maybe after they are finished with the new SCJP 1.5 exam then they'll have a beta for the new SCEA...
[ January 17, 2005: Message edited by: Dave Knipp ]

[Christian Naeger]

Well at least for part I you definitely need knowledge about J2EE 1.2. I am not sure about part II/III though. As said before, given the price tag and the time investment I would definitely like to learn and be able to certify the latest knowledge in the field (otherwise you run the risk of coming along with your SCEA and an employer telling you "hey, come on, we are using J2EE 1.4 (or 1.5 till then), what do you want")
However, I agree that the design patterns and general architectural concepts are not bound to a specific version.

[Bricex Lin]

I agree that this needs to be answered. Even though J2EE version is not referenced by the exam, can the technology like web services be applied to the design? Hopefully we can hear something new from Sun soon.

BL

[Chintan Rajyaguru]

If some one is counting people waiting for the SCEA version that includes J2EE 1.4, count me in.

While the version of J2EE doesn't matter, I think J2EE 1.4 is different as it includes web services specifications. I suspect that the new version of the exam (if at all Sun creates it) will include some objectives around web services and the assignment will also include some SOA challenges. It will be nice to take the exam and face the challenge (part 2) that involve the newer concepts. I also think if web serivces and SOA become part of the architect certification, having the newer certification could be a good differentiator. At this point however, it is unclear

- Whether Sun will change objectives to include web services (especially when we already have SCJWS certification around)
- Whether Sun will change the assignment

What I sometimes wonder is whether it is okay if your solution (part 2) includes J2EE 1.4 specific features in the current version of the exam.

[Bricex Lin]

There is a statement from the CX-310-300A description:
http://www.sun.com/training/catalog/courses/CX-310-300A.xml

APIs relevant to the Assignment

The assignment requires that you have an in-depth understanding of the Java programming language and J2EE APIs. You can choose to use any released version of the J2EE APIs.

But I am not sure if anybody applied J2EE 1.4 specifications & APIs, such as web services and soa to the assignment.

[Theodore Casser]

I know that I talked to a few folks from Sun Education at JavaOne about the issue of revamping the SCEA exam and was told that it is on their radar for "sooner rather than later".

The biggest issue I can think of is the issue of handling an "upgrade" of the exam for currently certified professionals. (Not that I know yet if I passed, but at the time when I was talking to them - at the reception for certified professionals - I'd submitted my Part II and sat for Part III.) I don't know that I really want to put the time into having to do a second assignment, as the first time took enough out of my life.

I think I'd like to see the assignment probably upgraded once they decide which spec they're going for (J2EE 1.4 or Java EE 5), but as I mentioned to them there also include a one-test upgrade that makes sure already-certified architects know about SOA, web services, etc.