Required skill for Dev assignment

[HanMing Low]

Hi,
I'm going to attempt the developer certification.
I glance through the forum and see that there is a basic requirement of knowing socket or rmi.
In addition, Design Pattern is also much required.
I also see things like SSL, Algorithm, design, user documentation, thread etc etc.
I'm reading on Design Pattern at the moment.
And, I'd like to know which of these areas are the basic "need to know" for all assignment and is every assignment different?
And, would also apprecitate if you can refer to any helpful link or which Sun course that is useful.
Frankly, I'm good at nothing and thus, I could not learn all of them.
I would need to learn those basic topic one by one first then follow by the supplement.
Hopefully the assignment can give me some good practical experience in developing a application of basic quality.
I have not apply for the certification to download the assignment. Thus, I apologise if I ask some question that will be answered with the assignment.
Looking forward for any advice.
Cheers.

Han Ming

[Mark Spritzler]

>>I also see things like SSL, Algorithm, design, user >>documentation, thread etc etc.
There is no SSL
>>I'm reading on Design Pattern at the moment.
>>And, I'd like to know which of these areas are the basic "need >>to know" for all assignment and is every assignment different?
Look at Facade, Adapter, Factory, Chain of Command(for exceptions), Model/View/Controller for the GUI, which is close to Mediator. Any others that I missed guys, or got wrong?
Sun has lots of tutorials, and I suggest looking at then at www.javasoft.com You should see the links for tutorial there.\
The assignment is definitely a way to gain experience in all those area, and It really helped me. Just take your time, you have no limit, and don't get frustrated, just work through it. You can even sign up now and get going.
Stay here at Javaranch as there is no better site to help us get through the assignment.
And don't think any question stupid, because we have all asked the same ones.
GOOD LUCK
Mark

[HanMing Low]

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your advice.
I'll certainly attempt the assignment with your advice.
I'm trying to get my company to sponsor for the certification.
So, hopefully, I can get over with this soon and download the assignment and get started with it.
Really thanks for the advice.

Cheers.

Han Ming

[nitin kanaskar]

<pre>
hi there,
what are design patterns? pl. suggest some good books,
sites for the same.
Regards,
nitin
</pre>

[HanMing Low]

Hi,
Design pattern are sort of a well defined way of solve problem.
You can go to http://www.javaranch.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/000794.html
for links which will give you better explanation than I can.
Cheers.

Han Ming

[Matthew Comer]

HanMing,
I must admit that I was amused by your statement that you are "good at nothing" and therefore must learn it all. Such a modest attitude is rare!
Let me suggest that you are probably better at some things than you admit, and that you are already well ahead because you know where to ask questions and you are not afraid to admit that you don't know everything.
Since there is no time limit on completing the assignment, your best approach is to simply buy the voucher, download the project, and get started. This will help you see the challenges you face, and will give you specific things that you need to learn to complete it. You can always ask questions here if you get stuck.
Good luck!
Matt

[Peter den Haan]

Two years ago I didn't think I'd ever be saying this...
Don't get hung up on patterns. Leaf through the material, then put it aside and forget about it.
Get your bearings inside the parts of the assignment you may not be comfortable with, for instance the Swing architecture, especially JTable. Observe how JTable separates the state (TableModel) from the GUI widget. You are likely to implement your own TableModel as a part of a larger model which is only very loosely coupled to the GUI front end. It is possible, but not necessary, that your TableModel will be a mere wrapper around a more detailed modeling of the problem in your own classes.
Having done that, make a list of what the system needs to do. Draft a loose, very high level design of the whole system, or a major part of it, depending on the scope you can grok at one go. Don't code. Think it through to the point where you're confident that it can be made to do the job. Then simplify it until any further simplification would mean it no longer meets requirements. Of course there will be numerous nuts and bolts that you didn't think about, but they will take care of themselves. Don't let the details confuse you. Simplify as much as possible, focusing on a clear, clean, self-documenting architecture (rather than the least number of objects or methods, which is what simplification is not about).
At this point, revisit the patterns pages & books you've only given a cursory look so far and give them a good read. Many will help you firm up your design. Some will be a discovery of what you were trying to do but could not quite achieve. A few will make you go back and turn parts of your design upside down.
Then simplify again. If you can achieve the same thing just as flexibly by dropping this class, do it, even if that means that you're no longer using the Bawoozle pattern.
By and large, patterns are two things. First, they are a vocabulary. They enable you to explain to Sun or anyone else that you've used the Model View Controller approach with an Adapter to represent your business model as a TableModel, and a Factory to create a connection object that blah blah blah. Second, they are a discovery and formalisation what you and other developers have been doing for years. This structures your body of knowledge and helps you develop a firmer grip on OO software design.
Don't fall into the trap of approaching the assignment or any other projects by searching for fancy patterns to apply to the problem. Sure, it's cool, exciting, and a good addition to your r�sum�. It can also lead to massive overengineering. Instead, let the problem grow its own patterns, and use your knowledge of design patterns to clip the rough bits into a solid, clear, clean whole.
- Peter
[This message has been edited by Peter den Haan (edited November 19, 2001).]

[HanMing Low]

Hi Mathew and Peter,
Thanks for all the advice.

Oh, I do know a little programming of course, but, seriously, I don't think I can come up with a industrial quality software with my present knowledge.
But your advice has been helpful.
I'm all ready to download the assignment and start working, just waiting for my company reply on whether they're paying for me.
I've just finished reading "Design Pattern Explained" and is using "Java Design Patterns: A Tutorial" to work on some examples cause I think I'm still not sure on what to apply where.
Hopefully, by the time I've downloaded the assignment, I'll have some idea of how to apply these newly learned knowledge to the assignment.
This is really a great site and glad to be here.

Cheers.

Han Ming

[nitin kanaskar]

<pre>
thanx Han for the information
Regards,
nitin
</pre>

[kerry shih]

I agree completely about your comment regarding trying to fit a solution into a pattern.
A lot of people in this test are overkilling the project (as am I), but do our defense it is a rare opportunity to use/try new patterns.
For all who are new to patterns, a lot of the time a pattern is just a logical relationship that occurs all the time that you never new was a pattern. Example: Delegation is hardly a pattern its just a fundamental way that a "has-a" relationship works. So brush over the IDEAS behind what they try to accomplish and then do your best to see if one can help.