NX: Arghh! Submission Failure For Invalid Directory Structure!

[Jason Mowat]

Greetings,
This evening I just learned that my submission was failed automatically due to the directory structure. After receiving this disappointing news, I was shocked and immediately re-referenced the submission instructions.
As it turns out, I had created my runme.jar with all of my binaries, source code, supporting files, documentation, etc, within it, and then created ANOTHER jar file, as per the certmanager instructions, that contained the runme.jar. At the time, I thought this was a little strange, but I figured Sun had their process.
The way it should have been done was to create the runme.jar file with only the binaries and enclose that jar file within the certmanager submission jar file. I didn't pick up on that; seeing only runme.jar mentioned in the submission instructions implied to me that IT was the only jar file to submit. I was wrong :-(
My question to the group is: do I have to pay $150(CDN) to resubmit my file? I do understand that I made a mistake on a "must" portion, but do I need to pay for it that badly? It was an honest, small mistake, IMHO. Has anyone had the misfortune of being in this situation and being able to resubmit the file without extra cost?
Any feedback is appreciated! Regardless, I will be resubmitting the file. Maybe this time they will actually get to try it ;-)
Cheers,
Jason
P.S. What a nice way to start the weekend :-)
[ February 06, 2004: Message edited by: Jason Mowat ]

[Satish Avadhanam]

Sorry to hear that Jason. As per the instructions I understood, one should pay to Re-submit the assignment.
Good Luck and make sure all the "must" are fulfilled this time. Thanks.

[Bharat Ruparel]

Hello Jason,
Sorry to know that you got tripped by this insidious issue. I had many a sleepless nights trying to check and double-check my submission. Technically, they are within their rights to automatically fail your submission. However, I am quite optimistic that if you plead your case with them pointing out why you failed to pick-up on this subtle requirement, they might just let you resubmit without paying the submissioin fee again. Worth a try, don't you think?
Keep your chin up and best of luck.
Regards.
Bharat

[Jason Mowat]

Thanks for the encouragment!
I am going to plead my case. I do take responsibility for not fulfilling the "must" requirement and am prepared to pay the extra cash, but there's a few things that bother me about having to do this:
1. The instructions were a little vague, IMO, regarding the whole runme.jar executable. I honestly think they should have drew attention that the main submission jar was to be the certmanager jar, and that runme.jar was a jar inside of it only containing the binaries
2. Certmanager itself has been buggy. When I payed for my examination, I couldn't even upload my project. I had to wait a few days for them to activate it. I grin about this one, because it's almost the same thing in reverse; they are inconveniencing me by not following an "established" protocol. However, I didn't ask for my money back and chose to overlook the issue; hopefully they are prepared to do the same :-).
I have sent Prometric an email pleading my case:

I need to upload my assignment again due to an invalid directory structure. Do I need to spend more money for this? If so, I'm obviously quite disappointed, as I feel the submission instructions may not have been as clear as they could have been. I have echoed this in my choices.txt document, and I feel the mistake was a minor misunderstanding.

Here is a quote:

"
...Submission
==========

I had some problems understanding how the submission was to be packaged. I thought, from reading the instructions, that a file called "runme.jar" was to be submitted with all of the documentation, source code and binaries included within it.

After receiving a failing grade for an invalid submission, it was made clear to me that the executable portion of the application (the binaries and manifest) were to be in a jar called runme.jar that lives inside the jar submission file. This was obviously easier than the way I originally interpreted it.

I reread the instructions for the submission, and was able to deduce what Sun really wanted only with help from the person who failed me. I'm not too happy about this and personally feel that the instructions for the jar could have been clearer. A suggestions is to state that the documentation, source code and other supporting files, AS WELL AS a runme.jar file needs to be placed into a jar file with a name that the certmanager site specifies. I now know..."

Please let me know as soon as possible, as I wish to get this resolved.

We'll see how that turns out. Again, I do take full responsibility for not packaging the submission properly, but I did it to the best of my abilities. I even had a checklist made that addressed all the musts, and must have re-read the submission portion a dozen times!
I'll keep the group posted! Wish me luck.
Cheers,
Jason
[ February 07, 2004: Message edited by: Jason Mowat ]

[Dixon Alexander]

Jason,
Sound like it just a mistake, I think that resumission only applies when you fail the test.
you should contact Sun or Prometric about it...
Maybe they could help you, give it a try it won't hurt.
Good Luck.

[Max Habibi]

Hi Jason,
I agree with Dixon. They may choose to be rigid about this, but they're generally pretty helpful folks. Tell them what happened, and see where it goes. And please keep up posted.
All best,
M

[Jason Mowat]

Hey gang,
Well, I sent Sun an email hoping to appeal. They never responded, so I took that as a "no" to them considering the situation. I repackaged and resubmitted.
I passed.

Score: 381
Comment: This report shows the total number of points awarded for each section. The maximum number of points is 400, to pass you need a score of 320.
Section Summary:
Section Max Actual Points Points
General Con: 100 81
Documentation: 70 70
OOD: 30 30
GUI: 40 40
Locking: 80 80
Datat Store: 40 40
Network Server: 40 40
Total: 400 381

Needless to say, I am thrilled. I am still a little bitter about the submission failure, but my elation is now filling that wound :-)
Thanks everyone for the feedback and consideration. I'd like to thank the Javaranch forum for their support.
Cheers,
Jason

[Ken Krebs]

Nice score Jason

[Philippe Maquet]

Great job, Jason!
Phil.

[Philippe Maquet]

Hi Andrew and Mark,
Just FYI, Jason smartly posted his result in the cert results forum either in such a way, that this interesting thread may stay here.
Best regards,
Phil.

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Rather than posting congratulatory messages in this thread, could everyone please post their congratulations in this thread which is in the Sun Certification Results forum.