Why 486 is so biased on Larman and Flowers

[atalluri]

I started my learning cycle in November 2000. Started with Grady Booch's OOAD book then UML User Guide by Amigos then Unified Developement Process by amigos then Design Patterns by Gamma and Refacoring by Fowler. I took the exam last week and got only 58%.I thought i did a cool study of the concepts with little practice.I have not taken the mock exams.Took the exam with a fresh mind and with out any bias. Iam not aware of this site and did not studied Larman and Flower. Looks like these two books are IBM definitons for the process and must read for the exam. I wasted lot of time reading volumes and ultimately No pass. why IBM is so biased on these books.You guys are doing a good work by hosting this forum and I hope with your help and going through Larman's book and I hope i could achieve it this month.

[Desai Sandeep]

Hi,
Welcome to Javaranch OO forum!
There is no bias for Martin or Larman's book.It is just about getting the right kind of knowledge for this test.If you are able to pick it up with the help of the User Guide or Reference Guide by three amingos then also it is OK.There are people here with experience who happen to do much better in the test compared to those who just read Larman and Fowler books.
So I think it just boils down to the fact of how much you have grasped.
Hope to have interestng discussions with you in this forum.
Regards,
Sandeep
Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform Scored 93%
Oracle Certified Solution Developer - JDeveloper
-- Oracle JDeveloper Rel. 3.0 - Develop Database Applications with Java Scored 56 out of 59
-- Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with UML Scored 73%
Oracle Certified Enterprise Developer - Oracle Internet Platform
-- Enterprise Connectivity with J2EE Scored 72%
-- Enterprise Development on the Oracle Internet Platform Scored 44 out of 56
[This message has been edited by Desai Sandeep (edited September 06, 2001).]

[Paul Newton]

It is true that the UML exam is derived heavily from Larman and Fowler. Or at least, that seems to be the concensus from the mock test and those that have taken the actual exam.
I think this is mainly for practical reasons. It provides a general scope for the exam, while also presenting a 'correct' set of answers. The alternative - trying to represent a single, coherent view of all leading OO views - would not be practical. Further, the Larman/Fowler books are excellent reads.
You mentioned some of the books that you read previously. I am surprised that these differ significantly from the Larman/Fowler view of the OO world. Booch's OOAD book - while somewhat old - contains many of the early UP ideas. The UML user guide is the offical line, so okay there. Design Patterns is a classic, and wholely endoresed by Larman. Refactoring does not appear to be a major part of the exam, but it is at least alluded to - again, Fowler would be a definitive resource on this.
So - I can only suggest that either you were missing some of the more detailed observations from Fowler/Larman, or you suffered from the lack of experience that you mention.
Either way - don't worry too much. Get started on Larman and contribute to this forum for some healthy discussion. Check out the forum archives for discussion of the mock test. You will still find the previous books useful for the exam - I suggest downloading a copy of the UML spec as well. Good luck...
regards,
paul.

[atalluri]

Thanks Sandeep and Paul.
Looks like what you said is right.I had the broad coverage and different authors viewpoints and illutrations but seriouly lacking in grasping the critical points to the heart so that it would take less time in the actual exam to answer the question. Adds to that I don't have the experience with UML earlier.In my current project I was given the task of implementing the system from Ration Rose file consisiting of usecase view and Analysis view of the system.Then only I started reading all these books to help me understand how those views of the system have been developed.
Any way I have you and the Larman in hand, hope to succeed this time.
Thanks and Regards
Ashok Talluri
Sun Certified Java2 Programmer
IBM Certified in Enterprise Connectivity with J2EE
IBM Certified Developer in XML and Related Technologies.

[This message has been edited by atalluri (edited September 06, 2001).]

[Paul Newton]

Sandeep -
I would disagree when you say there is no bias to the Larman/Fowler sources. The mock exam contains numerous examples where the 'correct' answer could - and has been - widely debated. In practice, the test has given preference to the Larman/Fowler view of OO modelling. However, you are correct that much of the test is about fundamental OO principles. Of course I am not saying that you must read Larman/Fowler to pass the exam, nor that they guarantee success...!
regards,
paul.

[Desai Sandeep]

Hi Paul,
Thank you for your comments.
My participation in the Javaranch OO forum, has given me an opportunity to learn OOAD with UML.This was the only learning source for me, as I don't have any real world experience in OO, UML or Java. I along with several other Javaranchers have been brainstorming for a reasonable period of time to arrive at the correct answers for the questions asked in the IBM pre-assessment test.
I believe that IBM has got most of the answers correct - perhaps we were viewing the question from the wrong perspective, hence the debate!I can say this with some confidence now (not earlier, while I was debating! ), since I have refuted all the IBM answers, which they claim are correct.
If you go through my posts, you will find that I have refered to many other books apart from Larman and Fowler to discuss on these answers.While answering some questions, I found books by Meilir Page-Jones and some online resources like Cetus Links very helpful.For example, you will find a chapter on "Perils on Inheritance" in Meilir's book, which helped me a long way to identify, how one should use Inheritance and what are the common pitfalls.Similarly, I found some very good notes on use-cases online which helped me to understand this better.

Without this material, it would not have been possible for me to discuss the questions at length.This is the reason I mentioned that IBM test is not biased to the Larman and Fowler book.
However, having said that I would always suggest newbies like me to read these 2 books.These books are excellent to grasp the concepts quickly.You should consider these books as a text and supplement the information with the works done by the three amingos.This was my approach for preparing for the test.
Regards,
Sandeep
SCJP2, OCSD(Oracle JDeveloper), OCED(Oracle Internet Platform)

[Guennadiy VANIN]

Just take it for granted that if you want the exam then you may read dozens books, but without Craig Larman's and Fowler, you wouldn't be ready to answer IBM's questions.
Good point. I also came to it but after I tried mock exam. That was very hard to accept: I worked with and read over UML 4 years and couldn't answer first 5 question and desisted. Now I read Craig Larman's book. Good reading to you also.
It is difficult for me, because there is no practical exercises, questions to solve and be involved (casually)...
Does anybody knows the OOAD book with practical quizzs, exercises, codes, etc?

[Vikrama Sanjeeva]

Hi,

Originally posted by atalluri:
Looks like these two books are IBM definitons for the process and must read for the exam. I wasted lot of time reading volumes and ultimately No pass. why IBM is so biased on these books.You guys are doing a good work by hosting this forum and I hope with your help and going through Larman's book and I hope i could achieve it this month.

I am amazed that why u haven't look IBM's 486 test site.IBM recommend Fowler's and Larman's book for 486 test.Secondly did u tried ICE Sample test for 486 before taking original 486 test?

Bye,
Viki.