Peter Cook

Good question. I was trying to compile a list before I took the exam but I can't find it now, sorry.

If you go through some of the mocks you should get some ideas though.

Some of the more common ones to look out for are: Proxy, Decorator, Abstract Factory, Factory Method etc. as applied to EJBs.

The Abstract Factory vs. Factory Method has been debated before on JavaRanch:
https://coderanch.com/t/154652/java-Architect-SCEA/certification/Patterns-Abstract-Factory-Vs-Factory

I happened to be asked a question on this topic in the exam. It only had one of the choices though

Some would consider certain types of EJB management as an implementation of the Flyweight pattern...but that is another contentious topic of debate.

Good luck!

Originally posted by Shrinivas Deshpande:
Thanks to this forum for helping as well as confusing me(by more reading).

Congratulations, great score!

I agree with your sentiments. If you are confident in what you know and are doing you won't suffer from analysis paralysis.

The content covered in Cade was enough for me when I took the exam a few weeks ago.

However, if the material you read in Cade is your first ever exposure to UML, it might be a good idea to read through UML Distilled first and/or in addition to Cade. It's a very quick read anyway if you stick to the sections that are relevant to the exam objectives.

When it comes to last minute revision, Cade covers the information you need to know very concisely.

If you do look at UML distilled, make sure you are looking at an older version that covers UML1.x as that is what the exam is based on.

Otherwise, it may be a bit of information overload to remember what the changes were from 1 -> 2 if you read the latest version of UML distilled.

The UML questions I got in the exam were very straight forward. Nothing tricky or ambiguous. You may fare differently.

Good luck!

Peter.
[ March 07, 2007: Message edited by: Peter Cook ]

Originally posted by Swami nathan:

With all the above materials, I was actually going nowhere until I read a gem of a post from Peter Cook (https://coderanch.com/t/155477/java-Architect-SCEA/certification/Part).
This post helped me to focus.

Congratulations on passing!

I'm really glad you found some value in my post

A good starting point is probably to review the IBM website:

http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/tests/obj486.shtml

More specifically, the recommended training resources for a self-study approach:

http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/tests/edu486.shtml

i.e. UML distilled etc.

This book is probably worth reading whether or not you decide to pursue taking the examination. It's a very thin volume.

Then, there is a search link at the top of the page:

http://faq.javaranch.com/Search?search_forum=61

This should bring up dozens of earlier threads on the topic covering things that should help you get started. Use the search terms "IBM 486", "IBM OOAD" or just "486" as that is the exam number IBM uses.

Allegedly, this exam will be discontinued at the end of the year or sooner. It may or may not be replaced by an exam that covers a more up to date version of UML. The current exam covers UML1.x so that is something to bear in mind.

FYI: Passing this exam does not give you a certification. You will need to pass some other exams/modules to qualify for a relevant credential:

http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/certs/adedwssv5.shtml

If you're interested in learning about the unified process etc. then there may be some value in pursuing IBM 486 as a standalone test.

Good luck!
[ March 07, 2007: Message edited by: Peter Cook ]

Originally posted by Stefan Riegels:
Hi Jan or all the others here in the forum.

What do you mean by "OMGs Coverage Plan"? I looked in the superstructure document and did not find such a topic.

The exam coverage map can be found on the OMG website. It details which part of the superstructure is covered by the exams:

http://www.omg.org/uml-certification/UML_Exams_Coverage_Map.pdf

Question two:

I have two documents here: the UML2.0 Superstructure Specification and the UML2.0 Infrastructure Specification do I need both to make it through the exam?

The Fundamental exam is based on parts of the superstructure only.
Specifically, it is based on THIS version of the 2.0 specification:

http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/05-07-04

If you download later versions of the superstructure you will not be able to match up the exam coverage map with the contents of the specification.

At the moment I just read the germany book: "UML 2.0 Zertifizierung. Fundamental, Intermediate und Advanced (Broschiert)
von Tim Weilkiens, Bernd Oestereich"

Is this book enough to make it through the test? I did not much with UML in my daily work.

I believe if you know the content covered in this book well enough it is good enough to get 95%+ on the exam.

I wrote an analysis of the book and parts that I thought the superstructure covered the material slightly better in this thread here:

https://coderanch.com/t/145682/po/certification/Passed-OMG-Certified-UML-Fundamental

Good luck!

Originally posted by Filipe Pomar:
Another question regarding the detailing level of the exam questions:

What level of metamodel memorization is needed to succeed in this exam? I mean, do we have to know by heart all attributes, associations, constraints and all additional operations for all metamodel classes?

If anyone who took the exam could answer this, I would really appreciate it.

Hi Filipe,

I gave quite a detailed analysis of the exam content on this thread:
https://coderanch.com/t/145682/po/certification/Passed-OMG-Certified-UML-Fundamental

As far as I'm aware it is the most detailed information on the OCUP Fundamental exam on Javaranch, if not anywhere! It is very hard to come by information on this exam.

As for the level of detail needed for memorization, it's very hard to say what is the right level.

For example, you need to know that a comment element can have an association with zero or more than one other element. In the metamodel, this is represented as a * on the association end. If you weren't paying attention to the metamodel, you may have missed this. Fortunately, this is where practical experience with UML may help you out.

If you have a fundamental understanding of the metamodel, then it doesn't really require explicit memorization of these things as all of the multiplicities and hieracrhies start to become logical and intuitive after a while.

You will need to know the basic generalization hierarchies and what the implications are e.g. an Activity diagram is a specialized behavior. A named element is a specialized element. A packageable element is a specialized named element etc. Try and build an intuitive understanding of what each level of specialization adds to the hierarchy but don't worry too much about memorization.

Good luck.

Feel free to ask any other questions on the matter.

Peter.

FYI:

Certificate arrived in the post today. Just over a week after taking the test.

Contents:
1 certificate
1 brief covering letter

Unlike other certificates that are printed on heavy weight paper or card, this certificate appears to be on standard weight paper.

The covering letter contains details for accessing the electronic versions of the OCUP logo and terms of use etc.

Originally posted by Paul Codillo:
Hi Kumar,

If your intention is to have a centralized controller for both your JSP and Swing client, you could have something like this...
Web:
JSP --> Servlet --> AppContoller --> ServiceLocator -->
Swing:
Swing Client --> GUIController --> AppController --> ServiceLocator -->

You could have your web and Swing presentation layers use the same AppController. Your servlet processes your HTTP input and your GUIController processes your Swing input.

I hope this makes sense.

Good luck!

Agree with other posters. Dealing with HTTP request/response via a Servlet for the Swing Client would not be advisable.

A session facade of some sort could be used by both. Perhaps your AppController is a session facade.

Originally posted by Cameron W. McKenzie:
Hey, you've got to know the JSR-168 API pretty darned good.

I put together some free, mock exam simulators for the IBM Portal exam. They're a pretty good indicator of the test.

Thank you for the very generous contribution.

Congratulations. Great score!

Originally posted by Filipe Pomar:
Guys, I know that the exam is multiple choices, but is it multiple answers? If so, does each question tell you how many right answers to choose from?

Yes, you are told how many correct answers are expected. Usually 2.

Good luck!

UTI have now updated sample question 1 and sample question 2:

http://www.umlcert.org/en/sample_exam/fundamental.html

It's a shame they don't have more than 3 questions in total. I encourage anyone interested to send them an e-mail to request more questions.

That's people power for you!

Do you see the search link at the top right hand-side of the page?

http://faq.javaranch.com/Search?search_forum=61

Use it!

For example:

https://coderanch.com/t/145659/po/certification/Passed-IBM-test

Good luck.

That is yet another brain dump site IMO. The product guarantee means nothing. Obviously if you are given the actual exam questions and answers it will be difficult to fail!

There is no company information. The Chinese connection is a tell-tale sign - they are outside of jurisdictions where action could be taken against them for providing brain dumps in violation of test agreements.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: a 12 year old can produce a "professional" looking website these days. It doesn't mean anything.

You'll notice the text under each product certification is identical and uses a simple template approach to replace just the keywords for the exam.

It's obvious to me that this site is not reputable but I've been in the business a long time. You may wish to take a different view. I'm willing to make a wager it is a brain dump site so if you proceed to purchase any of their products let me know!

Good luck.