Del Edwards

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since Apr 24, 2002
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Recent posts by Del Edwards

Many thanks to all the other members with their helpful tips and links to other learning resources. (That was a damn hard test. I would like to see what the final version turns out like).
21 years ago
Jitender,
when you say you did not change the domain model, would that include not changing the name of an object that is "plural" - and seemingly inconsistently named? Say, for instance: an "Invoice" has a one to many association with an "InvoiceItems" object (which one might infer to be a collection of invoices - if the name is NOT changed???)instead of a one to many with many "InvoiceItem" (singular) objects?
Also, in your experience would "renaming" a BDM class to avoid confusing it with a class that is being added to the class diagram (for instance: changing "Cart" to "ShoppingCart" to avoid confusing with other "Carts" (RacingCart, GoCart). If the associations between the object don't change (and you document reason for changing name) would this be considered "changing" the BDM? (I hear alot of people who have successfully passed telling that they have not changed the BDM).
Thanks in advance...
Jitender,
when you say you did not change the domain model, would that include not changing the name of an object that is "plural" - and seemingly inconsistently named? Say, for instance: an "Invoice" has a one to many association with an "InvoiceItems" object (which one might infer to be a collection of invoices if the name is NOT changed???)instead of a one to many with many "InvoiceItem" (singular) objects?
Also, in your experience would "renaming" a BDM class to avoid confusing it with a class that is being added to the class diagram (for instance: changing "Cart" to "ShoppingCart" to avoid confusing with other "Carts" (RacingCart, GoCart). If the associations between the object don't change (and you document reason for changing name) would this be considered "changing" the BDM? (I hear alot of people who have successfully passed telling that they have not changed the BDM).
Thanks in advance...
Great question. I would not have taken the exam on the 6th if I had known I could take more time. Frankly, I think it is foolish to create a perception of a "race" to complete the beta. I half expected not to be able to take the exam on the first day, since the earliest available time in my area was at 11:00AM Eastern Time (US). I weighed the prospect of taking a "free" certification exam with a "reasonable" expectation to pass the exam (spending MORE time studying objectives) vs "just getting to see the exam for future reference" (take the test as soon as possible - before it closes - and prepare as best one can in a week).
A new test is always hard to study for, but I could have at least benefited from knowledge passed on (not specific questions - just "observations") from those who took the test early and felt they were prepared "enough" (if any such person(s) exist ). (ex: study the specifics of "roles" (not just high level definition) as they pertain to security, deployment, resource configuration, blah, blah ).
Yes. The questions on roles were strewn thoughout the other questions. Questions about security, deployment, configuration, etc.
Also a lot of questions on when a particular method of Session/EntityContext were "available". It helps to really know the tables in the "component contract" chapters of the SPEC (the ones that show which methods, resources and env entries were available after which method in the life of a bean) - which is a lot to remember since you have a different table for each bean type (stateful and stateless session, CMP and BMP entities and message driven beans). Not sure what to tell anybody about studing for those types of questions that will be of any help - except to deffinitly know the tables inside and out. I ended up drawing the lifecycle diagrams for each bean type and drawing little colored dots next to each method call to signify if the bean, at that particular momement, would have access to: identity of the EJB, caller security context, and transactional context. It helped but after having taken the test - I would have spent even more time cross-referencing the information in similar ways.
I tried to follow the entire list of objectives for the beta - by matching it section by section with section(s) of the EJB 2.0 spec. The test deffinitly covered everything (183 questions). I spent over 3 hours (out of 4), so there is enough time to answer the questions (for the beta) - but some of the nitty-gritty questions about spelling of xml elements, who (which role) inserts which xml element into which document (and when they do it), and questions about which methods or resources were available within which ejb-callback methods or business methods - were very difficult, in my opinion.
To be honest - I have used EJBs in real world projects - but I have only ever used a subset of the functionality. All I knew about EJB-QL is what I read in the spec :roll: .
I may not have passed ( and will not find out for several weeks ) - but I'm glad I took the test - I know I will be able to pass the real test having seen the types of questions and remembering what items I was a little sketchy on.
good luck.
It was tough. The test asked very specific questions with regards to "Who" is responsible for adding this or that deployment descriptor fragment related to security, environment, etc. I read over the spec, and feel I understood the roles and responsibilities fairly well - but I know I was guessing on some of the questions.
I don't consider SUNs view of "Bean Providers" throwing coded-complete, partially configured components "over the wall" to an "Application Assembler" (or any of the rest of the roles and responsibilities) to be very real world. It would be nice - but until you get real-world Project Managers to recognize the roles and responsibilities and assign work along those lines - it's nothing more than a pipe dream. Most projects will be composed of many "coders" (ejb, servlet, JSP... its hard to be choosy these days) - and one or two "tech-leads" will offer design tips, proof of concept implementations and "sew everything together".
I also despise having to memorize the the exact spelling of some XML element - I know what the files are and what types of configurations go in them - I could care less about memorizing the exact XML element or property spelling. Technologies like XDoclet wouldn't be gaining in popularity if others didn't also consider XML hacking of configurations a major weak point of the entire J2EE dev process. Unfortunatly, there were a few very specific "spelling" type questions that tested NOTHING other than the ability to memorize. Oh, well - enough of my ranting.
Some of the drag-and-drop questions were tough, as well. Most of the difficulty was owing to the vague descriptions of a particular "responsibility" or "fuctionality" that needed to be "matched" to an answer. Mostly, the D-N-D questions were just too time consuming. Some of the EJB-QL queries could be writtem many ways - and it was only after trying to "fit" the answer block into the incomplete fragement blocks - that you would realize your "answer" was going to be too long or too short (requiring you to start over).
As long as the questions are clearly worded - I diddn't mind the D-N-D format at all.
My 2 cents.
The instructions for part II say "you may not agree with the Business Analyst" etc.. �..but you must follow the requirements given�
- any opinions as to whether or not adding an unspecified alternative flow to an existing use case - to include executing another (existing) use case - constitutes "not following" or changing the requirements? (that is, if the "addition" doesnt conflict with the existing flow of events, alternative flows, or post-conditions)
Thanks in advance,
D
I figured Rufus for a Randy Newman fan......
hey Rufus, which do you prefer: "rednecks" or "short people"?
missed one question on EJB (46/47 right). Not sure which one.
I've been doing Java for over 4 years with 3 years J2EE (WebSphere 3.0 and 3.5, WebLogic 5.1, 6 and 6.1). To be honest, most projects I've been a part of either didn't need (or allow ) EJBs or only needed Stateless Session Beans for CMTs. I played around with Entity Beans using JBoss at home to get "hands on" - it was "enough", I guess.
I would also like to thank all the other members of JavaRanch who share their knowlege. This is a good site, both as a cert prep resource and as a knowlege base for all things Java.
I would really like to thank Leo Crawford and John Wetherbie for their notes - I probably used them more than the Cade/Roberts book. I also used the book "Applied Java Patterns" - but after taking the test I think the SCEA study guide would have sufficed for design patterns (not that "Applied Java Patterns" isn't a fine book). I used the Monson-Haefel book as a cross-reference to the notes/study guides above, but not too much (I've got a little hands-on with EJBs - if you don't have hand-on it is probably required reading).
I also used Whizlab's SCEA prep software. Without going into too much detail, I give their prep software a B- as study aid and a D+ as comercial software. The scenario questions, although usually badly worded, were similar in nature to the test. The patterns question were horrible. Simply repeating a one paragraph definition of a particular pattern is not an explanation of why a pattern is or is not a suitable answer. I also didn't agree with a lot of the answers given, but when the questions are so vague and badly worded - it doesn't make much difference. Bottom line: if you have the money to spare, whizlabs has the best mock exams of any I have tried (all others being free ones referenced from this site, so this isn't exactly a "rave" review) - so it might be worth it to you to try it out. If you really know the material it cannot really help you learn anything except to give you a feel for the types of question that will be asked.
thanks. that is certainly good to know.
[ October 31, 2002: Message edited by: Del Edwards ]
speaking of trolls, Jacques! haha. Just kidding. So, are my comments "baseless", or are all the comments of anyone who reports having trouble with whizlabs products "baseless"?
I can see why most people are posting to this topic. Either they have had problems (even if they were resolved quickly) or they work for/ are affiliated with - whizlabs - and are offering some advice or assistance.....
But its understandable that you would also post here, as you are obviously infatuated with someone who works at whizlabs....
happy trolling.
[ October 31, 2002: Message edited by: Del Edwards ]
[ October 31, 2002: Message edited by: Del Edwards ]