1.2 v 1.4 exam

[Rob Hadow]

I am studying for my certification with a distance learning company in UK.
I know the current version is now 1.4, but I am on a 1.2 course. I have
bought some books in addition to my study manual, and have been doing mock
questions which I downloaded from the internet. But all the material and
books I could find is aimed at 1.4. It seems 1.2 is now out of date.

I would prefer to do the 1.4 exam, but my centre says I have paid for and am
down to do 1.2, besides they don't offer the 1.4 exam.

Can someone advise me how much more valuable the 1.4 certification is
compared to the 1.2 (ie to an employer). What difference does it make?

Many thanks.

Rob Hadow

 

[Thomas Weidenfeller]

I am studying for my certification with a distance learning company in UK.
I know the current version is now 1.4,

And the beta of 1.5 is already out.

but I am on a 1.2 course. I have
bought some books in addition to my study manual, and have been doing mock
questions which I downloaded from the internet. But all the material and
books I could find is aimed at 1.4. It seems 1.2 is now out of date.

1.2 is indeed out of date. If memory serves me right, it was released in
1999. I am surprised how you managed to miss more than four years of
Java development. Are you really interested in becoming a good Java
programmer or is this just about a stamped piece of paper?

Can someone advise me how much more valuable the 1.4 certification is
compared to the 1.2 (ie to an employer). What difference does it make?

I can't tell you much about these certifications (Sun for sure has some
official statements on the Java web site), I don't care about them. From
my point of view such certifications don't prove much. I have seen good
programmers without, and bad programmers with certifications. And don't
get me started on MCSEs ...

/Thomas

 

[Tor Iver Wilhelmsen]

Can someone advise me how much more valuable the 1.4 certification is
compared to the 1.2 (ie to an employer). What difference does it make?

You mean for Programmer certification? I was under the impression the
1.4 exam is easier than the 1.2 one in that at least AWT questions
apparently has been removed...

 

[Tony Morris]

I am studying for my certification with a distance learning company in UK.
I know the current version is now 1.4, but I am on a 1.2 course. I have
bought some books in addition to my study manual, and have been doing mock
questions which I downloaded from the internet. But all the material and
books I could find is aimed at 1.4. It seems 1.2 is now out of date.

I would prefer to do the 1.4 exam, but my centre says I have paid for and am
down to do 1.2, besides they don't offer the 1.4 exam.

Can someone advise me how much more valuable the 1.4 certification is
compared to the 1.2 (ie to an employer). What difference does it make?

Many thanks.

Rob Hadow

That would be like buying a brand new 1998 model car from a dealer, simply
because they don't stock the 2004 model.
Argue your case, you don't need "the centre" anyway.
I simply purchased the exam voucher, rang Prometric (Australia), and went to
sit the exam.
No screwing about with middle men!

Loosley speaking, Exam1_4 = Exam1_2 - AWT + assertions.

--
Tony Morris
(BInfTech, Cert 3 I.T.)
Software Engineer
(2003 VTR1000F)
Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform (1.4)
Sun Certified Developer for the Java 2 Platform

 

[Tony Morris]

And the beta of 1.5 is already out.


1.2 is indeed out of date. If memory serves me right, it was released in
1999. I am surprised how you managed to miss more than four years of
Java development. Are you really interested in becoming a good Java
programmer or is this just about a stamped piece of paper?


I can't tell you much about these certifications (Sun for sure has some
official statements on the Java web site), I don't care about them. From
my point of view such certifications don't prove much. I have seen good
programmers without, and bad programmers with certifications. And don't
get me started on MCSEs ...

/Thomas

Sun certifications prove a level of competence (provided it is legitimate of
course).
Granted, the SCJP may simply prove one's ability to memorise a study guide
(or not).
The SCJD proves that the developer is capable of making design decisions in
implementing a client/server architecture.
I used to have a similar opinion, but it has changed when I determined what
really is required from these certifications.
The SCEA (which I am currently doing) also requires a certain level of
competence in order to complete.

These certifications also help in filtering out the clowns; after all, most
of use would agree that there are a lot of them in this industry
(ironically, even the clowns themselves agree). For example, I often
see/maintain production code that I could confidently say would never have
been written by a Sun Certified Developer. This is enough justification as
far as I'm concerned.

--
Tony Morris
(BInfTech, Cert 3 I.T.)
Software Engineer
(2003 VTR1000F)
Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform (1.4)
Sun Certified Developer for the Java 2 Platform

 

[Andoni]

Is that equivalent to:

Exam1_4 = Exam 1_2 - (AWT + assertions)

Or

Exam1_4 = (Exam1_2 - AWT) + assertions

;-)

 

[Tony Morris]

Is that equivalent to:

Exam1_4 = Exam 1_2 - (AWT + assertions)

Or

Exam1_4 = (Exam1_2 - AWT) + assertions

;-)

Evaluated using order of precedence of operators (+ and - have the same
precedence).
Thus, it will be evaluated left to right:
Exam1_4 = (Exam1_2 - AWT) + assertions.

Be aware, that I used the term "loosely speaking".

--
Tony Morris
(BInfTech, Cert 3 I.T.)
Software Engineer
(2003 VTR1000F)
Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform (1.4)
Sun Certified Developer for the Java 2 Platform