Cleared SCEA 5 [Part 1]

Hi Ranchers,

I have cleared my SCEA 5 Part 1 yesterday.

My score was 64%, which is not a good figure actually, but I am still happy, because, I was trying it as a mock exam, and planning to utilize the sun retake offer, as the real one. So, this is a bonus for me.

And I want to thank you all who have posted valuable notes here, which helped me in my studies, most importantly, these posts were real inspiration in my efforts.

Here are some points I would like to share, for those who are preparing for SCEA 5.

1. It was not that tough, rather, there were so many questions which were confusing, with so many right answers, but we were expected to choose the most appropriate ones. So, it is really easy to lose points, unless we are very careful. So, MARK each question you find confusing, revisit again after finishing easy ones and work on that.

2. I found some questions tricky, so, better we should write down the points on a paper and take a decision based on them. The Whizlabs mocks were really helpful, but, the questions and scenarios in the real exam found more complex and the no. of choices from which we needed to choose answers were more.

3. I now understand that, we should never ever under-estimate any of the exam objectives, just because it is easy and think that, there is no need to pay more attention. For me, it happened for objective, Common Architectures (1 tier, 2 tier, etc..). There were too many questions from that, that too, too confusing. So, memorize this section, revise this always and read it before you start to the exam center.

4. Do not go in deep into any of the specific technology implementations, dont waste time on that, for example, there was no questions on EJB life cycles, any annotations, any thing from inside JPA, etc., ie, Questions were nothing about HOW of a particular technology, rather, it was about WHEN to implement, WHAT to implement (or WHAT is the best choice here), WHY this technology, WHICH is the most appropriate etc.

5. You must memorise all patterns, both GoF and J2EE patterns.

6. There were questions about Web Services, that also, about the applicability (which is the best solution in this scenario etc). I remember there were two questions about WS Security (not HOW, but WHAT AND WHEN).

7. You should be well aware of the advantages and trade offs, and applicability of integration technologies like JMS, JCA, Web Services, etc, in different scenarios.

8. Coverage for security was more, there were questions about JCA (Java Cryptography Architecture), another one was role based security, principal based security (In a Servlet, you will get role or principal, or both ?), and declarative security. Better we memorise the features of each security technology.

9. There were questions about JSF, Ajax etc, not about implementation, but trade offs, advantages etc.

10. Questions abt ORMs (General features of all ORMs, Which is best in this case ? Portability factor etc ). We should read more about the concepts and applicability of technologies extensively. Not the implementation details. There was nothing deep about JPA.

12. Two MUST memorize exam objectives : Common Architectures & Patterns.

13. There was nothing deep about EJB, JPA or JSF, except feature comparison, trade offs, and applicability.

14. There was nothing about JBI, but applicability of SOA and few questions about Web-Services, again applicability here.

I wish GOOD LUCK, to all who prepare for SCEA 5.

Also, I request inputs for my SCEA 5 step 2 from those who completed it.

Thanks,
Shameer.

[ June 01, 2008: Message edited by: Shameer PK ]
[ June 01, 2008: Message edited by: Shameer PK ]