I thought I would not be able to pass the test after first 10 questions. It is no comparison to the sample questions from IBM. I was almost running out of time answering the last question at the last second. I passed the test with 72% though I consistently getting 90% - 95% from the sample questions. Here is the break down of categories Architecture 19% Information modeling 26% XML Processing 33% XML Rendering 11% Testing and Tuning 11% A lot of XML Schema/XSL/XSLT questions. About 3 questions are same or similar to the sample questions. Maybe only 4, 5 questions are conceptual which does not take much time. No question about XBASE/XINCLUDE. Two or three questions are about SOAP/Web Services. I hope this info can help you better prepare the test than I did.
Congratulations Frank !!! How long did it take you to prepare for 141 ? Also did you have any prior experience with XML ? Wish you all the best in your future endeavours. -ST
Frank, Congrats and thanks for the info. Please tell us how you've prepared, what books and online material you've used. I am preparing for the exam. I haven't bought any book yet. I've collected lot of online tutorials and articles from xml.com, ibm developerworks, w3schools...they are very informative, but haven't found material for the following objectives: 2-F.Determine when to use DTD versus XML Schema (legacy systems, scoping, run-time modification, constraints) 3-F Determine process implications when integrating XML data 3-G Address validation/conformance and exception handling issues related to XML Schema (e.g., data typing and pattern matching) Section 5 - Testing & Tuning Please suggest me some good books/online resources where i can find information for the above objectives. Thank You
Neetha<br />IBM certified developer - XML and related technologies<br />SCJP2
Frank Lin
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Joined: Jan 26, 2001
Posts: 76
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Since passing the test was not my primary goal, I did not follow the approach given on IBM site. The only book that I used is WROX Professional Java XML, which is not very good for preparing the test. It is just what I need for XML programming in Java. Before I prepared for the test, I have already had project experience on XML,mainly JAXP/SAX/DOM XML parsing and DTD data modeling. I dedicate my time for about two weeks, starting from taking the IBM sample test to get an idea about the test scope, my weakness and the difficulty level of the test. After about 10 days' study, I took sample test 3 or 4 more times, each of them in the 90% - 95% range. In today's test, I was totally carried away by the first 10 questions and did not realize that I have spent too much time on them. I probably spent 45 minutes with first 20 questions and started rushing in the rest of the test. Maybe I was unlucky, the questions I got were much more difficult than the samples, and very very few of them are related to the area that I have experience with. The point is that you never know what questions from the pool you will get, don't feel too comfortable just because you don't have any problem with the sample questions. I think you will be better off to follow the path given by IBM and read the books recommended by IBM to get a good score. As far as other info about the test, IBM's web site is the best place to go. Good luck to every perspective test taker.
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