SCJD Problem with data structure

Dear all,

Thanks for a great forum. I did SCJP 5.0 last year and now am interested in SCJD. I bought the voucher and was given the assignment. I started reading it and mid-way I found a problem with understanding some of the english. My assignment is of URLyBird and it was clearly written by more than one person as it is fairly easy to understand 90%, while impossible to understand the other 10%; namely "Data file format" and "Database Schema" sections.

The English just doesn't make sense! I just cannot proceed with the assignment until I understand how the datafile is formatted.

What I was going to do is just paste the 2 paragraphs in question and maybe someone can help me understand them, but first I want to ask, can I do this? Can I post from the assignment?

Thanks all and sorry for a silly thing but honestly I showed it to like 5 other people including 3 developer friends of mine, and its just too hard to understand these 2 silly paragraphs

Oh well thanks once again
X

Maybe Roberto's Database File Reader might help you when you have trouble understanding the data structure. You'll can find the link (beside a lot of other valuable information for a SCJD starter) in the ScjdFaq.

Good luck!

If it's the same as mine (which it probably is), I found the Database schema section intelligible once I realised that basically it's a table, with each entry in the table run together so each row becomes a single line. Work out where the end of each column is, and it all makes sense!

The Data file format section is a bit similar, in that all the right information is there, there just hasn't been any attempt to make coherent sentences out of it. Just read each little bit separately.

I did manage to understand the Database Schema, and I also understood how the datafile is structured in terms of records, however the first line of the datafile just doesn't add up!

I know there must be a unique 4 bit number which they called a magic cookie but what's the rest?

If you understand (like you say) the database structure and schema, you'll be able to write a little program which reads the database file, using a RandomAccessFile (or a DataInputStream). That's what I did first too. The database file is not plain text. If you are not able to write that program, Roberto's Database File Reader will be a great help.

Hehe finally found the code! Was kinda expecting a jar file .. silly me!
I will check it out properly and will post my results!

Thanks all