commercial simulator SCWCD 1.4

[marco borsato]

Has anyone bought the Whizlabs simulator? If yes, would you recommend it? I am thinking of buying the IBM XML, SCBCD or SCMAD simulators. How would you advise?

Thanks.

[Neil Mc]

I'm also thinking of buying the SCWCD 1.4 simulator. I bought the Java Programmer 1.4 simulator and, on the whole, the standard was pretty good. The layout is very similar to that of the actual exam and the content is pitched, I think, slightly harder than the final exam - which I reckon is a good thing as it helps you to stay sharp in the lead up to the exam.

Only one gripe though. There were a few questions which were pretty much un-answerable due to either typos, spelling mistakes or ambiguity in the question. Fortunately, these numbered maybe 1 per mock-exam, and didn't appear in the Sun exam

All in all it was pretty good stuff and helped me get a good score on the day (93%). I will probably go for the SCWCD sim as I reckon it will probably be up to the same standard.

Neil.

[Shalini Sher]

I got the whizlabs simulator. The exams are good standard and even after good preparation, I was not able to answer a few questions correctly.

These exams helped me find out my limitations and I could go back and brush up on topics I had missed out (despite having studied both HFJS and Jignesh's book). These were topics which were missed out by both the books. For instance, there were questions on tab variables which is not covered by HFJS. This made me explore a little deeper into the tag variables.

[Chengwei Lee]

Thats a good one Alfred! And I must say I agree with you wholeheartedly on it!

[Alfred Harre]

Ranchers,
Spend your money wisely I got my money to buy product at half price than that of whizlab products.

I have a big big secret to share here at the ranch.
Price of Head First Servlets & JSP is US $30.57
Price of Whizlab's Simulator for SCWCD US $64.95

I am sure that if you purchase two copies of HFS&J instead of one, you can easily pass the exam without Whizlab simulator and still spend much less money

And also have a look on official exam objectives at
http://suned.sun.com/US/catalog/courses/CX-310-081.html
There is nothing as such "Tab Lib" or Tag Lib included there. So, if Whizlab's simulator covers such topic I would say "what a piss poor product" that distracts you from the official objectives.

I waited more than 4 months before I put my hands on HFS&J. There have also been moments of frustration during this long long wait. But, I had one thing very clear in my mind that
K&B know the official objectives and they can't miss anything.
[ September 29, 2004: Message edited by: Alfred Harre ]

[marco borsato]

I agree that it is not very cost efficient, but I am in a hurry. I agree that the HFS book is more than enough to pass, but you know I want to ace the exam. I guess it is a macho kind of thing Anyway there doesn't seem to be enough preparation material (mock exam) for the IBM XML and SCMAD

[Sivasundaram Umapathy]

Thanks to ranchers for the comments.

Having worked with Kathy and Bert in HFEJB, I completely agree,that they throughly know the official objectives. However a book cannot completely substitute the experience you get from a simulator and vice versa. They both have different objectives although the final goal is to make you pass the exam with flying colours. As you attempt more and more mock exams, your mind is automatically tuned to pick the clue and hence the answer. This has been the secret to many ranchers here including me. So even though my opinion may look biased, I would use a exam prep book such as head first and a simulator such as whizlabs to pass the exam.

[Alfred Harre]

Originally posted by Sivasundaram Umapathy:
They both have different objectives ...

Ranchers,
I would then recommend
JWebPlus
http://enthuware.com/jwebplus/

Less than half price of Whizlab simulator

[Sivasundaram Umapathy]

Thanks Alfred. I stand corrected.I meant although the end point is the same, the means to do it are different.

[Alfred Harre]

Originally posted by Sivasundaram Umapathy:
Thanks Alfred...

Sivasundaram Umapathy, You are welcom.
I wish someone could tell Whizlab that there price are unreal