Justin Wong

Out of all the questions that I've asked, I neglected to ask them that particular question at the end of the interview. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

Hi,
I've just had a interview about a week ago and I have yet to hear back from them. I did send a thank you letter the day afterwards and I'm wondering if it normally takes a while for the company to make their hiring decisions?
Thanks
Justin

20 files and about 2300 lines of code - this estimate includes comments. Without comments, I'm guessing it's about 1800...not sure though.

It took about 9 days to understand & code the assignment and about a day to do the documentation.

It took about 9 days to understand & code the assignment and about a day to do the documentation.

Harcharan,
Thanks!
>i have question about command line parameters.could you expalin > your command line parameters .With what command line >parameters the server and client were started.
I'll just cut & paste a portion of my readme:

How to Run the Server
=====================
1. Assuming that all the files are extracted into a temporary directory
(ie C:\temp), type
C:\temp>java -jar -Djava.security.policy=server.policy server.jar %1 %2
where %1 represents the name and %2 is the port number of the server.
A working example would be:
C:\temp>java -jar -Djava.security.policy=server.policy server.jar localhost
1098

How to Run the Client
=====================
1. There are two methods of starting the client. If you wish to start the
client in local mode, just type the following
C:\temp>java -jar client.jar %1
where %1 is the location of the database.
A working example would be:
C:\temp>java -jar client.jar suncertify\\db\\db.db
2. The command to start in network mode:
C:\temp>java -jar client.jar %1 %2
where %1 represents the name and %2 is the port number of the server.
If you started the server with name "localhost" and port number "1098",
the command would be:
C:\temp>java -jar client.jar localhost 1098

>i need a reference to Data class ,so i can write implementation >of methods that i am implementing with Remote Interface, but i >do not like to make this Data object as remotable.How can i do >this.
I went with the method as you described after hours of considering the advantages and disadvantages between this method and others which require multiple interfaces. I lost 4 points on my server portion so there are probably better methods out there but I believe this one is the easiest to implement. Just make sure you catch all the RemoteException errors on the client end.
Justin

Devu,
Thanks - it seems like a short time but I did spend a few days prior to downloading the assignment reseraching RMI, design patterns and Swing.
> Can u eloberate on your (architecture)design part ?
1) Used RMI instead of sockets
2) There's a huge discussion reguarding tracking the client ID, but because I was pressed for time, I bit the bullet and left the signatures unmodified and I didn't bother tracking the ID.
3) Modified rather than extend Data
4) My CriteriaFind method works for any field that is passed into the method, not just the origin and destination.
> how many java files u developed ?
I have a total of 3 packages, the client (13), server (3) and db(5)
> How was your GUI ?
My GUI was very simple and straightforward - I used the gridbagLayout as the main layout for the frame. In the northern panel, which is my search panel, I have 2 combo boxes which contains the selections for the origin and destination aligned to the left and a search button aligned to the right. In the center panel, I have a table which displays the contents of the flat file dbase. In the southern region, I only have 1 button - "Book" which is centered. I also added a menu bar to close the program and a help option to display a brief user manual.

> Any SO Called pattern u mentioned in your doc ?
I didn't spend too much time reading up on patterns. The only patterns I used are the factory and adapter patterns which enables the program to be started in local or networked mode depending on the command line parameters.
Good luck!
Justin


[This message has been edited by Justin Wong (edited August 31, 2001).]

Hey all,
I just checked the galton site and my result is posted:
Test: Sun Certified Developer for the Java 2 Platform (310-027)
Date Taken: 2001-08-28 23:51:50.200
Grade: P
Score: 149
Comment: This report shows the total points that could have been awarded in each section and the actual number of points you were awarded. This is provided to give you per-section feedback on your strengths. The maximum possible # of points is 155; the minimum to pass is 124. General Considerations(maximum = 58): 56 Documentation(maximum = 20): 20 GUI(maximum = 24): 24 Server(maximum = 53): 49
Although I'm pleased with my result, I didn't expect to score this high as the project was very rushed - I passed SCJP on 08/02, downloaded the assignment on 08/07, finished & uploaded on 08/17, wrote the test on 08/22 and got the result on 08/28. The six day turnaround time is very impressive. Special thanks to this forum as well as the Yahoo SCJD forum for all their help.
The exam itself is very straightforward - you shouldn't have any problems with it if you did the project yourself and have good reasons to back up your design decisions. I still remember the questions, but I'm not sure if the mod will allow me to post them.
I'll stick around to answer any questions you might have.
Justin

I feel compelled to respond as I've recieved a few private emails from fellow ranchers who claimed that it's not possible to pass the exam with only 2 weeks of studying and another individual, who will remain anonymous accused me of cheating.
First of all, let me tell you a bit of my background. I'm a 4th year student studying in Simon Fraser University as a computer science major with a specialization in software engineering. Back in 1998, I took a course called "Introduction to Java Programming". Some of the topics include: Developing Simple Java Programs, Basic Java Programming Constructs, OO Programming, The Graphics Classes, Enhanced Class Design and Graphical User Interfaces Construction in Java. The majority of the assignments were relatively simple with the final project which is to create a text editor. Since then, I haven't used Java for any of my course assignments and needless to say, I can't even write a "Hello World" program without a compilation error 2 weeks prior to my SCJP exam. However, I have taken courses such as Object Oriented Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms and Operating Systems which is not aimed at the Java language but programming languages in general. I felt that this was beneficial in further enhancing my understanding of the different aspects of object oriented programming. Ok, enough about myself, here's what I did to pass the exam:
When I mentioned that it took 2 weeks of studying, I really meant it - I spent 8 hours at a minimum per day cramming for this exam. Studying is definately not new to me as I have been doing this pretty much every day for the past 4 years. Initially, I planned to cover 1 chapter a day including the chapter questions, hoping to finish the book within the next 13 days. As time went, I found that some topics are easier than I anticipated and ended up covering 2 chapters every other day. On day 9, I finished the 13th chapter and averaged the low 70s in the chapter questions and about 75 on the practice mock exam. Needless to say, I wasn't too confident about going into the exam and I knew I that needed extra preperation. Everyone recommended Marcus Green's exams and that's exactly what I concentrated on for the next few days. The questions on his exams are relatively more difficult and require more thinking than the exams in RHE. I ended up with 80-85 on his 3 exams. Getting slightly frustrated, I went through all 13 chapter exams, the 4 mocks in RHE (95%) and the 3 Marcus Green mocks on day 13 (85-90). On day 14, I spent the whole day going through Exam Cram, which I scored 75%. Passed SCJP on August 2nd, 2001 with 83 on the next day.
As Gary mentioned, what use is a SCJP if I'm not confident that I can program in Java? There's only 1 way to find out -
There's only a month left before the fall semester starts and I thought I might as well make use of what I learned and pursue the Java Developer's exam. I downloaded the assignment on August 7th, finished and uploaded on August 17th and took the exam on August 22nd. The questions on the exam are very easy - if you spent enough time documenting the assignnment and have good reasons to backup your design choices, then you should have no problem. It took about 20 minutes for 5 questions. I'll be posting my results when I get them.
Although I find it hard to believe for the person who passed the exam with 81 after 10 days of study and no previous Java experience, I have no reason think that he/she would lie. Is this more believable than a 15 year old who cleared SCJP with 91? Probably not, but it's possible. There are people out there who can do some pretty amazing things and I respect them for who they are. The last thing I would do is accuse someone of cheating.
Take care,
Justin


[This message has been edited by Justin Wong (edited August 25, 2001).]

Hi,
Is there a way to supply the codebase and set the security file when I start my server.jar? Can this be hardcoded into the main method?
Thanks
Justin

I just tried it and it works! Thanks a million.

Hi,
This piece of code got me stumped for a whole day and I can't figure out why:
public class Project {

public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
Data x = new Data("c:\\temp\\scjd\\starting\\suncertify\\db\\db.db");

DataInfo[] r = x.criteriaFind("Origin airport='SFO',Destination airport='*'");

String [] values = r[1].getValues();
System.out.println(values[8]); // this prints out 22
if (values[8].equals("22"))
System.out.println("22");
else
System.out.println("not 22");

x.close();
} catch(DatabaseException ex) {
System.out.println(ex.toString());
} catch(IOException ex) {
System.out.println(ex.toString());
}
}
}

For some reason, it always prints out "not 22". Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi,
When I used the getRecord() method to print the contents of the db in a for loop in Kawa, only 3 of the 24 records are printed. If I run the program from the DOS prompt, it prints all 24 records. Does anyone have the same problem?
Here's the code that I used
for (int i = 0; i < 24; i++)
{
System.out.println(x.getRecord(i));
}
Thanks
Justin

Ashik,
Actually, there were only two questions on AWT and one of which I got wrong. One of my weaknesses is in the event model and the test got me there
Justin

Hi,
After 2 weeks of studying, I'm glad to say that I passed the exam.
Here's the breakdown:
Declarations and access control: 87
Flow control and exception handling: 100
Garbage Collection: 100
Language Fundamentals: 77
Operators and Assignments: 57
Overloading, Overriding, RTT & Object Orientations: 85
Threads: 100
java.awt: 50
java.lang: 100
java.util: 100
java.io: 80
Overall, I found that the test was slightly harder than the Marcus Green exams, possibly due to the nature of the questions. Time was definately not an issue as I finished slightly over an hour and I used the rest of the time to double check my answers.
My resources include RHE (90%), Marcus Green's tutorials & exams (80-85%) and Exam Cram (75%). And of course, the JavaRanch forums. Thanks for all the help!
For those of you who passed the exam, are you eligible to register for the developer certif (to download the assignment) the very next day? I just registered and I received an email saying that my candidate ID is invalid. I double checked the number with my printout and it seems to be correct. Perhaps my score isn't entered in the Galton database?
Thanks again,
Justin