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Home > Archive > Oracle certifications > September 2001 > not much motivation
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not much motivation
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| William 2001-07-24, 8:10 am |
| I am preparing for z01-001, has anyone done this, is it hard? I have database skills from uni, work and is now preparing for it, it seems to me it is very hard, please give me some strong feedback to support me. Thank | |
| Nicole 2001-07-24, 11:13 am |
| It IS a tough exam to study for. Just be sure to learn each concept before moving on to the next, and you'll be okay. Installing Oracle and getting hands on will be a big help, especially on the tougher concepts.
Once you think you may be ready for the exam, get the Self Test Software and do a practice exam in real-time in a nice quiet spot. It will give you a good idea where you stand and what subjects you need to review. If you put it on "adaptive," it won't keep asking you the questions you got right, so if you retake the practice test you will get some questions you answered wrong and some new questions.
I tend to be a good test taker, but even though I was doing well on the practice exams, my stomach was certainly churning when I asked the computer to give me my grade! When I passed I was so relieved, and proud.
Good luck! | |
| Prankster 2001-07-24, 11:02 pm |
| This is a tough exam, not because it covers so many things, because what you are quized on things that are usually created via tools. When was the last time you manually created and modified a sequence.. OEM/TOAD anyone? 
At least the exam makes you get back to basics. It's important to at least have an idea on syntax, for those times you don't have OEM/TOAD.  | |
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| Prankster 2001-07-25, 6:14 pm |
| Yeah, me too. But, sometimes I have to go to client site for few hours to fix a problem and they aren't aren't willing for you to install TOAD etc. | |
| ocpguy 2001-07-27, 10:30 pm |
| quote:
I am preparing for z01-001, has anyone done this, is it hard? I have database skills from uni, work and is now preparing for it, it seems to me it is very hard, please give me some strong feedback to support me. Thank
I don't know what everybody is talking about. This has got to be the EASIEST exam for the OCP. You really don't even have to have used Oracle to pass this test. You might need to touch SQL*PLUS a few times... but that's not too important.
It's mostly SQL and how to use SQL*PLUS... If there was an exam that you could just go read the book and memorize... this would probably be it... assuming you had a basic understanding of ANSI SQL. I would say it's 70% SQL, 10% SQL*PLUS environment and commands and 20% PL/SQL.
Statistically... you only have to get 68% right when other exams you have to get 70% or in the case of the Performance Tuning you have to get 78%... so for SQL you can miss 18 questions.
I read the Sybex book Intro to SQL & PL/SQL by Chip Dawes, et. al. It's very good... I had the STS for 8i and I had the OCP 8i practice exams from Jason Couchman.
Of all the exams I've taken... (so far everything except for Network admin)... this has been the easiest... it's just to get your feet wet. The DBA one is a bit harder... I think Performance Tuning is the hardest (especially since you can only miss 12 questions) and Backup Recovery was the next hardest after that.
This was the first exam I took... I studied for 4 days Thurs-Mon and passed it on a Monday afternoon. (after spending 2 weeks in class)
[Here's my pep talk for you.]
What you need to do is stop procrastining!
Set a date ... 2 weeks to a month from now... where you will take the test... then start studying... you really won't have to study that hard if you have a database background... and you have actual work experience. Oh.. the STS 8i is also very good because it very similar to the EXAM GUI that you'll be using at ProMetric. | |
| William 2001-07-29, 3:30 am |
| Thank for everyone
after 2 weeks stuggling I have finally finished the book from Jason S. Couchman and scheluded the exam on the 6th. I guess this week I will go through the book again and get a prac exam, any good one out there (cert21? anyone has used it). what is STS? Thank once again
William | |
| ocpguy 2001-07-29, 10:43 am |
| quote:
after 2 weeks stuggling I have finally finished the book from Jason S. Couchman and scheluded the exam on the 6th. I guess this week I will go through the book again and get a prac exam, any good one out there (cert21? anyone has used it). what is STS? Thank once again
I've never used cert21 so I can't tell you if that's any good or not.
STS is slang for "Self Test Software". Check out their site and download a demo version of their software that has 20 questions (the full version has like 300+ for each exam) www.selftestsoftware.com
I wouldn't take the exam unless I got used to that kind of format... from the self tests.
Did you read the ENTIRE book to prepare for the Intro to SQL test? I would recommend reading only the section pertaining to the test you want to take... like only read PL/SQLetc... before you take the 1st exam... so it's still fresh...
You will see a lot of questions where it tells you..
"Examine this PL/SQL block. What is the outcome? or why did it fail?"
a) it fails
b) it works
c) it works but not how you intended
d) the first statement works but the second doesn't
e) yo momma
e) vice versa
also... make sure you know the difference between a USER_ view and an ALL_ view. I made up a little mnemonic (spelling?) device where ALL_(means 'access') and USER_(means OWN)... as in User Views can see what objects/etc they own... and ALL means objects they can ACCESS.... get it?
There are a lot of questions like
"What section of a PL/SQL block does this occur?"
a)declarative
b)exception
c)your mama is so dumb she thought the state penn was something the governor wrote with.
d)excecution
e)your mama is so fat when she went bungee jumping she went straight to hell
f)none of the above
know what the 4 implicit cursors variables do... like SQL%ROWCOUNT, SQL%ISFOUND, etc
know how to grant permissions/change passwords
know the difference between truncating and dropping and deleting a table is
know how to use the alter command
know how to use the date, NVL, to_date, to_char functions
know how to make a good martini
know your sQL*PLUS sh.it... how to copy, run, modify, etc
know your cursor loops
and finally know your group fcts.... like why you use a having vs order by, what you can put in the where clause what you can't put in the group by... etc.
That's still quite a lot of stuff to remember.. but it pares down that big oracle candidate guide a bit | |
| Nicole 2001-07-29, 12:16 pm |
| There's also a mini-practice exam at Oracle's web site in STS format. if I remember correctly, there are different questions. There's also the OCP candidate guide, which lists exactly which concepts you need to know for the exam.
For me, the STS was well worth the money to get a handle on the type of questions and format of the exam. Beware of trick and tricky questions: they're there to see if you really know the concepts. Read carefully.
I found it useful to review the chapter summaries right before taking the exam.
Good luck! And don't stress out, it's just a test. Nobody points and laughs at you if you miss a question | |
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| yasmin 2001-08-07, 11:26 pm |
| i am studying for my first ocp exam in a month I need all the info there is available plz help cause i have no work experience. if there are any good sites that would help me etc. plz email me. | |
| ahmersaeed18 2001-09-02, 4:56 am |
| Hi
 I don't thing so, its a hard one. I had passed that after the simply reading the SQL reference book and little bit of practice but not not much.
I think with little bit of concentration U 2 can clear it quite easily, but be motivated.
Good luck
Ahmed Saeed | |
| Robocop_OCP 2001-09-02, 11:23 pm |
| Im taking the sql/plsql test soon. Do me a favor. You said you used the couchman book. Im using that one as well. But i noticed it only takes extracts from sql and plsql, and doesnt delve deep into either one too much. SHould I just skip the PLSQL programming and Complete Reference Books from oracle press (which are both 1000 pages long and cover everything about sql and plsql), and just use the couchman study guide you used? Is that risking it? Or was the test just like the abreveated couchman book? |
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