Became Sun Certified, now sharing tips

and hints for an exam

First part
Ive started to prepare for the SCEA in the past autumn and Ive used the
following materials:
Mikalai Zaikins notes http://java.boot.by/scea5-guide/ is my primary source for
peparation. Ive read it multiple times, it is not complete however the topics it
contains are covered very well. Ive read here that there is an updated version
of that notes here http://www.scribd.com/doc/25297376/J2EE-5-Architect-ExamStudy-Guide I havent read it, but this may be useful too. (E il tomo che hai
stampato!)
Concerning software patters topic Ive read MZ guides corresponding chapter,
they are complete and just have just revise whats in there. I havent used any
special books as some recommend. In the first part there is not even need to
know patterns exact implementations; you should know that pattern A is used
for this and pattern B is used for that. However, Ive also used
http://sourcemaking.com/design_patterns as a reference for GoF patterns and
their Java implementations.
For EJB3 Ive read EJB3 in Action, chapters which describe its features and
architecture, the implementation is out of the exam.
For JSF Ive read Mastering JavaServer Faces, the concept is the same as with
EJBs pros, cons, architecture, comparison with JSP
For JAX-WS Ive read SOA using Java Web Services, the same with previous, no
implementation, just the theory.
There is no UML in the first part; however there are legacy connectivity topics,
such as IIOP, Java IDL, JNI and so on. To get familiar with this topic I
recommend you to go through the IBMs Java certification success, Part 4:
SCEA from here http://www.scribd.com/doc/7317384/Java-Certification-SCEA.
(Libretto che hai stampato)This book is for the previous exam, however it is
very well structured, I enjoyed it. Ive also read old Mark Cades book, both are
quite thin, only the things you need for an exam.
Exam contains a lot of scenario questions with some technologies provided. You
need to select an appropriate. The hint here is not always choosing the most
powerful and modern ones, but read the question carefully and address
the requirements. For example if they say that they have complex queries
and need performance, then you better choose DAO over JPA and so on.

Second part
After purchasing Ive got an email from Sun with the credentials to the
Assignment Database http://www.certmanager.net/sun_assignment/. From
there Ive download an assignment, it was about construction company;) It was
a typical one with 4 use cases and 2 external systems to integrate.
The most valuable material for me was Chapter 9 from the new book of
Humphrey Sheil, its freely available for download from here (le paginette
stampate come chapter 9)-->http://humphreysheil.blogspot.com/2009/11/bookchapter-nine-available-for.html. And Ive learned UML a lot in the university, so
the diagrams themselves were quite easy for me. Ive used a free StarUML
for UML diagrams and the whole assignment is one html page with anchor
links.
Another resource for the second part is a presentation of Humphrey Sheil, it is
available from here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27655574/Humphrey-Sheil-sSCEA-Presentation.
I hope that youre familiar with the requirements; Ive just highlight some
aspects of my implementation. Ive chosen a typical set of technologies
JSF/EJB3/JPA. I think its better to use them unless you have some special
requirements in your assignment. You can then always say that Ive chosen this
because it Suns leading technology and it can do this, this and more. Not one
size fits all, but if possible then choose them.
Ive stated the document with background info, then Ive put assumptions in
order that assessor is familiar with them when checking later parts.
Assumptions contained almost everything where multiple meaning is possible.
My class diagram contained about 20-25 classes, at first I had 30-35, but later
Ive optimized it. I didnt show JSF Managed Beans there, however Ive shown a
controller and JSF pages (like in the book is done). This solution can be
discussed but Ive always followed that sample from the book. Why not to do
like an author of an exam and assessor suggests? Ive shown methods and
major attributes, patterns and EJB types were show as stereotypes. I didnt
show design pattern implementations if it requires multiple calluses and/or
interfaces. Ive just written this is done according to this pattern. It should be
enough.
This chapter also contained some paragraphs about logging, framework,
exception handling and about security. Ive used Java EE Security for this
purpose.
Component diagram was pretty simple and similar to the chapter 9s. In this
chapter Ive also described technologies used in every layer and why Ive
chosen them. This helped me a lot when Ive done the third part.
Deployment diagram was also close to chapter 9s but with some additions. As
it is expected Ive presented hardware configurations and explained e.g. why I
need such RAID here and another there and why here is to be more memory
than there. Ive also described test environment and client computer
requirements, such as browser capabilities.

Sequence diagrams contained JSF pages, Managed Beans and so on, with
methods from the class diagram used. Its quite a large part (4 diagrams) and it
makes only 16 points.
In the risk part Ive described quite obvious risks, with obvious solutions to
them. Only one of them was my-system dependent. They were technical risks; I
didnt describe not meeting some of non-functional requirements. If you need
to read about the risk management, here is a good document:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-30/sp800-30.pdf (scaricato
verifica se stampato)
And here comes the funniest part. I was quite lazy to finish my second part,
almost 90% were done, but in order to motivate myself Ive scheduled my third
part to the end of the week and decided that Ive complete and assignment
during the week and upload it Thursday evening. But at the time I wanted to
upload the system said that I do not have an upload rights. And I should
request them by mail. What on earth upload rights when Ive paid my money
and already downloaded the assignment? Dont they think that I want to
upload it after Ive downloaded? Why this is a special favor for me?
I had no other variant rather than send an email to the mentioned address and
request those rights. Ive also sent them a checksum of a jar file, to guarantee
that I havent changed anything. The third part was the next day and I thought
they wont be so quick to send them before the third part.
The lesson learned it that you should follow the rules and it is better to request
upload rights right after youve got download rights. But its silly!
Third part
In the testing center there were no problems to take third part before the
second one. The exam itself is quite simple; you have 8 questions about your
architecture. They primarily address the technologies used for different tiers
and the reasons for choosing them, the meeting of the NFRs and some scenario
based questions, e.g. how will you system function If a bomb is thrown onto
data center? It took me an hour to finish it.
Ive received a letter with upload rights 3 days after I took the third part. What
is extremely positive that it took only 5 days to check my assignment and mark
it passed. Oracle optimizes Suns processes very well.
Once more thanks for your help and if you have any questions please feel free
to ask them.
commento: In the end of the assignment you will get a list of diagrams and other stuff what
they expect to find in your solution.
Basically it is 1x class diagram, 1x component diagram, 1x deployment diagram, 1x sequence (or
collaboration) diagram per use-case (there are typically 3-4 use-cases in the assignment). Plus you
need to describe hardware configurations, find 3 major risks and describe solutions for them and
you have to put down all your assumptions during this project. That's all. You are free to add more

diagram if you think they may help. I've also added a short summary of the task and described why
I've chosen concrete patterns or frameworks.