Hey all, I'm looking to get my Zend certification soon for PHP5. Has anybody that's taken the exam come out of it with good advice? Are there any useless/nonsense/obscure/esoteric topics covered on it?
Thanks
+4
A:
I've documented my experiences with the exam on my blog. I know normally this is a big no-no but I'm going to provide a link to it here: http://mikebernat.com/blog/36 (If anyone has a problem with this I'll remove it)
There are a couple obscure topics (imho) which include bitwise operators, other database adapters (mysql, mysqli, pdo mysql, etc etc) and just things that I wasn't exposed to in normal day-to-day operations with PHP at my job. In retrospect however, I'm extremely glad that I was exposed to those topics as they just another set of tools in my box that I can use to solve any particular problem.
The two books I reviewed in my post are definitely worth it. They both compliment each other really well and are worth the price. I would also pay for the sample tests provided on the Zend site. While there are some minor annoyances with it, I still found in valuable. I go into more detail on each of this in my post.
All of these resources combined should give you a good idea of what to expect on the test. I think I may have spent $250 on the resources I described above including the test which is not too bad in relation to some of the other programming certifications. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
Mike B
2009-11-22 22:35:17
In terms of preparation (besides the practice test), would you suggest downloading a copy of the PHP docs and just mulching through it page by page? Is there anything that you'd say is simply too "off the wall" to care about for the exam?
mattbasta
2009-11-23 00:24:06
Downloading the entire manual is probably overkill. I would definitely print out the pages that list all the string and array functions. As Bart pointed out, a portion of the exam covers the parameter order of these simple functions. Something I forgot to mention: The thing that really helped me lay down a roadmap for studying was to take one of those practice tests very early in the preparation process. The test helped identify the sections that I really needed to spend some time on.
Mike B
2009-11-23 00:39:18
Awesome, thanks a lot Mike!
mattbasta
2009-11-23 01:59:04
+3
A:
A friend of mine who did it (and had many great job opps after getting it) has recommended to me: Do the online practice tests first. I think it cost a few dollars but you get to do the test several times online before you go in and do it for real.
Dean
2009-11-22 22:41:09
Good suggestion - these will give you a feel for the kind of obscure questions they will throw at you, too!
David Caunt
2009-11-27 22:29:50
+1
A:
A big part of the exam is (unfortunately) about knowing the exact names of functions and (the order of) their parameters. You'll also need to learn a bit about streams. Also rather important are the differences between PHP 4 and 5.
Bart van Heukelom
2009-11-22 22:55:14
A:
I bought the online practice test, but it didn't help a lot. You can find anecdotal experiences with the practice test on the web.
Buying the official book is highly recommended, but you will be tested more.
The book and practice test give you which section you will be tested, though.
- Memorize all the functions on string and array (except for "mb_*" functions).
- XML and streams will be tested as in the book.
- Don't forget to read "Security" section in the PHP manual.
There are many suggestions I would make. But I highly suggest you take a real test in the first place to see how difficult the test is. As you know, there is not enough information on this test, you can only be confident by taking the test.
So save the money to take at least 2 tests. This is better than worrying about the test and spend weeks on Googleing for the "right" information.
TK
2009-12-10 16:02:39