Get certified! 1

[strantheman]

The "Certified Allaire Coldfusion Developer Study Guide" is the most comprehensive advanced desk reference available. Its purpose is to ramp you up on requirements to pass the certified developer exam, but its also a great read.

Ive been reading for the past 2 weeks, and feel I have increased my confidence level 10 fold. I plan to take the exam, and suggest that any of you who want to set yourself above the rest in this world of self-taught skill should buy this book.

No, im not an amazon plant

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789725657/104-1006669-6709512

 

[ApexSys]

When I learned to read, my confidence level went up too.

Sounds like it could be a good book. Is it a rehash of "Forta like" content or truly a targeted reference for the cert questions?
Can you provide us with some substance about the book?
Save the sales pitch for the managers forums.

Thanks,
Apex
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Apex Systems Consulting
e-Solutions for Small Business

http://www.ApexSystems.net

 

[strantheman]

It is Forta like content, but instead of supplying pages of sample code for each subject the subjects are broken down into possible tasks one might need to do regarding the subject, and then each task is drilled down into popular methods to approach the task. These methods are accompanied by TIP boxes, and very helpful CAUTION and NOTE boxes. There is some sample code just for reference purposes, but no complete modules. At the end of each chapter there is a set of sample questions to test your knowledge.

Here's an example of how the book is layed out. There are 8 parts in the book, not including the Appendix. Each part has collections of all tags or subjects regarding a specific concept. Each concept or part has multiple chapters that focus in on one tag or subject.

Part 3 is called: DATA TYPES
DATA TYPES contains chapters 13,14,15.

Chapter 13 is Lists. The first page contains a summary of what lists are. The next page starts with heading "Working with lists".

Under this there are sub-headings "Creating lists", "Accessing list elements", "Modifying lists", and "Specifying delimiters". Each sub-heading gets about 2 paragraphs along with a few samples.

The next heading is "Using lists" and contains sub-headings "When to use lists-and when not to", "Sorting lists", "Looping through lists", "Nested lists", and "Special lists".

"When to use lists-and when not to" explains the primary use of lists is with data that is already in list format, such as HTML form fields that return lists, or in SQL queries. It then mentions that Form controls are covered in Chapter 9, and that the SQL IN clause is covered in Chapter 32. It also reminds you that lists aren't designed for complex processing ... " they just don't perform well enough for that. Arrays are structures are far better suited for that task."

Finally there's a sample test for Chapter 13: lists
(multiple correct answers per question, and #3 is a trick question)

1. Which of the following are lists?
a) dates
b) arrays
c) structures
d) strings

2. Which of the following are valid list delimiters?
a) ","
b) ""
c) "#char(13)##chr(10)#"
d) ".."

3. How many elements are in the list "Ben Forta" ?
a) 0
b) 1
c) 2
d) 3