[nycphp-talk] Zend PHP Certification
op spam
lists at prusak.com
Sat Jun 19 01:26:37 EDT 2004
Very interesting thread.
I thought I'd throw some more gas on the fire.
First of all, there is no "correct" answer to the question of what value
does passing the test have,
At the end of the day, a PHP certification (from Zend) is just that - a
PHP certification from Zend.
It's a piece of paper that says you passed a specific score on a
specific test.
I don't see how this is any different from any other test based
certification.
Sun has Java certification. MS has theirs.
I'd go as far as saying that even an academic degree is nothing more
than a piece of paper. What value does a computer science degree have?
As the saying goes - beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Ultimately, the value of passing this test will be decided by the people
who hire you.
For the sake of simplicity, I'm assuming the main reason someone would
take the test in the first place is career related.
To quote Daniel:
"It is another tool to help the enterprise in the hiring process and to
help the PHP community in showing their expertise".
I've interviewed quite a few people and unfortunately, terms like
"extensive knowledge of" or "in depth experience with" are loosely
defined are not measurable. While looking over a resume, when someone
says they have any knowledge of any technology, I always take it with a
grain of salt.
If they say they have some certification, at least thats well defined.
How that certification effect my decision making is up to me.
Secondly, I think Zend is walking a very fine line regarding what
subject matter to include.
Based on the "What will be tested" in Daniel's original email, it's
obvious that the test not only covers the PHP language itself, but also
many aspects related to programming in general and Internet related
programming in particular.
For example, I don't think it's fair to ask about "The UNIX epoch and
the dangers of UNIX dates" on a test that is supposed to measure PHP
expertise.
If the test was called "Web based programming using PHP on a Unix box"
then sure, but it's not.
I have a few more comments on the subject, but it's late so I'll
continue this in another email.
Hope my two cents were helpful.
Ophir
>From hans not junk at nyphp.com Sat Jun 19 17:16:38 2004
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Subject: RE: [nycphp-talk] Zend PHP Certification
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 14:16:36 -0700
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Thread-Topic: [nycphp-talk] Zend PHP Certification
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From: "Hans Zaunere" <hans not junk at nyphp.com>
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> NYPHP List:
> This email was sent out to selected Zend clients. Due to requests from
> individuals from this group I would like to extend the offer to NYPHP.
> Please don't hesitate to contact me at daniel at zend.com with any
> questions you many have.
It's good to see Zend creating a PHP certification, and even better to
have had such a thought provoking thread to follow.
We want to ensure that the NYPHP-Talk list keeps to this level of
quality and discussion. I would like to remind the list, however, that
commercial posts should not be made without prior approval from NYPHP.
If individuals or companies are unsure whether their post to NYPHP-Talk
could be commercial in intent, for example offering a product or service
for purchase, be sure to contact contact at nyphp.org beforehand.
Thanks all,
---
Hans Zaunere
President
New York PHP
http://nyphp.org
>=20
> Best,
> Daniel
>=20
>=20
> Dear PHPer,
>=20
> As the PHP company, Zend has been approached by many asking it to
> establish an industry standard that recognizes PHP expertise. In order
> to do that Zend has partnered with PHP experts worldwide to create the
> Zend PHP certification exam. The Zend PHP Education Advisory Board has
> specified a curriculum essential to demonstrate expert proficiency in
> PHP.
>=20
>=20
> Benefits of Becoming a Zend Certified PHP Programmer=20
> =
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D
> In today's competitive market, it's more difficult than ever to stand
> out from the competition. The Zend PHP Certification credential offers
> a variety of benefits:
> - Differentiate yourself from competitors when looking for a new job
> or at your annual salary review
> - Get your resume noticed
> - Gain recognition from your employer
> - Have your profile displayed in Zend's "Yellow Pages for PHP=20
> Professionals"
>=20
>=20
> Who's on the Zend PHP Education Advisory Board?
> =
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> Andi Gutmans
> Chris Shiflett
> Damien Seguy
> Daniel Kushner
> David Sklar
> Derick Rethans
> George Schlossnagle
> John Coggeshall
> Marco Tabini
> Marcus Boerger
> Martin Jansen
> Zeev Suraski
>=20
> As with any certification of this magnitude, the test=20
> questions need to be
> checked for clarity and performance by means of a beta exam.=20
> The beta exam
> consists of up to 110 questions instead of just 70 that will=20
> make it to the
> final exam. Those who take the beta will qualify for the Zend PHP
> Certification once we know which questions will be in the=20
> final exam and if
> enough questions were answered correctly - the passing score will be
> determined after the beta analysis.
>=20
> I would like to invite you to take the beta exam available on=20
> June 21st
> through June 30th. The cost of the exam is only $80 as=20
> opposed to the final
> examination fee of $200.
>=20
> Beta exams are limited so I urge you to sign up as soon as possible to
> reserve a place at a test center near you.=20
>=20
> Visit http://www.vue.com/zend/ to register for the beta.
>=20
> What will be tested?
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> Chapter one - the basics of PHP
> This chapter will cover basic information about the HP and its role in
> web development. All the basic elements of the language, such as
> definitions, conventions, uses, language elements and so one will be
> covered.
>=20
> . Introducing PHP
> . PHP and HTML
> . PHP and XML
> . PHP and databases
> . Creating a PHP page
> . Using PHP tags
> . Language basics
> . Constants and variables
> . Identifiers
> . Operators
> . Conditional structures
> . Iteration and loops
> . Functions
> . Variable functions
> . Including files
>=20
> Chapter two - object-oriented PHP
> This chapter provides information about OOP in PHP.
>=20
> . The basics of object oriented programming
> . Classes
> . Instantiation and constructors
> . Attributes
> . Accessing objects, methods and attributes
> . Implementing inheritance
>=20
> Chapter three - PHP and the web
> This chapter will provide a broader introduction to the way PHP
> interacts with the web. For the most part, this chapter will deal
> with the superarrays and it's sessions.
>=20
> . Creating HTML content using PHP
> . Client side and server side embedding PHP in HTML
> . Creating forms
> . GET and POST: accessing form variables
> . Cookies
> . The superarrays: accessing global information
> . Session management
>=20
> Chapter four - arrays
> This chapter introduces arrays and their use in PHP.
>=20
> . Variable collections: introducing arrays
> . Numerically indexed and associative arrays
> . Multidimensional arrays
> . Sorting
> . Reordering
> . Serializing arrays
> . Manipulating arrays
>=20
> Chapter five - strings and regular expressions This chapter deals with
> string manipulation, both using traditional functions and through
> regular expressions.
>=20
> . Formatting strings
> . Comparing strings
> . Modifying string contents
> . Regular expressions
> . Extract in data from strings
> . Joining and splitting strings
>=20
> Chapter six - file manipulation
> The details of manipulating files and interacting with the filesystem
> are discussed in this chapter.
>=20
> . Opening a file
> . Writing to a file
> . Reading from a file
> . Closing a file
> . In two rounds with the file system
> . File locking
>=20
> Chapter seven - managing dates and time
> This chapter explores the date and time functions built into PHP, with
> a particular eye to database interaction and the limitations of the
> Unix time tracking system.
>=20
> . Dates in PHP
> . Getting the current date
> . Converting a strained into a date
> . More date functions
> . Date calculations
> . Dates and databases
> . Using the calendar functions
> . The UNIX epoch and the dangers of UNIX dates
>=20
> Chapter eight - managing e-mail
> This chapter illustrates the functionality provided by PHP for sending
> e-mail messages.
>=20
> . Sending e-mail
> . Managing the headers
> . Formatting an e-mail message
> . Attaching a file to a message
>=20
> Chapter nine - PHP and databases
> This chapter deals with the interaction between PHP and=20
> database servers.
> Because the exam is strictly limited to PHP, no particular DBMS is
> discussed-rather, generic database techniques and SQL syntax are
> discussed.
>=20
> . When to use a database
> . Types of databases supported by PHP
> . Inserting data
> . Extracting data
> . Joining data
>=20
> Chapter ten - stream and network programming This chapter introduces
> concepts associated with stream and network programming in PHP.
>=20
> . Using file wrappers
> . Connecting to a remote host using sockets
> . Blocking and non-blocking calls
> . Creating and using streams
>=20
> Chapter eleven - security
> This chapter examines some security issues traditionally related to
> PHP programming.
>=20
> . Trusted and untrusted input
> . Managing authentication
> . Escaping data for database and shell programming
> . Validating input
> . Preventing XSS attacks
>=20
> Chapter twelve - Debugging and Performance Management This chapter
> looks at some of the debugging and performance management available
> to PHP developers.
>=20
> . Common programming mistakes
> . Programming logic
> . Creating good code
> . Avoiding bugs
> . Avoiding performance pitfalls
> . Troubleshooting performance bottlenecks
>=20
>=20
>=20
> Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.
>=20
> Yours sincerely,
> Daniel Kushner
> ______________________________________
> Director of Training and Certification
> Zend Technologies Ltd.
>=20
> daniel at zend.com
> http://www.zend.com
> _______________________________________________
> talk mailing list
> talk at lists.nyphp.org
> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>=20
>=20
>From hans not junk at nyphp.com Sat Jun 19 17:21:14 2004
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Subject: RE: [nycphp-talk] PHP, ODBC, ORACLE
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 14:21:11 -0700
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From: "Hans Zaunere" <hans not junk at nyphp.com>
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> Two questions for an APM solution:
>=20
> 1. Can ODBC_CONNECT be used to go against an oracle database?=20
> If yes, what
> would be the essential pieces?
I don't believe so. From:
http://us2.php.net/manual/en/ref.uodbc.php
"The following databases are supported by the Unified ODBC functions:
Adabas D, IBM DB2, iODBC, Solid, and Sybase SQL Anywhere."
> 2. What would be the syntax for oracle connect statements=20
> (plz point me to a
> ref)-from connect to select?
Not 100% here either. But why not use OCI8 and connect to Oracle
directly?
H
>From hans not junk at nyphp.com Sat Jun 19 17:49:48 2004
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Subject: RE: [nycphp-talk] CLEW
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 14:49:45 -0700
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From: "Hans Zaunere" <hans not junk at nyphp.com>
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> Another Hans. What are the odds?
Pretty low... at least in this country :) It's actually the third Hans
to come around NYPHP, so I'm thinking about playing the lottery.
> Thank you both for the information. After I get a couple=20
> hours of shuteye, I'm in.
There's a lot to do and we're happy to have you help. The other posts
talked about how to initially get started which is great.
NYCBUG (http://nycbug.org) will be the first to pilot clew as the only
application behind their web page. Very exciting. The timeline is in
weeks, rather than months, so there is a big push as Snyder mentioned.
Thanks for the help Mark. Looking forward to it,
---
Hans Zaunere
President
New York PHP
http://nyphp.org
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