1. Whizlabs Test Simulator:
This is a good simulator which gives a feel of the real exam. But you should remember that this simulator is more tough than the actual exam. You would not fare well in this since it includes minute depths of the topics. But you shouldn’t feel that you are not prepared. Its the actual the other way round. If you do manage to get through this with a good score then you should be confident enough to pass the real one with flying colors.

Whizlabs isnt a free product. It costs around $21 and proves its worth in making you strong in the overall area of web services. If you want to try it out before purchasing then Whizlabs comes with a mini demo exam for free. It has a fixed set of questions.

2. xyzws.com – If you are in pocket crunching situtation the xyzws guys are to the rescue. They provide an online mock exam and its completely free. You have to register in their site and you can give as many times the mock test as desired. One more advantage of this mock is that there are about 200 questions which are chosen in a random order everytime you take this test. So don’t be surprised to see a new question even though you are repeating the test. After submission an explanation is provided for each question and the options for it and also a link is provided in case you want to clarify any doubt. Seriuosly, without this test I wouldnt have felt confident any more. It is quiet a balanced test and represents the same depth as the actual exam but beware, the same question may or may not be there in the actual exam. I had got only 3-4 questions from this test in the actual exam.

3. JAVARANCH Forums : You often come across a series of confusions when you begin your journey in the web services arena and in particular, with SCDJWS. So is there anybody to help you out? Of course there are many and they are all united in a single place. The name of the place is . This is a friendly place for any sort of discussions you might like to have not only in web services but also in any field of J2EE and Java. You are given prompt replies to solve your queries and also they will share a drink in your name once you clear the test!

4.Techtracer- else why would you have come here?
Techtracer will always keep a trace of the web services area since it is hip and happening and also would keep updating the information on the topics related to the SCDJWS exam. More information is coming up. So bookmark this right now!

Related posts:

• SCDJWS preparation – a kick start guide
• SCDJWS study material and resources – The most searched thing
• SCWCD – The 3 Steps to Success!
• SCDJWS – mission accomplished
• SCWCD – Mission Accomplished 2

The resources which I have considered for clearing SCDJWS are:
1. J2EE web wservices, by Richard Monson Haefel (RMH) – Its the bible.

Excellently written, simple language, indication of BP 1.0 in places where required and excellent code snippets for a good practice. It helps in studying the all the standards used in web services and also all the API’s in JWSDP 1.6 pack on which the certification is based on(except JAXB, Web services Security, Architecture Design, Patterns and Security).

2. www.xyzws.com – It is a very good online resource which provides a nice and detailed information on all the aspects concerned with SCDJWS. Of course, you will refer RMH for most of the things, but if you want to read the same things from a second resource , this is the one. The additional things which you will find here not covered in RMH are JAXB and Web services Security. Still you won’t find Architecture design concepts and patterns.

3. J2EE Blueprints (Service Endpoint Design) – The blueprints are a good and provided from those who make the certifications i.e Sun Micro systems. They are available in pdf format and online version as well. But as they are used for production environment, they are vast and boring if you read them in entirety. But if you are keeping in mind the SCDJWS objective and have gone through the above, then you don’t have to go through everything. The only aspect which was missing in the above two resource was Service Endpoint Design (Architecture Design). Yes, you should only read this one chapter because it neatly explains you about the layers in a web service environment. That should help in building the architect within you!

4. WS-I Basic Profile 1.0 (BP) - read it entirely for the issues and their corresponding solutions. You would come across the references of BP in RMH in most of the cases. But you won’t probably remember those at once and not all are mentioned in RMH. So glance over all the BP points because it is not only concise but is actually interesting to read. Many people feel bored to read a lengthy page of specifications, but BP is completely different. If you have worked in a web services then reading BP will make you feel as it is some cheat sheet or hacks to make your work easier and better. It is nothing but solutions to commonly faced problems which involve making web services efficient, inter operable and using a combination of open standards of web services in the right manner.

2. java.boot.by – Finally in the last week of the actual exam, you would probably be exhausted with the whole gamut of reading you did. So it is just not advisable to revise them again if you hadn’t made notes of important points and code snippents. Well its a good point when you can refer to someone else’s notes and which have been properly revised and used by many to pass the exam. These notes are from Mikalai Zaiken! They are the ultimate notes when it comes to revising your entire process. RMH does not include patterns used in web services, so it is advisable to prepare from these notes since they are very precise and cover almost all the aspects which will be required for SCDJWS in a rather point to point terms. So a final day revision would be best done through Mikalai’s notes.

Coming up – Need a list mock tests or help?

Related posts:

• SCDJWS mock tests and help – tried and tested
• SCDJWS preparation – a kick start guide
• SCDJWS – mission accomplished
• SCWCD – Mission Accomplished 2
• SCWCD – The 3 Steps to Success!

First Step – Getting Started.
The first and the foremost thing you have to do before you can get started with the preparation is to learn the W3C standards which prepare the foundation for implementing the web services. They are:
1. XML 1.0 – for representing data
2. XSD 1.0 – structure for the data
3. SOAP 1.1 – protocol to transfer the data
4. WSDL 1.1 – contract for the service access
5. UDDI 2.0 – registry for your listing services

Of course they might be too overwhelming to start with rather than learning the API’s but remember, getting acquainted with the standards will make your half job done in the preparation. Once you get to know the standards learning the API’s will be much more easier than trying them out in the first place.

Second step – Making a mark
The second step is the most fascinating one where you will be learning about the API’s to create the web services. You will be requiring the SUN JWSDP 1.6 pack (latest is 2.0, but the test refers to 1.6) which includes the following API’s
1. JAX-RPC – for creating a web service and its WSDL or its client
2. SAAJ – for handling of SOAP messages
3. JAXP – for parsing/ transforming XML data
4. JAXB - for advanced handling of XML and XSD
5. JAXR – for inquiring and communicating with UDDI

It would be beneficial if you follow the order mentioned here in learning the API’s. Its not a mandate however, just a comfortable approach to cover all the API’s without having to get entangled in learning them all at the same time.

Third Step – Rising from the fall
The third step is tightly bound to the second step. First let me tell you what this steps includes learning.
1. Basic Profile 1.0 – for solving your headaches
2. J2EE blueprints (Service Endpoint Design) – for giving you relief from the pain
3. Web service Security – to protect your services

Well these things actually are meant to be learnt before you actually do a SOA web service project but I am telling you to learn them after the API’s. Why? because it will embed in your minds the problems which you might encounter in the future if you didn’t have the Basic profile and the blueprints at all. You might call it reinventing the wheel. Why should you learn them after facing problems when they are present to solve them. Well, the first thing is that learning them in theory is boring and you wouldn’t even know what they mean in practicality if you never had been in the mentioned situation. Well its just like you learn to avoid slippery places only after you know what might happen if you fall. After learning to implement web services and use the API’s you would really appreciate why the Basic Profile and Blueprints have been created.

Fourth and final step – Taking the plunge
So now that you armed with the power to defeat and destroy.. umm..err.. give the test, you might as well get some first aid in the form of mock tests. They help you point out which area you might have been neglecting all the while and also brush up and strengthen the stuff that you have learnt. Give mock test 2 to 3 times so that you have to aim for the 100% when you are giving it for the 3rd time. A 90+ score in the 3rd time will indicate that you are almost ready for the actual test. Well, there’s no stopping you from scoring a 90+ in the first and second time, but from an average point of view, I am indicating that you might require 3 times. I did!

And finally BEST OF LUCK for the grand finale- the SCDJWS test! It would be truly a moment to rejoice when you clear the exam as I have felt. Just like you won a big war!

Coming up : Materials to use for SCDJWS preparation

Related posts:

• SCDJWS study material and resources – The most searched thing
• SCDJWS mock tests and help – tried and tested
• SCDJWS – mission accomplished
• SCWCD – Mission Accomplished 2
• SCWCD – The 3 Steps to Success!

There are many reasons why I am this much excited about clearing SCDJWS. First and foremost reason was that this certification is very new and now known to many people around, as it targets SOA (Service Oriented Architecture), which is the architecture that the IT industry is targeting for the future and not many organizations have accepted it in its processes. This means that getting certified for a futuristic technology was something very big. Hence the exact scope of the test was a big consideration. And since SOA web services have a lot of things to be covered, it became a challenge to get acknowledged to all of them.

To give you a brief idea about what you will have to encounter when you prepare for SCDJWS, it first includes knowledge of the W3C standards like XML, XSD, SOAP, WSDL, UDDI and the WS-I Basic Profile 1.0 which addresses interoperability problems amongst these standards. But then the certification is meant for a SUN developer which means you would have to study and get a hands over all the API’s which have been provided by SUN for making the web services adhering to the above mentioned standards.

The API’s to be studied includes JAX-RPC, JAXB, JAXR, JAXP, SAAJ. Further more if still don’t feel a jolt, then you would also be required to have a background of working with J2EE components including servlets, JSP and EJB. And moreover since the developers job is the provide a solid architecture for placing web services in a SOA architecture he would have to study about the SUN specifications in its J2EE blueprints on web service development. Last but not the least, the passing score is 68%. Phew! It’s a shocker to somebody who is new in the web services arena.

Wikipedia too agrees to what I am saying…

It is probably the toughest and most respected Java certification yet as there are no study materials made specific for it and because it covers a wide range of subjects.

And man, was the exam tough! More than preparation the exam requires an in depth knowledge and a frame of mind which would be prepared to visualize the futuristic architectures. It’s a great thing that happened to me when I joined LnT Infotech and got an opportunity to work on these interesting aspects of SOA and now I can say that I am quite proficient in working on J2EE web services. Hey! I am certified too.

My SCDJWS score is 76% (from a total of 69 questions)

This news didn’t come to me even as I clicked on the END button of the test app. But as I saw the result getting printed the first thing could notice was Status: “Pass”. That was the moment of truth. It was for real which was based on the efforts I had spent night and day and it was the test of time on which many expectations were based. Finally I can say, mission accomplished!

Related posts:

• SCWCD – Mission Accomplished 2
• SCDJWS mock tests and help – tried and tested
• SCDJWS study material and resources – The most searched thing
• Servlet 3.0 – The Journey Begins Now
• SCDJWS preparation – a kick start guide