About the Exam


Becoming a Certified Macromedia ColdFusion Developer involves being examined on your knowledge of ColdFusion and related technologies. As far as exams go, this one is not easynor should it be. In fact, more than a third of all examinees fail their first test. This is not a bad thing; on the contrary, this is good because it means that you really have to know your stuff to pass. You do not merely receive a paper certificate; the exam and subsequent certification have real value and real significance. "Very challenging but fair" is how many examinees describe the exam itself.

The Exam Itself

The exam itself is a set of multiple-choice questions that you answer electronically. A computer application issues the test, and you'll know whether you passed immediately upon test completion.

You are presented with questions and possible answers. Some questions have a single correct answer; others have two or more (you'll be told how many answers to provide). If a question stumps you, you can skip it and come back to it later.

After you have answered all the questions, you can review them to check your answers. And after you are done (or when the time is up; yes, the test has a 70-minute limit), you'll get your results. You need at least 65 percent correct to pass. If you do not pass, you'll need to wait at least 30 days before you can try again. You may take the test no more than three times in a single year (starting from the date of your first test).

Examinees who score at least 80 percent on the test are certified with Advanced ColdFusion Developer status. So to stand out from the crowd, you need to know your stuff, and know it well.

The test is available a variety of languages. The questions are the same in each language, so content studied using this book is applicable regardless of the language you are being tested in.

What You'll Be Tested On

Being a ColdFusion expert requires that you know more than just ColdFusion. As such, the exam includes questions on related technologies. The subjects you'll be tested on are as follows:

  • ColdFusion functionality

  • ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) usage and syntax

  • Internet and Web fundamentals

  • ColdFusion extensibility features and technologies

  • Basic Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and related client technologies

  • Database fundamentals and concepts

  • Structured Query Language (SQL)

Every question counts, and you cannot assume that one particular topic is more or less significant than others. You need to know it all, and you need to know it all well.

Preparing for the Exam

Obviously, the most important preparation for the exam is the use of ColdFusion itself. If you do not use ColdFusion regularly, or have not done so for an extended period, then you probably will not pass.

Having said that, we can tell you that many experienced ColdFusion developers still find the exam challenging. Usually, they say this because they don't use some features and technologies, or because they have learned the product but have never paid attention to changing language and feature details (and thus are not using the product as effectively as they could be).

And that is where this book fits in. This book is not a cheat sheet. It will not teach you ColdFusion from scratch, nor will it give you a list of things to remember to pass the test. What it will do is help you systematically review every major (and minor) feature and technology of the producteverything that you need to know to pass the test.

Where to Take the Exam

To offer the exams in as many locations as possible, Macromedia has partnered with a company called Virtual University Enterprises (VUE). VUE offers exams and certification programs for a wide range of companies and products, and it has more than 2,500 regional testing facilities in more than 100 countries.

You can take the ColdFusion Certified Developer exam at any VUE testing center. For a list of current locations, visit the following Web site:

http://www.vue.com/macromedia/

How Much It Costs

The fee to take the exam in North America is $150. Pricing in other countries varies. The fee must be paid at the time you register. If you need to cancel, you must do so at least 24 hours before the exam, or the fee will not be refunded.



Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Certified Developer Study Guide
Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Certified Developer Study Guide
ISBN: 0321330110
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 389
Authors: Ben Forta

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