Using the Book


And now, we are on our way.

Each chapter in this book follows a regular structure and provides graphical clues so that you can make note of important or particularly useful information.

This is what an alert looks like. Alerts stress particularly important concepts, terms, software, or activities that will most likely appear in one or more test questions.


Keep in mind, however, that not all information that will definitely be on the exam can be put into an alert; otherwise, the entire book would be an alert. Anything and everything in this book is likely to appear in a question on your exam.

This is how a tip will be formatted. Stay alert for tips. They give you testing hints and suggestions that will make your testing experience and future career as a DBA more successful.


This icon flags the presence of a potentially misleading question, often bordering on an outright trick question. They are calculated to trap you if you don't read them carefully and have a good understanding and working knowledge of the concepts that you are dealing with. Although there are not many of these in the Oracle certification exams, they do occasionally make an appearance on the tests, and knowing that they might be coming will help you be better prepared.


The topics in this book are designed to build on each other. Some of the information in later chapters makes more sense if you have already read the earlier chapters. Because the information is reused from one chapter to another as a foundation on which to build, for the first pass through the book, I would suggest reading it front to back. If after the first pass you still need more work in one or more areas, and this will likely be the case, you can then go back and concentrate on those areas.

Opening Hotlists

Every chapter opens with a set of hotlists: "Terms You'll Need to Understand" and "Concepts You'll Need to Master." They let you know what to expect in the given chapter, what topics are covered, and what terms you need to be comfortable with by the time you have mastered the chapter.

Terms

Every chapter has its own vocabulary, grammar, set of terms, and syntaxes that you will need to master to ensure a successful test-taking experience.

Tools

Some chapters have a set of new tools that you must become comfortable with to master the chapter. It is important that you familiarize yourself with these tools for a successful testing experience.

Techniques

Every chapter has its own set of techniques, those processes that make up the meat of the test. Make note of the syntaxes used in the examples and work through them on your own. These may be as simple as budgeting your time and making the best use of the resources that you have, to the trickier aspects of deciding which of Oracle's many features to use in any given situation.

Other Tools in the Book

This book has several other tools that will help you prepare for your exam. The use of these tools will help you to better prepare and to feel more confident in your preparation.

Practice Questions

At the end of every chapter are several questions designed to make sure that you understand the concepts the chapter covered. Immediately following the questions is the correct answer along with an explanation of why it is correct and the incorrect answers along with explanations of why they are incorrect. Check yourself after you have read the chapter, and after a few days, go back and check yourself again. In this way, you can make doubly sure that you understand the material as you are covering it.

Practice Exams

Two practice exams are at the end of the book. They are designed to be similar to the actual exams. Time yourself taking them to get a feeling for how long it takes you to answer them.

I have used this type of book in preparation for certification exams before, and I have found it useful to not mark the practice exams as I take them but either to copy the questions and mark up the copies or to just write down the answers on another piece of paper. This way I don't let the marks on the exam influence my decisions the next time I go over the questions.

The first time, take your time. Read the question. If you can answer the question right off, great! If not, go back and check on the information and make sure that you understand what is being covered by the question.

After you understand the questions, time yourself taking the exam. This gives you a feel for how you will react during the actual exam.

Answer Keys

Answer keys are another great resource included in this book. Not only do they give you the correct and incorrect answers, but better, they give you the reasons that the answers are right or wrong. Some of the questions are designed to have several nearly correct answers. The answer keys explain the reasons that the incorrect answers are wrong.

Cram Sheet

The exam cram sheet is designed as a mobile study tool. It is perforated so that you can easily remove it from the front of the book. It contains key points in a concise format that allows you to quickly recall and clue yourself on points that will be on the exam. These sheets have been the reason that several people have gotten one or two extra questions rightthey recalled having seen the point on the cram sheet. Take the sheet to your exam appointment and give it a quick glance through right before your exam to refresh your memory.

The Author

If you want to use me as another resource, feel free to email me. I can be contacted at oracle_cram@yahoo.com.



    Oracle 9i Fundamentals I Exam Cram 2
    Oracle 9i Fundamentals I Exam Cram 2
    ISBN: 0789732653
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2004
    Pages: 244
    Authors: April Wells

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