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| * Sun Forums member since August 2005 * Located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada - contract programmer and server administrator (web, email, database, DNS) for the last decade. |
| * Known on the Sun Forums as: [cotton.m|http://forums.sun.com/profile.jspa?userID=557729] |
| * Sun Forums Posts: 14,821 |
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| A) Since 1996. My first language was actually VB, but I started working with Java in 1999. I got into Java originally because the "write once run everywhere" concept was very appealing for a prototype project I was working on at the time. |
| I continue working in other languages and doing server administrative administration type work but as time goes on I find myself becoming more focused as a Java developer because I enjoy that work the most. |
h3. Q) How come? |
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| A) I have done a lot of work with JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) in one form or another. From systems that process, load and clean data to actually writing drivers, I'm probably more familiar with that API than any other. |
| I also was, for a time, pretty much "the guy" when it came to the ActiveX bridge (which was a handy piece of technology for me at the time). I still get comments and questions about the tutorial I wrote years ago for it. And, as I said, I am working more with J2EE now, I am actually studying for my [SCWCD (Sun Certified Web Component Developer)|http://www.sun.com/training/certification/java/scwcd.xml] exam. |
h3. Q) What do you think about the certification process? |
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| A) There is an ongoing debate in this forum on the "value" of the SCJP and related certifications and originally I decided to take the SCJP exam because I didn't feel qualified to have an opinion if I hadn't actually done it. |
| What I found though was that the process provided a great value to me personally in helping to motivate me and focus my attention on parts of the language I wasn't so familiar with. |
| I know an awful lot more about Generics thean I did before. And the process also helped me to identify what areas of the language I am strongest and weakest in. I think that generally the value of the certs is what you put into it, but I think there is a good deal of value to be found in a process that gives you some objective feedback on your language knowledge. |
At any rate, I found the experience positive enough to register for the SCWCD exam as well because that's the area I'm looking to improve my skills in currently. |
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| A) Mostly great stuff. I think the one area in which some open source projects seem to struggle is in long-term vision/consistent planning. It's hard sometimes to keep one focus when many contributors from all over each work on parts. |
| But I don't mean to be negative. An open collaborative process produces more than the sum of it's parts, better code, more opportunities for identifying shortfalls and making improvements. |
h3. Q) How about your spare time? What are you up to outside of work? |
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