Ed Sawicki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> G. Matthew Rice wrote:
> > With the proposed renewed focus of the LPIC-1 certification as a Linux
> > Professional certification (ie. move most of the "adminy" material to
> > LPIC-2 and introduce more general topics to LPIC-1), this lets it (LPIC-1)
> > become a base for other certification tracks that have previously gone
> > undeveloped.
>
> This may be a bit off-topic:
> Lately, I've noticed that the number of people who are seeking
> product-specific Linux training is increasing. By product-specific, I mean
> distribution-specific. For example, I get calls asking for SuSE 10 training
> and they won't accept a more generic Linux course.
>
> I think these people want to learn the graphical management tools of a
> particular distribution and are uninterested in the way it's done at the
> command line. How does this impact your plans?
It doesn't :) There's nothing wrong with product specific courses. As long
as people realize what they're getting.
I think it's a mistake to teach the GUI tools (or at least to focus on them)
but some people want the 'easy way'. Until the tools fail them.
> > There are numerous approaches that can be taken on this front including a
> > DBA
> > focused developer certification (maybe in conjunction with the PostgreSQL
> > and
> > MySQL people) as well as development methodologies, LAMP and system/kernel
> > level programming topics.
>
> I'm interested in DBA certification - especially real ACID databases like
> PostgreSQL. However, what do you test for? The PHP crowd just needs a
> simple data store with a basic SQL interface. These people don't use stored
> procedures, triggers, views, etc. It's why MySQL is popular.
>
> Then there's the crowd that wants to do most things in middleware - not in
> stored procedures. Like the PHP crowd, they also tend to use a basic SQL
> interface.
>
> The rest of us do take advantage of stored procedures, triggers, views,
> etc. Perhaps there needs to be two levels of DBA.
That's why I see a separate track for the developers and the DBAs. You're
absolutely correct, too. Most 'developers' use DBs as simple data stores.
That's why I want to cover basic SQL in LPIC-1. It'll probably be enough
coverage for the developer and admin tracks (well, add in the DBI-like
interfaces when you get language specific) but not cause much overlap with
the DBA track.
> I think good DBAs needs to know the underlying details
> of the database and the OS platform it's running on.
> Without this knowledge, they'll be unable to troubleshoot
> some problems, secure the database, and improve performance
> in some cases.
It seems that we're all of a like mind on this matter. I think that the
marketing guys are gonna hate us, though :)
> > One of the counter arguments to this idea is that it creates a barrier to
> > entry for people that just want to prove that they have the developer
> > skills.
>
> Why do you care about this?
Strictly speaking, I don't. In fact, I'm one of the people that are adamant
that a real FOSS developer needs to understand the underlying OS if they are
really going to be good developers.
> It's up to their (future) employer what skills are needed. Unless you
> think that employers (or their HR departments) are incapable of making such
> a determination. :-)
True. The argument put forth is that if the HR dept is looking for a PHP
programmer, will they care if the person is a Linux or Windows-based PHP
developer.
I think that most of us will say that they should care. However, if there is
no cert for a windows-based PHP developer because LPI is all about FOSS
certifications and platforms and they need their LPIC-1 in order to get _any_
developer certification, is that fair?
Perhaps there's a middle ground?
LPIC-1 + developer exams == FOSS Developer
just developer exams == PHP (or Perl or ...) Developer
I'm open to further suggestions :)
Regards,
--
g. matthew rice <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> starnix care, toronto, ontario, ca
phone: 647.722.5301 x242 gpg id: EF9AAD20
http://www.starnix.com professional linux services & products
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