MacLochlainns Weblog

Planning out my year, I decided to take the Oracle OCP and MySQL OCP exams. I checked for review books and was pleasantly surprised to find the soon to be released OCP MySQL Database Administrator Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-883). However, I noticed that the book was actually prepared for the obsolete and discountinued Exams 1Z0-870, 1Z0-873, and 1Z0-874. As it turns out, Steve O’Hearn has informed me that there isn’t a book and that the posting in Amazon.com is in error.

There isn’t an alternative review book for the OCP MySQL 5.6 Developer or Database Administrator Exams. The question that I have is simple: “How relevant is this book because it was prepared for the older exams?” There isn’t a table of content published on the Amazon.com site. If there was a table of contents it could help me determine how close the book’s content is to the new exam.

As a preparation to figure out the value of the book as a study guide, I’ve reviewed the current Oracle MySQL Training Objectives (listed below). The new MySQL OCP Developer and Administrator exams have the following descriptions and objectives:

• MySQL 5.6 Developer 1Z0-882. Oracle provides the following outline for their MySQL for Developer (Ed 3) training course:

  Course Objectives

  • Describe the MySQL client/server architecture
  • Use MySQL client programs and common options
  • Program MySQL applications with Java and PHP connectors
  • Use a “NoSQL” approach to store and retrieve data
  • Design efficient tables
  • Create and delete database objects
  • Use expressions in SQL statements
  • Examine database metadata
  • Use SQL statements to modify table data
  • Maintain database integrity with transactions
  • Write multiple table queries
  • Create “virtual tables” containing specific data
  • Create user-defined variables, prepared statements, and stored routines
  • Create and manage triggers
  • Identify and deal with errors and exceptions in client programs
  • Write queries that are fast and effective, even under heavy loads
• MySQL 5.6 Database Administrator 1Z0-883. Oracle provides the following outline for their MySQL for Database Administrators (Ed 3.1) training course:

  Course Objectives

  • Describe the MySQL Architecture
  • Install and Upgrade MySQL
  • Use the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database to access metadata
  • Perform the MySQL start and shutdown operations
  • Configure MySQL server options at runtime
  • Use available tools including MySQL Workbench
  • Evaluate data types and character sets for performance issues
  • Understand data locking in MySQL
  • Understand the use of the InnoDB storage engine with MySQL
  • Maintain integrity of a MySQL installation
  • Use triggers for administration tasks
  • Use Enterprise Audit and Pluggable Authentication
  • Configure advanced replication topologies for high availability
  • Describe introductory performance tuning techniques
  • Perform backup and restore operations
  • Automate administrative tasks with scheduled events

  As always, I hope this helps those who read it; and, in this case I hope it helps you make an effective decision on preparation resources for the MySQL 5.6 OCP exams.