Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-11 Thread Paco Nathan
Note that O'Reilly Media has test prep materials in development.

The exam does include questions in Scala, Python, Java, and SQL -- and
frankly a number of the questions are about comparing or identifying
equivalent Spark techniques between two of those different languages. The
questions do not go into much detail for any of the languages Scala,
Python, Java -- emphasis is on using Spark, not language nuances. Also,
there is no coding required: the questions typically to have several code
blocks and you select among them to identify the best answer.

Overall the exam is targeted at an intermediate Spark user, with
background as an application developer in either Python, Scala, or Java,
and some familiarity with Big Data and distributed systems. Those were the
requirements. Five different practice areas assess the following:

  1. Understanding breadth of Spark API usage across Scala, Java, Python
  2. Applying best practices to avoid runtime issues and performance
bottlenecks
  3. Distinguishing Spark features and practices from MapReduce usage
  4. Integrating SQL, Streaming, ML, Graph atop the Spark unified engine
  5. Solving typical use cases with Spark in Scala, Java, Python


Understanding how Spark operates in a production environment is a major
emphasis of the exam.

Understanding about typical kinds of serialization exceptions is also
important.  If you look through earlier talks about Spark best practices
from Matei Zaharia, Patrick Wendell, Reynold Xin, et al., those are great
for prep.


BTW, the Kryterion platform allows a person taking the test to mark
questions for revisiting later. So if a problem seems difficult or
non-intuitive, just mark it and move on the to the next one. Then come back
to the marked ones later.  Some questions are easier, some are harder, but
the order is always randomized. There's a 90 minute limit; however, most
people who pass finish within 60 minutes. So if you use mark for later
review you'll likely have time at the end to revisit the harder questions.


On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 7:05 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
wrote:

 Hi,

 I think all the required materials for reference are mentioned here:
 http://www.oreilly.com/data/sparkcert.html?cmp=ex-strata-na-lp-na_apache_spark_certification

 My question was regarding the proficiency level required for Java. There
 are detailed examples and code mentioned for JAVA, Python and Scala in most
 of the SCALA tutorials mentioned in the above link for reference.


 Regards,
 Gourav

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:03 PM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 Very interested @Kartik/Zoltan. Please let me know how to connect on LI

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 11:47 PM, Zoltán Zvara zoltan.zv...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 I might join in to this conversation with an ask. Would someone point me
 to a decent exercise that would approximate the level of this exam (from
 above)? Thanks!

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:37 PM Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Production - not whole lot of companies have implemented Spark in
 production and so though it is good to have, not must.

 If you are on LinkedIn, a group of folks including myself are preparing
 for Spark certification, learning in group makes learning easy and fun.

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 7:31 AM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 And how important is to have production environment?
 On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in
 Scala will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only
 Python and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





 --
 Best Regards,
 Ayan Guha





Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-11 Thread Kartik Mehta
Awesome!!

Thank you Mr. Nathan,

Great to have a guide like you and helping us all,

Regards,

Kartik
On May 11, 2015 5:07 PM, Paco Nathan cet...@gmail.com wrote:

 Note that O'Reilly Media has test prep materials in development.

 The exam does include questions in Scala, Python, Java, and SQL -- and
 frankly a number of the questions are about comparing or identifying
 equivalent Spark techniques between two of those different languages. The
 questions do not go into much detail for any of the languages Scala,
 Python, Java -- emphasis is on using Spark, not language nuances. Also,
 there is no coding required: the questions typically to have several code
 blocks and you select among them to identify the best answer.

 Overall the exam is targeted at an intermediate Spark user, with
 background as an application developer in either Python, Scala, or Java,
 and some familiarity with Big Data and distributed systems. Those were the
 requirements. Five different practice areas assess the following:

   1. Understanding breadth of Spark API usage across Scala, Java, Python
   2. Applying best practices to avoid runtime issues and performance
 bottlenecks
   3. Distinguishing Spark features and practices from MapReduce usage
   4. Integrating SQL, Streaming, ML, Graph atop the Spark unified engine
   5. Solving typical use cases with Spark in Scala, Java, Python


 Understanding how Spark operates in a production environment is a major
 emphasis of the exam.

 Understanding about typical kinds of serialization exceptions is also
 important.  If you look through earlier talks about Spark best practices
 from Matei Zaharia, Patrick Wendell, Reynold Xin, et al., those are great
 for prep.


 BTW, the Kryterion platform allows a person taking the test to mark
 questions for revisiting later. So if a problem seems difficult or
 non-intuitive, just mark it and move on the to the next one. Then come back
 to the marked ones later.  Some questions are easier, some are harder, but
 the order is always randomized. There's a 90 minute limit; however, most
 people who pass finish within 60 minutes. So if you use mark for later
 review you'll likely have time at the end to revisit the harder questions.


 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 7:05 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
  wrote:

 Hi,

 I think all the required materials for reference are mentioned here:
 http://www.oreilly.com/data/sparkcert.html?cmp=ex-strata-na-lp-na_apache_spark_certification

 My question was regarding the proficiency level required for Java. There
 are detailed examples and code mentioned for JAVA, Python and Scala in most
 of the SCALA tutorials mentioned in the above link for reference.


 Regards,
 Gourav

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:03 PM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 Very interested @Kartik/Zoltan. Please let me know how to connect on LI

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 11:47 PM, Zoltán Zvara zoltan.zv...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 I might join in to this conversation with an ask. Would someone point
 me to a decent exercise that would approximate the level of this exam (from
 above)? Thanks!

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:37 PM Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Production - not whole lot of companies have implemented Spark in
 production and so though it is good to have, not must.

 If you are on LinkedIn, a group of folks including myself are
 preparing for Spark certification, learning in group makes learning easy
 and fun.

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 7:31 AM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 And how important is to have production environment?
 On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in
 Scala will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta 
 gourav.sengu...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only
 Python and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





 --
 Best Regards,
 Ayan Guha






Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread ayan guha
And how important is to have production environment?
On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in Scala
 will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only Python
 and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread Kartik Mehta
Production - not whole lot of companies have implemented Spark in
production and so though it is good to have, not must.

If you are on LinkedIn, a group of folks including myself are preparing for
Spark certification, learning in group makes learning easy and fun.

Kartik
On May 5, 2015 7:31 AM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 And how important is to have production environment?
 On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in Scala
 will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only
 Python and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread Zoltán Zvara
I might join in to this conversation with an ask. Would someone point me to
a decent exercise that would approximate the level of this exam (from
above)? Thanks!

On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:37 PM Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com
wrote:

 Production - not whole lot of companies have implemented Spark in
 production and so though it is good to have, not must.

 If you are on LinkedIn, a group of folks including myself are preparing
 for Spark certification, learning in group makes learning easy and fun.

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 7:31 AM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 And how important is to have production environment?
 On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in Scala
 will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only
 Python and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread ayan guha
Very interested @Kartik/Zoltan. Please let me know how to connect on LI

On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 11:47 PM, Zoltán Zvara zoltan.zv...@gmail.com
wrote:

 I might join in to this conversation with an ask. Would someone point me
 to a decent exercise that would approximate the level of this exam (from
 above)? Thanks!

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:37 PM Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Production - not whole lot of companies have implemented Spark in
 production and so though it is good to have, not must.

 If you are on LinkedIn, a group of folks including myself are preparing
 for Spark certification, learning in group makes learning easy and fun.

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 7:31 AM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 And how important is to have production environment?
 On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in Scala
 will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only
 Python and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





-- 
Best Regards,
Ayan Guha


Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread Gourav Sengupta
Hi,

I think all the required materials for reference are mentioned here:
http://www.oreilly.com/data/sparkcert.html?cmp=ex-strata-na-lp-na_apache_spark_certification

My question was regarding the proficiency level required for Java. There
are detailed examples and code mentioned for JAVA, Python and Scala in most
of the SCALA tutorials mentioned in the above link for reference.


Regards,
Gourav

On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:03 PM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 Very interested @Kartik/Zoltan. Please let me know how to connect on LI

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 11:47 PM, Zoltán Zvara zoltan.zv...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 I might join in to this conversation with an ask. Would someone point me
 to a decent exercise that would approximate the level of this exam (from
 above)? Thanks!

 On Tue, May 5, 2015 at 3:37 PM Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Production - not whole lot of companies have implemented Spark in
 production and so though it is good to have, not must.

 If you are on LinkedIn, a group of folks including myself are preparing
 for Spark certification, learning in group makes learning easy and fun.

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 7:31 AM, ayan guha guha.a...@gmail.com wrote:

 And how important is to have production environment?
 On 5 May 2015 20:51, Stephen Boesch java...@gmail.com wrote:

 There are questions in all three languages.

 2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in
 Scala will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only
 Python and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav





 --
 Best Regards,
 Ayan Guha



JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread Gourav Sengupta
Hi,

how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only Python
and Scala not work?


Regards,
Gourav


Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread Kartik Mehta
I too have similar question.

My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in Scala will
be ok for certification.

If someone who has done certification can confirm.

Thanks,

Kartik
On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only Python
 and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav



Re: JAVA for SPARK certification

2015-05-05 Thread Stephen Boesch
There are questions in all three languages.

2015-05-05 3:49 GMT-07:00 Kartik Mehta kartik.meht...@gmail.com:

 I too have similar question.

 My understanding is since Spark written in scala, having done in Scala
 will be ok for certification.

 If someone who has done certification can confirm.

 Thanks,

 Kartik
 On May 5, 2015 5:57 AM, Gourav Sengupta gourav.sengu...@gmail.com
 wrote:

 Hi,

 how important is JAVA for Spark certification? Will learning only Python
 and Scala not work?


 Regards,
 Gourav