Marty,

You might have misunderstood - I'm not "anti-certification". I would just point out that since any "test", whether it be a certification, a job interview, or just someone looking over your shoulder, all are distorted by the colored shades of the observer (test writer, employer, etc), we stand to be judged (potentially) by standards we "know" are not important.

Take a VFP Cert exam. Unless they have the ability to test everything, which would make for a really long exam, the test represents somebody's OPINION of what is important to know about the product. And what may be important to them, may not be important (or the right way) to me or others.

If I get hit hard on things I don't work with, Does that mean I'm 'bad" or just do things different? As for knowing which approach is most appropriate, you must realize that most of those decisions are made by really good developers up front. Decisions such as not to use DO FORM or the DE, for example, are pretty wide spread among a lot of highly skilled devlopers and companies. You make (or learn) that decision early - and never look back.

I would bet, that if I spent 10 minutes with you (or most anybody) I could find many things in VFP you know little about. You could do it to me. This doesn't mean we are less than "experts", just that we've become "Experts" in certain aspects and methodollagies.

As for something like a DE for a client? Again this goes back to my other point. If I HAD to know it, I could learn it in short order, because again - I cultivate the skill of knowing how to learn on the fly as my greatest asset.

Should Chuck Yeager have had a pilot's license. Does it matter? I say - nope! He knew how to get the RESULT ... and that's aLL that really counts.

Ken

>I will always pursue certification in VFP because it demonstrates that I CAN join a team or project that uses any methodology. I do have preferred ways of dealing with VFP issues, but if you walk in the door with a certification, you demonstrate that you "know" FoxPro, backward and forward.
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>As for the memorization, you have a point in the case of some exams. But, if you expand your focus from that of the VFP exams to the entire MCSD program, you'll be pleased to meet the Analyzing Requirements exam. It is the one that really separates the memorizers from the analysts.
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>In the past two positions I've filled (both developer team lead postitions) I was the only person with VFP certification and it was a key issue in my promotion.
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>I think the fact that the tests hit you from every angle are the very value of them. This broad based certification tells my clients that I really do know the tool.
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>(Pesky question: If you know very little about a feature of VFP, how can you be sure that the approach you are taking is the most appropriate?)
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>I think it's great that there are those that are running very successful consulting firms without certification. Heck, I'll bet the last three VFP books I've read (Hentzenwerkes) were written by/with people that weren't certified. For me, certification is working well. But, I suspect some of the gurus fail to see the need, and maybe rightfully so.
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>I don't know if Chuck Yeager had a private pilot's license. Should he have?
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>M2CW
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>M.
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>[...then Marty says his "no flames" mantra and pushes send..... <g>]