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First Singaporean Certified MySQL Associate

Apparently, I realised I’m the first CMA in Singapore! The Certified MySQL Associate is an entry level certification for MySQL professionals. It’s particularly useful for programmers and developers that work primarily with the XAMP Stack (X Operating System, Apache, MySQL, PHP).

Now that I’m a CMA, this will help me stand out from the crowd. I scored a 90% and got only 5 questions wrong. I scored 100% for 3 component chapters, 85% on 2 of them and 75% on one of them. But I won’t stop here. I’m retaking the CMDEV (Certified MySQL Developer) next year which consists of 2 very long exams. I missed the pass grade by 7 points on Paper 1 and 2 points on Paper 2 a year and a half back. Pass grades are very high. In the case of Certification Exams, a pass grade would mean I have to at least get 75% of the questions right. So noting how close I got to passing the more difficult certifications, I am now going to prepare myself better by spacing out the 2 papers, so I can study the material more thoroughly.

I intend to take the Zend Certified Engineer which certifies me as a competent PHP developer. But the only barrier is the high costs that come with it. I’d have to spend at least $1,380 just for the exam and study material. The A-Dev pack which will get me a 90-day track would set me back $3,795. It’s unfortunate that the government doesn’t seem to consider this a critical certification. My MySQL certification costs are borne out of my own pocket as I can’t use the CITREP grant for this.

I feel that the government should be fair to people who are subscribers of the Open Source movement instead of over-emphasising the Microsoft certifications.

W3C compliant again

I’ve been neglecting this. But I thought I should spend the time to correct my markup. And Voila! Perfect code.

I’ve spoken about this before (MP3, Malay) when I used to run Ameleora Solutions. Back then, some nice people got me an inteview with RSI, which was rebroadcasted on Warna and RIA.

I’ve just joined the Web Standards Group after talking to Lucian Teo about the future of the Government web. And I can feel myself maturing as a developer. I’ve just signed up for MySql Certification again after I failed it by 2 points 2 years ago. Now, I’m taking the Associate first, and then taking the Developer later.

I hope when Ph.P Society moves into 2nd gear, I can get myself PHP certified.

Halal, another feared idea

On Tuesday, non-Muslim parents of children studying at Boon Lay Garden Primary School protested against a recently formalised ban on non-Halal food items entering the school’s canteen. The school have had this rule since 2002 when all the stalls in the canteen were certified Halal. more »