Study Guide
Well I never thought that Documentum was esoteric. Complicated, sometimes a little difficult, but never esoteric. But Pawan was correct! It has and is just that. I guess that is why I sort of fell into supporting it. I began my career as a Mechanical Engineer, and my view of computers at the time was geared toward number crunching. It was a tool for geeky scientist and PHd’s to study the universe or solve some mystical equation. I dabbled with databases like dBase III in the early days and eventually would design a custom quasi content management system to store and retrieve CADD and engineering documents. This exercise would eventually lead me towards using Documentum.
From my beginnings using the Documentum version 1.0 I have struggled like many to understand the software. Eventually I got it. But it took me several years to fully appreciate the simplicity of the product. Its not that Documentum is really no more difficult then any other software, the issue was always around the lack of quality documentation. I have argued for years that Documentum documentation lacks readability. The documentation is missing key information for developers, and especially beginners trying to get their arms around the concepts.
I have learned the key to understanding Documentum is understanding the foundation. The fundamentals that make up the underlying architecture. The heart and soul of the application. Fortunately all these fundamentals have not changed much sense the product was introduced in 1990 even though it has gone through several major transformations within the underlying software.
The underlying problem with the lack of third party books is still there. Yes as Pawan states it is getting better, but you will still be hard pressed to run down to local book store and find many. So when Pawan told me he was an author and would I be interested in reviewing his new study guide I was both honored and excited to finally see another commercially released book on Documentum.
The book is titled: Documentum Content Management Foundations, EMC Proven Professional Certification Exam E20-120. ISBN 97-1-847192-40-0
Before I delve into my review I want you to know I have never been asked to review a book before. Especially in my domain of subject matter. So as critics go I don’t consider my self one. I am not making any money on this exercise except I get to keep the book. So I hope my view are non bias.
My first impressions: This is a very easy book to navigate and read. This is an important distinction as the subject matter is complicated enough without having to dig for the right information. The book structure TOC is comprised of 5 sections covering Fundamentals, Security, User Interface, Application Development, Advanced Concepts. There is one additional section; Practice Tests. The book is 250 pages with 14 chapters.
As IT technical books go, I would give this one an A+. The book provides the reader with just the right amount of information in the proper order before moving to the next chapter. Because the book is designed as a study guide to prepare the user for the EMC PPC Exam the author has included additional questions in each chapter that helps reinforce the readers understanding.
The book also meets with my motto “Keep It Simple”. Pawan has a clear winner here. One that I will highly recommend to all my colleagues as suggested reading and it also doubles as a great quick reference. I plan on keeping this one on my desk from now on. Thank you Pawan for sharing this with me.
To get your copy hit the jump to PACKT Publishing.
dm_cram membership has crossed the 1000 mark soon after its first anniversary! It is heartening to see active participation on the discussion forum where community members seek and provide help.
