[Tutor] Brainbench Python 1.5 Certification

[Rob Andrews]

I've never run across anyone commenting on the Python 1.5 Certification 
that brainbench.com offers. And since I have a Brainbench subscription, 
I figured I'd take a break from working on the new Useless Python site 
(about half-way done, BTW, if not better) and give it a stab.

Until someone else comes up with a Python certification, this is the 
only one I know of. It's a bit dated, since a few things changed between 
1.5 and where Python is today, but it was an interesting experience all 
around.

The test consisted of 40 questions, and each one allows you 180 seconds 
to choose the correct answer from five choices and click the submit 
button. Brainbench uses CAT (computer adaptive testing, if I have the 
acronym right), which means that the test gets tougher if you're doing 
well. That way they can provide a meaningful report of your strengths 
and weaknesses and avoid having to ask you 250 questions to make the 
determination.

When taking the test, you're on the honor system. Brainbench expects 
that you won't have Alan Gauld feeding you answers, but it's "open book" 
  in the sense that if you can pull it off in the time allowed for each 
question, you can try to find answers in reference books sitting next to 
you or on the web. The truth of the matter is that if you can find the 
answer to these questions in 180 seconds, you've got nothing to be 
ashamed of.

A few tips for Pythonistas attempting this test:

- Bookmark your module documentation and have it open in a separate 
browser window.
- Go ahead and open your interpreter of choice. You may want to 
double-check your answers on a few of the questions that ask you what 
the output of a given code segment might be. This might not help if 
you're a slow typist.
- Have flow control down pat.
- Know the difference between exec and eval() rather well.
- Understand how exceptions and tracebacks work.

peace,
Rob
http://uselesspython.com