LPI exams - Ubuntu Certification

[Karl Goetz]

Daniel Carrera wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I've been going through sample LPI exams, and I don't like some of the
> questions. In brief, I think they're broken, and I wonder how useful LPI
> really is for measuring Linux proficiency.
> 
> For example: One sample question asked "You are installing an ISA card;
> what do you need to do?". Two options were (a) Nothing, Linux will
> configure it automatically and (b) Use isapnp and pnpdump.
> 
> First, there's the matter of relevance. ISA disappeared years ago. Any
> PII or newer won't have ISA slots. 
Actually, i have worked on P3s with ISA.

Second, the question is flawed
> because the answer depends on the kernel you're using. With the old 2.2
> kernel you had to use pnpdump to get information which could then be fed
> into isapnp. Starting with the 2.4 kernel, this functionality was added
> into the kernel and they no longer exist. Debian Woody uses the 2.2
> kernel. If we're going to ask a question about hardware that was
> obsolete 6 years ago, it's not beyond reason to consider a distribution
> version that was current 18 months ago.
its not aquired /new/ anymore, but i suppose thats moot if the question 
is about teh kernel.

> 
> The exam also asks questions about vi. I understand the logic in asking
> about the one text editor that any system, including a rescue system, is
> guaranteed  have. But they seem to ask the wrong questions about it...
> For example, it asks how to move the cursor up 4 spaces. I may not
> remember which of hjkl moves the cursor where, but in real life I can
> find out by pressing them. Plus, currently vim understands the arrow
> keys. And what if I write "4k" and the computer expects "kkkk"? Also,
> when it asks how to "save and exit", what if I am used to using :wq and
> the exam expects me two say :x ?  Does it really matter if I know
> that :x can save and exit as long as I am able to save and exit it?
/me looks up :x
i use ZZ to save+quit
kk

> 
> In some questions the exam seems to be measuring the wrong things.
> 
> Cheers,
> Daniel.
> 


-- 
Karl Goetz
The buck stops there -> $
Australian Ubuntu users team - http://wiki.ubuntu.com/AustralianTeam