On Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:29:17 +0100, Urs Holzer wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:28:07 +0000, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
>> 
>>> Well, that's the thing. In the Real World, it's trivial to look up
>>> what some specific obscure option does.
>> 
>> Removing a package is, arguably, not an obscure option one would use
>> occasionally.
>> 
>> I had a similar debate with a physics prof once in college - the course
>> was for engineering students, but I was a CS student, so I'd have
>> reference materials available to ensure that I was coding the forumulas
>> properly in my simulation - and if I didn't remember the exact formula
>> for calculating lift based on a particular airfoil shape, I wouldn't
>> guess, I'd look it up.
>> 
>> [...]
> 
> You make an unfair comparison. He wanted you to know and have understood
> enough about physics to reconstruct the formula on the spot. But I bet
> it wouldn't have been a requirement to remember the name of every
> variable as it was used in the lecture. In fact, bound variables in a
> formula can be named anyway you want. For example, integrating f(s) over
> s in [0,1] or f(t) over t in [0,1] is the same.

I don't think it's an unfair comparison.  It's about understanding part 
of a body of knowledge.  In the physics case, it's about how to perform a 
calculation (one that, due to the nature of a CS degree with that 
specialization, would be used once per program at most, because it'd be 
coded and forgotten - and a more appropriate test item for a CS student 
would be to code a function that calculates the value rather than recall 
of the formula).

In the RPM case, it's about knowing how to use the rpm command to remove 
an installed package.

> My comparison:
> - Knowing a formula is like knowing how to connect dmesg and grep with a
> pipe in order to find out why the graphics card's module didn't load.
> - Knowing the right (by convention) name of a variable is like knowing
> that -e is for removing a package.
> 
> The first thing is essential to learn, while the second you learn
> automatically over time.

I disagree with the second point.  You can calculate a formula using 
different variables.  You cannot remove a package with rpm using any 
option other than -e.

>> Remember that a certification exam is a measure of a minimally
>> qualified candidate to do a particular job or task.  A minimally
>> qualified candidate on Linux *should* be able to install/remove
>> packages without having to look the command up every time they do it.
> 
> Note that the certification exam doesn't require you to be able to
> answer every question. So it only checks whether you know the names of a
> lot of options and commands while still allowing you to fail at some of
> them. This arguably tests how much experience you have with Linux,
> because you memorise these names automatically if you use common Linux
> commands often.

Of course it doesn't require a perfect score - a properly designed exam 
doesn't, because it's a tool to measure knowledge, skills, or 
understanding.

I spent about 6-7 years working with certification exam creation and 
design, and have some background in testing theory (gained through 
experience, not explicit schooling).  I understand the basics of 
psychometric analysis (but if you start asking me about lambda values, 
you'll get a blank look from me).

Jim

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