MySQL 8.0 DBA and MySQL 8.0 Developer Certification

Dave Stokes-MySQL Community Team-Oracle

Recently the MySQL 8.0 Developer Certification became available joining the MySQL 8.0 Developer Certifications.  I have recently seen posts on various social media sites asking what is on the exam, is there an exam guide, and what do you 'really need to know' to pass the exam.

   Both tests are very tough.  Neither is going to be passed by rote memorization as many of the questions require analysis of system output before trying to adjust for the desired result.  There are no true or false questions and no essays.  What you will get is a series of questions written by subject matter experts that range from testing basic conceptual knowledge to very tough assessments of how to fix problems.  BTW the exam software lets you mark questions for later review and it does help to bypass the tougher questions for later review at the end of the test.

  Are the question tricky?  No, not really.  They really require in depth knowledge of MySQL 8.0.  If you have ever interviewed someone for a DBA job you know there are certain points of knowledge (pain points) that a candidate MUST have to be trusted with your precious data.  Imagine going to your physician and having to identify which body part is a knee and which part is an elbow.  I personally would trust anyone with either the 8.0 DBA or 8.0 Developer certification to know their stuff.

  Certification guide? Nope, sorry. Back in the 5.0 days there was a team effort to produce a comprehensive exam guide.  But 5.0 was a long time ago and there was an effort back in the 5.6 days for a resurrected guide that did not come to fruition. And having written a technical book, I can assure you that any such work is like writing in sand on a busy holiday vacation spot beach as the content is constantly changes and the community is adding or dropping tools continually.

   I highly recommend Oracle's classes like MySQL For Developers and from regular reviews of the course materials on my part tell me that the curriculum team  does a fantastic job conveying the complex material way in an easy to consume package of literature and exercises.  I still recommend practicing the exercises for several weeks after the class before taking the exam.

  Exam crams?  Do not waste you money.  The 'dumps' I have examined in the past are either poor third-hands recitations of poor interpretations of what was on a test or bad copies from the manual.

How to Have a Good Chance to Pass the Exam

  Review the exam topics below, using it as a check list.  Go to the MySQL Manual enter and read the sections for that area. Make sure you understand any examples and please do try them on your own scratch server.  Please write down notes in a notebook if you think having a consolidated review tool is handy for you.

  Also check the MySQL Server Team blog and Planet.mysql.com for blogs from other Oracle MySQL Teams.

  And if you have questions please ask away on forums.mysql.com and mysqlcommunity.slack,com.  I monitor the Certification board on the forums if you have questions

The Exam Topics

DBA Certification

Architecture

Configure client connections to the server

Understand how MySQL stores data

Understand how InnoDB stores data and logs

Configure buffers and caches

Understand and use the Data Dictionary

Security

Create user accounts and roles

Use authentication plug-ins

Control user and role permissions

Recognize common security risks

Secure MySQL server connections

Provide password and login security

Secure the MySQL host environment

Prevent SQL injection attacks

Encrypt MySQL data

Configure MySQL Enterprise Firewall

Query Optimization

Examine how MySQL optimizes queries

Analyze queries with MySQL Enterprise Monitor

Create indexes to improve server performance

Monitor and understand index statistics

High Availability Techniques

Explain how replication provides high availability and scalability

Configure replication

Explain the role of the binary log in replication

Configure multisource replication

Explain the role of replication threads

Monitor and troubleshoot replication

Describe MySQL InnoDB cluster and Group Replication

Configure a MySQL InnoDB cluster

Perform an InnoDB cluster recovery

Developer Certification

Connectors and APIs

Choose between connectors for a given application

Demonstrate connector use, management and configuration

Retrieve data from the database by using a connector

Handle special values

Secure credentials and connections

MySQL Schema Objects and Data

Design, create, and alter views

Store and process string data

Store and process numeric data

Store and process temporal data

Store and process spatial data

Query Optimization

Use indexes for optimization

Analyze queries for optimization

Rewrite queries for optimization

JSON and Document Store

Create and store JSON documents

Process data in JSON documents

Explain application development with NoSQL and XDevAPI

Create and access a document store

Use MySQL Shell to access document stores

Data-driven Applications

Use prepared statements

Set SQL Modes to change MySQL behavior

Handle and interpret errors and warnings

Display query results

Aggregate and summarize data

Advanced Report Generation

Transactions

Control transactions in SQL

Control transactions in applications

Resolve consistency problems with isolation levels

Understand locking mechanisms within MySQL

MySQL Stored Programs

Create and execute stored routines

Explain the programming constructs used in stored routines

Create and execute triggers

Schedule database operations

From: https://elephantdolphin.blogspot.com/2020/07/mysql-80-certifications.html