My stoplight.vi for CLD practice exam

I am preparing for CLD and looking for comments on my implementation of the "stoplight" CLD example question. Any comment would be appreciated. Kudos will be distributed liberally.
The pdf for the example question is in this zip file:
ftp://ftp.ni.com/pub/devzone/epd/2419.zip
Attachments:
CLD_Traffic_Light.zip ‏42 KB
Sample CLD Exam - Traffic Light.pdf ‏350 KB

It looks like your code does everything that the clad exam wants. I see that you documented everything but the main vi. You might just want to explain what the purpose of the mian vi is. I think you code is simple and east to read. The state machine is simple and works good and everything seems to flow nicely. You document well what is going on in each loop.
I hope this was userful info.
Tim
Johnson Controls
Holland Michigan

Similar Messages

Timing CLD practice exams

Hi,
I wanted to bring up this topic for those who are preparing for taking the CLD.
As you know there is a four hour limit for taking the exam. While preparing for the exam, using all the materials, webcast, and the certification discussion board, it is important ... , no critical, to clear your schedule and time yourself for a four hour exam. Twice.
Many developers get caught in the time crunch, both in their daily activities and in the test. Putting yourself in the position of having to face a hard deadline for completing the exam is a great wake up call. You don't want that call to be during the actual exam.
Timing your practice exams is a great way to experience the psychological pressures you will face during the four hours.
There is a wide spectrum of programmers that take the CLD, experienced pros, those who use it once or twice a week at work, advanced beginners, and all other experience levels. Preparing with a strict time limit gives all the broad spectrum of candidates the opportunity to see where their personal methods support or hinder the effort to complete in four hours.
In general, take no more than thirty minutes to read the specification, understand the specification, and plan your design.
Again, generally speaking, the last thirty minutes should not be used as a "last ditch" effort to start a new piece of functionality or race to a last minute addition. If a bug is introduced in this last half hour, the damage done to overall functionality could be much worse than the potential gain. One good use of the last thirty minutes is to continue testing integrated modules/SubVI's, to fix small discrepancies , to make one more verification that what you have already programmed is working correctly. One of my clients used to tell me "test, test, Test !"
Of course, it is impossible to give directions that will meet all individual methods. This is why taking a practice exam under strict time limits is a HUGE suggested best practice. You get to see first hand how your strategies and test taking methods fit the four hour time limit. You can plan and prepare your solution and methods, but until you time it firsthand, you are only measuring your knowledge of the methods. In most cases, nothing teaches faster than timing your sample exam and learning from your own mistakes.
If you are struggling with both implementation and timing, complete one practice exam without time, then take it again , timed, with just three and a half hours limit as you already know the specification.
One time saver is to document and label as you program. While you are in a section of code, document what that case, SubVI, or algorithm is doing. Right at the point of conception it is easy to jot down a one line description. Waiting until the end and then documenting all the work you have done is not as efficient as documenting "in the moment". You might be testing in the last thirty minutes and run out of time to document the complete application. Also, when you are working with already documented code, you are giving yourself a road map as you integrate modules or add functionality to the application. Try this while you are taking the practice exam.
I hope you find this advice helpful and something to think about, but more importantly I hope I have convinced you to take some practice exams with strict time limits. Although I have touched on a few topics, the focus here is to promote the timing your CLD practice exams in preparing for the CLD.
Mark Ramsdale
Project Manager and CLD
Customer Certification and Training at National Instruments

Jeff·Þ·Bohrer wrote:
RDarn the mobile interface.
Tim, I hear you. What do you consider to be a "normal project"?
PS My CLD-R is at 8:00am tomorrow.
"Normal" = project for actual work
Good luck starting in about 13 minutes!
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions
Unofficial Forum Rules and Guidelines

Finished taking Sprinkler CLD Practice Exam

I am planning on taking my CLD this coming week, and just finished taking this practice exam. Since I studied the car wash and ATM solutions I decided to go for the Sprinkler practie exam. The "Sprinkler CLD.zip" file is the results of 4 dedicated hours of my Saturday.
I ran the VI analyzer on all VIs and CTLs and I'm not impressed with myself. Could somebody tell me how they think I would score?
I looked at the solution for the Sprinkler.vi and it's clear that my approach is nothing like the solution from NI. This could be a good or a very bad thing.
It appears quick comments could mean alot if the graders depend heavily on the VI Analyzer. It appears that I should have at least two comments in each VI, and not only have the documentation section filled in the VI but the same for controls.
It's clear that I missed some wires when I resized my case select boxes.
After finishing the exam and then looking back i see there is a possible lock out condition on initialization that would prevent the VI from reading the CSV file. I shouldn't have created a "READ CSV" State. If i would have placed the "READ CSV FILE" inside the "Power Up Configuration" state there would be no issues. I should have restarted labview in my last hour. If the VI starts up with the Water Pressure above 50% and No Rain then the CSV file is read and there is no problem. This would have been an obvious mistake had I restarted labview.
I realize that I missed some of the specifications. For example if it starts raining during a sequence it is suppose to restart the sequence, not pause it.
There are few comments in the code. I usually add many comments to my code, but this is my first time using a simple state engine.
At work I have a large infrastructure already in place complete with error handling and task management. I am also use to working on multiple monitors. During the test I only used one. Even if I didn’t pass this practice exam at least having a dry run outside my normal work condition was very good practice.
I spent time practicing earlier and can build the Timer.VI in about 8 minutes. A functional global timer seems to be a common theme in the practice exams.
Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions?
Do you think I would have passed the CLD exam with this test?
Comments?
Regards,
Attachments:
VI Analyzer Results.zip ‏4 KB
Sprinkler CLD.zip ‏377 KB

There are a lot of good things in your code, you are nearly there. I haven't run your code, so this is more style and documentation comments.
If I were you, I would concentrate on the following:
Wire Error through all your subVI's put your subvi code in an error/no error case structure. If you had done that, you didn't need the flat sequence structure in your code.
You haven't even wired error to the subvi's with error terminals, this will cost you points.
Label any constants on the block diagram.
Brief description of Algorithm on each VI block diagram.
You could have avoided using local variables, for example Run Selector as this control is available in the cluster. So just a unbundle by name would have given you the value of that control. If you do use them, then make sure you state why (for example efficiency etc.) in a block diagram comment.
Some subVis are missing VI documentation, this wont be taken lightly.
Using default value when unwired (for your while loop stop) is not recommended. This was specifically discussed during a CLD preparation class I attended not so long ago.
While icons are pretty, I wouldn't waste time trying to find glyphs for your subvi's just consistent text based icon scheme is perfectly acceptable. You can do this if you do have extra time, it wont fetch your extra points though.
LabVIEW 2012 has sub diagram labels, you can enable this by default in Tools>>Options, adding comments in each of the cases is recommended.
The main thing is time management and make sure you read other posts/blogs on CLD. I would also recommend quick drop, if you haven't started using this it may not be a good idea to do so now for your exam next week. But in general it is very useful and saves time.
Hope this helps.
Beginner? Try LabVIEW Basics
Sharing bits of code? Try Snippets or LAVA Code Capture Tool
Have you tried Quick Drop?, Visit QD Community.

Please review my CLD practice exam

Hi all,
I'm working my nerve up to take the CLD. If anyone has the time, I'd appreciate some advice on style, test rules, etc. based on my solution to the Traffic Light sample exam.
Seemed a lot easier than the car wash exam. Is this an older exam? How do the real tests compare to the practice exams? Any advice is much appreciated.
-Barrett
-Barrett
CLD
Attachments:
Stop Light Controller.zip ‏53 KB

blawson wrote: would a simple error dialog be all I'd need for error handling?
-Barrett
Message Edited by blawson on 11-16-2009 10:12 AM
Generally speaking, I think that the error dialog should suffice. I don't think I'm violating the NDA in saying this... (My sincere apologies to NI training & certification if I am - please delete my post if that's true) On exams I usually do something a bit more complex, but it's probably overkill. I usually run a separate loop in parallel and send my errors over there via a queue. That way errors don't hang up the application. Still, I use the stock error dialog (one of the two) in my error handler loop. I don't think I've ever lost points for that, to my recollection.
Also, regarding typedefs: To avoid orphaned enums that should be typedefs, I wrote something backwards on my forehead with a marker. (OK, not really.) "If it's a cluster or an enum, make it a typedef." Following this rule, I always start out with a typedef to begin with and thereby avoid the problem. My experience is that this almost always saves you trouble later on.
Free advice, for what it's worth.
Jim

ATM CLD Practice Exam Example

Hello,
I am trying a somehow different architecture from what I am used to with the CLD ATM practice exam and I would appreciate any feedback. I am still hesitant about the "double queued message".
I'll appreciate your comments.
Regards.
Attachments:
ATM Simulator.zip ‏259 KB

Christian_M wrote:
I got the ATM in CLD Exam.
I think the code you posted is very good, but it is simply too much for CLD.
Don't try to create super-special-awesome architectures, instead use simple ones, e.g. I just used a statemachine which fullfills all the needs of the ATM. Keep in mind you only have four hours and with some exams you have lots of text to implement. More complex architectures are more difficulte do debug and there is not really time to debug.
So keep it simple!
Christian
Thank you Christian. Just yesterday I reworked this example using a simple state machine. Unlike with the architecture I posted here, with the simple state machine I had plenty of time to debug and test. So, you are probably right about keeping it simple. I guess I need to remember that the the CLD is a test and not a product to deliver to a client.

Best Sites for OCA Practice Exam

I'm preparing to take my OCA exam and wanted to purchase one of the practice exams. I have found a few sites (selftestsoftware.com, testking.com, etc). I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with any of these sites or could recommend any others.
Thanks,
Bill

FYI - I found this on DBASupport.com and I just purchased the bundle OCA/OCP for $89 from selftestsoftware.com.
If you become a member of Oracle Academic Initiative you can get SelfTest for half price (each practice exam is $50). When it ask you for your Institution, just enter in your local community college as it is spelled exactly (chances are it is an authorized Oracle Academic Initiative Institution) and agree to everything else. You have to order through OAI and your cart will reflect 50% off.
Bill
Message was edited by:
2Hip

CLD Practice exam

Could anyone offer up suggestions to better the code? I probably spent too much time getting it to work because when I stopped at four hours I realized I hadn't done half the commenting I wanted too.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.
-Ian
Attachments:
CLD Exam - Car Wash.zip ‏97 KB

-Put a description of your top-level VI under VI Properties/Documentation. An over-all description of what the program does.
-Use wire labels where appropriate (such as your shift registers).
-I would use some sort of error handling and make sure all your property nodes are wired through with the error clusters. This will also help with flow control since most of your property nodes are not wired to anything.
-Mark is correct in using the Use Default if Unwired on the tunnels. Although this is programmatically correct, I avoid using this just for the sake of clarity on what the default value is. Wire a default constant to these. The reason you may get dinged is it's not self-documenting.
-Your shift registers are uninitialized in your main loop. Was this your intention?
-In SetAllIndicatorsOff.VI there is no need for the Array Size function. You can use auto-indexing on your For loop. Or you can input your cluster and cycle through your cluster elements inside the For loop which will eliminate the need for the cluster to array function.
-In StationStepper.VI, your inner case structure does nothing.
-In DefaultWash.VI, the operation does not seem to agree with the documentation. The High Pressure Wash is enabled regardless of which wash setting is selected.
-In NeedStationOne.VI, like the unwired default for tunnels, wire constants to the index array function. Necessary? No, but it's easier to see what the default settings are for the function, in this case 0 and 1; although your description of the VI mentions nothing about these selections (Under Body Wash and Bug Remover).
-In TimeElapsed.VI, position your controls and indicators on the FP in the order they appear on the connector pane. This makes it easier to follow with the context help. Unless you're opening this VI during run, you don't have to worry about the look and feel of the FP. You could make this VI simpler by using an FGV.
-Editne last thought, make sure you create a project from the start.
All together your programming style is clean and well documented. I would definetly concentrate more on getting the documentation down right than proper operation, and as Mark stated, check your spelling. It makes it harder to understand what your intentions are.
Reese, (former CLAD, future CLD)
Some people call me the Space Cowboy!
Some call me the gangster of love.
Some people call me MoReese!
...I'm right here baby, right here, right here, right here at home

My Solution for CLD Sample Exam (Traffic Light)

Hi there folks,
I was just preparing for my CLD exam and was going through the sample exam provided on ni.com.
I wanted to get any feedback for my solution. I looked at the solution and it seemed way to complex
to achieve a simple task! Then again, I am still learning.
ThanX in advance.
Attachments:
Traffic Light1.zip ‏81 KB
Traffic Light2.zip ‏81 KB

About queues vs shift registers. Queues allow you the ability to insert elements into either end of the queue. You can also write code to insert several elements at one time. With shift registers, only one new element can be carried over to the next loop at one time.
Lets say you have a state machine that always executes in the same order, no matter what the outcome, like State1 then State 2 then State 3. A shift register works fine for this simple example. However with queues, you can use a loop to insert the 3 states before the main state machine loop, then dequeue in the state machine. This is really a matter of preference.
Next example. Lets say you had a situation where you want to run 3 states, but if the second one fails, you want to run 2 other states before going to the third one. You could use a shift register, and you would have to look at each state to see which is next. A queue would allow you to insert the 2 extra states in between states 2 and 3. Of if you want to exit on some failure during a state. You can use the queue to insert the exit state at the opposite end so that it is the next to be dequeued.
Another situation is if you allow the user to call certain actions that require running several states. When the user presses button A, you enqueue states 1,2,3. If the user presses button C you enqueue states 7,8,9. So now you have a state machine in which states are defined by some user action. This would be more difficult to do with a shift register.
There are many other situations where a queued state machine is better than just a simple shift register. For the simplest of situations, I might use a shift register only. But I like to make it a habit to always use queues because of their versatility, and for the fact that I can go back and upgrade a simple state machine to a more complex one easily if it is done with queues. Be sure to use shift registers on the queue error in and error out so that errors can be propogated from one state to the next. On each state, check the error status. If one occures, enqueue a state at the other end to jump to your error handling state (or exit).
- tbob
Inventor of the WORM Global

Recommendations for SCJP 6 practice exams

I everyone, I am new to this forum but I have gotten a lot of help from this forum so far. This is my first post. And please excuse me and direct me in the right direction if someone else has already asked and gotten an answer for this questions.
I am taking the SCJP 6 this AUG 4. I wanted to know what practice exam service shall I use (other than the two exams provided by SUN) if I want to get a taste of the real exam. I know there are many sites that provide practice exam packages, but I am afraid they might not be similar to how the actual SCJP 6 exam might look like. Please tell me your recommendations on what sites best depict the real exam scenarios.

Thank you for your reply, I will check out your recommendations, it certainly helps. But I would also like a recommendation for a practice exam service that I could subscribe to, meaning a portal that will provide me with many practice questions and I dont have to worry about whether they are similar to the questions in the real exam. I know there are services like Ucertify, pass4sure etc...if anyone has used these services could you please comment! Thank you all in advance

Hyperion Certification - Practice Exams?

I'm planning to take Hyperion Essbase and Planning certifications and preparing for them now.
My company is a Oracle Gold partner and I have checked in OPN and OTN for any practice exams
with some sample questions to get a feel of the certification tests and assess my preparation so far.
There is so much material in Oracle websites, I am wondering if such tests exists and if I missed them.
If anyone knows if such test exists, could you please share the link?
Thanks in advance.
H

If you are referring to the Oracle Essbase 11 Essentials, there are not sample questions for this exam. There are also no sample questions for the Oracle Hyperion Planning Essentials. Typically, if there are sample questions or practice exams available, they will be listed as links on the exam pages under the 'Additional Information & Resources' section.
Regards,
Brandye Barrington
Certification Forum Moderator

What is the best practice exam for 70-462 SQL 2012 DB Admin. exam?

Hi All,
I've completed the 70-462 exam prep guide from Microsoft press, i.e., I've read the book twice and practiced everything I could on my lab network (short of AlwaysOn and Clustering), including all the review questions and practice sections. Now I need
a practice exam and I'm wondering what success test-takers would suggest.
I saw Transcender's practice exam for 70-461 and it was less than what I expected. There were questions that didn't belong there and I don't want to waste my money on a practice exam that has a bunch of "filler" questions. It was the
first Transcender practice exam I've ever seen.
Thanks for any advice you can provide! I expect to take the exam in about 3 weeks.
Eric B.

Seriously, though, I've been studying this guide for nearly 6 months, don't have the money to re-test over and over, and would rather pay for a practice test than pay for the exam itself more than once.
Hi Eric,
In addition to Kalman’s post, based on my research, you can take a practice test for 70-462 from below link. Also, as is suggested in this
article, you can buy a practice test for Exam 70-462 from Kaplan SelfTest and MeasureUp.
http://www.accelerated-ideas.com/free-70462-practice-test.aspx#.VGRCzf6KCM8
Besides, about such issues, for quick and accurate response, I would like to recommend that you ask the question in the Learning forums at
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=CertGeneral . It is appropriate and more experts will assist you.
Thanks,
Lydia Zhang

Practice exam for 1Z0-146

Hi,
I was actually looking out for some good practice exams before i gave the actual 1Z0-146. It will be of great help if anyone can guide me about it.
Thanks.

user8775737 wrote:
Hi,
I was actually looking out for some good practice exams before i gave the actual 1Z0-146. It will be of great help if anyone can guide me about it.
Thanks.As you probably noticed the authorized exam provider (Kaplan IT trading as Transcender and SelfTestSoftware) do not currently appear to provide a test for 1z0-146
Most, if not all, practice exams you will see by searching on the web are unauthorised training material:
See: [http://blogs.oracle.com/certification/2009/05/the_route_you_choose.html]
Certguard will show that these are typically braindump websites [http://www.certguard.com] .... really you should only consider sites that are guarenteed non braindump.
There are a few sample questions (10) with the exam topics (I call these the beta exam rejects).
Basically you are your own with this. But at east by the time you are taking 1z0-146 you will have taken and passed 2 certiifcation exams at least anyway.
Rgds -bigdelboy.

Where can I get practice exams for MOS tests?

I would like to pass the four MOS exams one by one to obtain the MOS Master certification. I have been studying the Office Bible series books and MOS study guide.
Do you know where can I get practice exams?

I would not use the MCSE title but you could certainly write replacement for MCSE or explain that you have the latest equivalent. Employees (particularly HR departments) are often behind on qualifiication changes. Kind Regards,
Makaleler Gönder
I don't see how your post has anything to with my thread?
It's a SPAM post. We get a lot of them on this forumJeff Wharton
MSysDev (C.Sturt), MDbDsgnMgt (C.Sturt), MCT, MCPD, MCITP, MCDBA
Blog: Mr. Wharty's Ramblings
MC ID:
Microsoft Transcript
Please mark answered if I've answered your question and vote for it as helpful to help other user's find a solution quicker

Wich Practice exams are good for 1z0-042??

Transcender and Selftestsoftware seems to be the same exam ?? I download the demos and they seems too much like.
I bought Transcender, but I want one more practice exam to test. Anyone know good practice exams that I can buy ??
Anyone knows if Ucertify or Measureup is good ?

That's true,
but unfortunately when you 'do' the real exam you'll see how much of those testking questions are the same or almost the same like the questions from real exam, at least I found it that way...
I think that the best and the most effective thing is to give yourself a good concentrate reading the exam oriented books or subject oriented books combined with the practice on a real database.
After doing this for some time ,this aproach would definitly give You a big ROI for the efforts you put in exam preparation,
If not in a view of passing the exam, then in a view of valuable knowledge of topics covered by that exam.

Practice exams for 'Intro to Oracle9i SQL'

Hi,
I just finished the 'Introduction to Oracle9i SQL' book
and was hoping if anyone knows of any places where I may
be able to find some practice exams (1Z0-007)?
Or if anyone has any practice exams for the Oracle9i
DBA track that they could send me would be greatly
appreciated! My email address is: rwd1971(at)hotmail.com
Thanks IA,
Rick.
ps-I have already done the practice exams from Oracle.com

You can do a google search and download practice exams (they are generally text files) You will find a lot of questions in the exam from these practice exams.
PS:Sybex has a good book and practice test for 1Z0-007. I would definitely recommend it over Oracle Press 1Z0-007(author: Marisetti)

My stoplight.vi for CLD practice exam

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