Hello, I'm very new to Salesforce platform development, I feel sufficiently confident to pass something like the 'app builder' cert but I'm looking into the developer certification. I appreciate that I have quite a few areas that require clarity, so if any of you are able to answer one or two of these, I would be very appreciative.

There are a few areas in the study guide exam outline (that I may have already read up on) but would like to receive some clarification as to what they are specifically referring to, in order to improve preparation for my upcoming exam.

Data Modelling and Management
"Given a set of requirements, determine the appropriate data Model" - Could someone please provide an example of a data model requirement, is it referring to when standard/custom objects should be utilised?

"Describe the impact of schema design and modifications on Apex Development" - Is this referring to Schema Builder, the Schema class or something i'm unaware of?

Logic and Process Automation
"Describe how to programmatically access and utilize the object schema" - As above, I presume it's not talking specifically about the Schema class... but what is it?

"Describe the relationship between Apex Transactions" - Is this purely referring to the order of execution?

"Describe the programmatic techniques to prevent security vulnerabilities" - Is this specific reference to sharing rules and Access modifiers or are there any other topic areas?

"Describe how Apex impacts the ability to make declarative changes" - I know the implications of Apex, from controllers to business logic but this objective doesn't sound clear enough, are they talking about creating new buttons and overriding standard functionality?

Testing
"Describe when and how to use various sources of test data" - I understand this one, but what are the key signifiers between when to use @testSetup vs. importing and using Static resources?


English is my first language, so it's not a language barrier issue, it's simply a matter of clarity. I've read 80% of both the Visualforce and Apex documentation, as well as the force.com migration tool and dev lifecycle documentation. I've completed the Trailheads and undertaken my first attempt at this exam and am feeling fairly confident but am looking to consolidate my final loose ends in this outline before my next attempt.

Thanks in advance,