Customer Reviews

Java 2 Programmer Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram CX-310-035)

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My study for the exam consisted of:

1) sit sample test 1 from the book (scored 58%)
2) read a chapter of the book, skimming the easy bits but writing test code to demonstrate any interesting/surprising language features.
3) do the questions that appear at the end of the chapter.
4) repeat 2 & 3 for all chapters
5) sit sample test 2 from the book (scored 90%)

This allowed me to pass the exam with a 88% score.

While this book was my primary study tool, I also made frequent use of the online library Javadocs and the book 'Java in a Nutshell' to provide supplementary detail.

Overall I thought the book was pretty good, my biggest complaint would be that the answers for the chapter questions are right under each question making it *much* too easy to accidentally see the answer. I also felt the threading coverage was a little weak.

I'm an experienced developer, it could be that someone with less experience needs more detail.

Not everyone seeking certification is new to Java and object oriented programming. For more experienced developers, it can often be tedious to wade through a certification guide suitable for the Java beginner. It is this audience that is particularly well served by Brogden and Green's book.

This book is concise. There is little effort wasted in going into more detail than necessary in the explanation of concepts the reader should already be familiar with. What you get is the information needed to pass the exam, and little else.

Among the highlights are test taking tips, handy alerts which stress material likely to be covered by exam questions, where to go to find additional resources, and a tear-out "Cram Sheet" presenting a condensed collection of relevant facts. The book comes with a CD containing practice tests and an electronic version of the text.

Each chapter concludes with a set of sample questions testing the material taught in that chapter. Two comprehensive example tests round out the book. This brings up my only real complaint, which is that the end-of-chapter questions have the answer immediately following each question, instead of in a separate section away from the questions.

If you are an experienced OO or Java developer planning to take the exam, or if you are seeking a companion for another exam guide, this is the book for you. The included electronic version of the book is very much appreciated and something more publishers should take note of.

This was not my primary study guide as I highly recommend the Sierra title, but it is a solid effort. The questions and practice exams are well worth it and it is concise. Some in depth explanations are lacking, and if you are trying to understand polymorphism and casting, you should augment what you read here. I think it is always good to have a couple of books when going for certification because each book may stress or explain something different. Many times, that gives you a three dimensional look at material that begins to really make sense. If you have a study guide already, pick this one up as well. It is compact and loaded with information and practice questions that are of excellent quality. I passed using this and the Sierra book primarily and can only recommend it.

I would not rely exclusively on this book to get you through the Java exam unless you have some significant practical experience with Java to cover the stuff you won't find here.

There are some things missing in this book...simple stuff even like anonymous array creation. And everything else, as the title says, is crammed: about 10 pages per topic. Annoyingly however there is some stuff in this book that isn't in the exam objectives: eg. static intialization blocks...

I found the tests in the book were somewhat misleading of my current knowledge: they are fairly easy, so they flatter to deceive to a certain extent. ALso of annoyance are the topic tests at the end of each chapter: these are quite good in themselves, but each one has the answer straight after it. SO it's hard to avoid seeing it and the remedy: using a peice of paper to cover it and another the page next to it so you can't see and memorize the answer to the questions over there is a little demeaning. Seriously...it shows poor oversight and miserliness...what's a couple of more pages and put the answers in one section at the end of each chapter? A small gripe but nonetheless an important one.

The CD contains an exam where some of the questions cover material that isn't in the exam objectives: I hit one question on Iterator Methods! This is absurd!

I recommend Kathy Sierra's Book (she helped create the test!) instead of this and also reading the Java Language Specification to find out all the rules, nuances and quirky behavior that makes Java the language we all love- and love to hate because of this Exam (but what's life without a challenge?)

Also: to these people who like to post their test scores as vindication of a book: why do this? Firslty anybody cna make up a number or lie about having done the test. Secondly, god knows how much of your life you've spent on Java. So unless you give a fair assessment of your knowledge --book and then book++ it really doesn't mean much....just a thought.

I should've written this review a long time ago. When my company required all it's java developers to get certified I grabbed this book and studied it for a month part time after work.

I passed the test the first time I took it. All I needed were Starbucks coffee, this book and a compiler and the rest was easy. This book will give you the knowledge you need to pass the test. If you fail the test after reading this book, then you probably didn't study all of it. The book tells you the exact topics that will be covered in the test.

This can be a good supplement to "Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2" by Sierra and Bates.

Too many typos in the practice exams (such as the upper-case 'I' in question 15 of Exam 1) make this a risky choice for the exam. You certainly don't need confusion when trying to study for this exam. The content is good though and it seems to targetthe necessary concepts.

In general books from this series are excellent for pre-exam, last minute review of your knowledge. Chapters are short, but full of the most important info, with questions and answers at the end of each chapter.