SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065 [Hardcover]

Katherine Sierra (Author), Bert Bates (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071591060 | ISBN-13: 978-0071591065 | Publication Date: June 24, 2008 | Edition: 1

The Best Fully Integrated Study System Available--Written by the Lead Developers of Exam 310-065

With hundreds of practice questions and hands-on exercises, SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide covers what you need to know--and shows you how to prepare--for this challenging exam.

• 100% complete coverage of all official objectives for exam 310-065
• Exam Objective Highlights in every chapter point out certification objectives to ensure you're focused on passing the exam
• Exam Watch sections in every chapter highlight key exam topics covered
• Simulated exam questions match the format, tone, topics, and difficulty of the real exam

Covers all SCJP exam topics, including:

Declarations and Access Control · Object Orientation · Assignments · Operators · Flow Control, Exceptions, and Assertions · Strings, I/O, Formatting, and Parsing · Generics and Collections · Inner Classes · Threads · Development

CD-ROM includes:

• Complete MasterExam practice testing engine, featuring: Two full practice exams; Detailed answers with explanations; Score Report performance assessment tool
• Electronic book for studying on the go
• Bonus coverage of the SCJD exam included!

Bonus downloadable MasterExam practice test with free online registration.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kathy Sierra is a co-developer of the SCJP exam and Sun's practice exam. She is also a Sun Certified Java Instructor and the founder of the world's largest Java certification website, Javaranch.com.

Bert Bates is a Sun Certified Programmer for Java and has participated in the development of the SCJP exam and Sun's practice exam. He is the coauthor, with Kathy Sierra, of the previous editions of this book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 851 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071591060
• ISBN-13: 978-0071591065
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Java
  • #36 in Books > Computers & Technology > Certification
  • #64 in Books > Education & Reference > Education > Study Guides

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, lousy e-book, August 15, 2008

By 

Shazam's Pimped RV (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065 (Hardcover)

Readable, approachable, perhaps even to a fault, this study guide does a good job of describing and preparing a ready for the SCJP exam. The book occasionally obsesses on what I'd call trick questions which delve a little too deeply into syntactic molasses. Concepts like multi-dimensional arrays, run-time versus compile-time, and variable arguments are often tested in a single question.

I took one star away for the CDROM content, specifically the e-Book. The content looks like it came directly from a Distiller-like product with zero treatment at all. A html "Table of Contents" is unreasonably course. It only list chapters. An index is unavailable. The e-book is split by chapter. Security prevents cutting or pasting, printing, or re-distilling into a one-stop searchable monolithic source. So really, the e-book has been castrated into something completely unusable. In short, why bother?

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oracle now owns Sun--exam changes afoot?, February 18, 2010

By 

Nils Kelly (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065 (Hardcover)

I bought this book several months ago and finally spent enough time plowing through it to be ready to take the exam. Which I took today and passed. Glad that's out of the way, as it's a really obnoxious exam. (I took the 1.4 version in 2006.)

Many of the test questions rely on misdirection/trickiness, as opposed to getting plainly at your understanding of Java itself. Several questions only test brute memorization of APIs. There are not enough questions, so the categorical results given to you afterwards have little meaning (50% in concurrency! Meaning probably 2 out of 4 questions--on a topic covered in 80 pp in the book!). You can get for example 3 possibilities correct out of 7, but miss a 4th, so get the whole question wrong. At least they have drag-and-drop now, which they didn't have in the 1.4 exam.

It is, in short, a poor design. Given that, this book does do a good job of preparing you for the mess. The book mentions "toughening you up" for the exam and I think that's accurate. One problem is that there is no published errata, and the errata, particularly in the mock exams will drive you crazy. The website Java Ranch is a good place to check when something seems like a typo.

There's really no short cut to 1.) reading the thing front to back 2.) going through the questions and answers at each chapter's end 3.) going through the provided mocks and 4.) writing dozens of little programs that mimic the points in the mocks.

But be aware: Oracle now owns Sun, and has announced a new "Sun Java Programmer Plus Certification", which they call Sun's first "performance-based" Java certification exam. It's apparently in beta. It may make this version of the SCJP 6 obsolete. Good riddance I say!

So, if you haven't signed up with Sun to take the SCJP 6 yet, and haven't bought this book yet, it may be worth holding off until the dust settles. Currently they're saying they'll have a beta version of the new exam ready in March 1, 2010. That seems a bit too quick. The cost of this exam (SCJP) has doubled since 2006, to $300, so it may be worth waiting to take this "Plus" version instead. It's hard to find info about the beta on the Oracle site, though you can follow news at Java Ranch in the SCJP forum, under the topic Regarding SCJP Plus. Those guys are on it like rats on cheese.

Of course where would any certification exam be without its associated lucrative cottage industry of prep books! They may delay release of a new test, until they have big fat exam books like this one ready to publish.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent way to reacquaint with basic comp sci topics, August 7, 2008

By 

Ian Wright (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065 (Hardcover)

Even if you're not interested in becoming an SCJP, this is a wonderful book for reviewing basic concepts that may have become a little foggy with time.

One of the nice things about Java is that their certs are really about programming and OO. I took and passed the Java 2 exam many years ago and it was tough compared to the Microsoft (MS) exams I did for VB6 and later, when I got my MCAD in C# technologies.

The authors are a little cutesy sometimes and this might annoy some, but the material is dry and benefits from some light humor. The review questions are really good and are tricky enough that they will make you re-think and review several times before stumbling off to a testing center.

Sun's objectives are covered section by section and the authors address very thoroughly the goals/requirements using examples that can be typed easily into your favorite IDE.

:( The sad part about the SCJP is that more employers in my city (Atlanta) don't put any stock in them. If you're finding the same blank stares from recruiters when you mention the SJCP, then don't despair. You can still benefit by having this book close by, as a reference and as a source for technical interview questions.