Customer Reviews

SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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?

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.

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.

I studied this book for the Sun (now Oracle) Certified Java Programmer SE 6 exam (Exam 310-065). I thought I knew how to program in Java before but I found that I learned quite a lot from the book. It goes through the subjects covered on the exam and explains them and gives sample code.

There were a few times when I thought it could have been better organized, but overall the organization was OK. The main drawback I found was that there seemed to be a few details it left out. There were a number of times as I was doing the practice questions that I came upon some rule that had not been covered in the text. I even rescheduled my test because I was missing so many of the questions. That is the main reason why I'm giving it four stars and not five. In their defense, it is difficult to write a text that exhaustively covers everything in a language as large as Java. I did pass the test, but I'm just wondering if I could have passed the test earlier and with less time spent studying had they explained a few things a little better.

Despite a few small flaws, I ended up passing the test with an 85%, 27% more than the required 58%. The only training I did was studying this book, doing the practice questions, writing lots of sample programs, and occasionally looking at the online API. Oh, and I did consult another book about threads but I ended up not needing to because the questions on threads on the exam were not very hard. So this book did it's job. The questions on the test were easier than the book's practice questions.

I would recommend that someone wanting to pass the exam get this book, read it, take notes, and do lots of little programs as the authors recommend in the forward. Start by copying the sample code in the book, then tinker with it to see what happens when you change this thing or that thing. Then write a few of your own programs, changing various parts to see how it changes the output. And then take all the sample questions at the end of the book, and then do the sample quizzes and tests on the CD. Start the quizzes several weeks before the test, not a week before like I did, so you can have plenty of time to go back and study the areas where you are weak. When you miss a question, find out why you missed it, and go back later after you have forgotten the specific answers and try it again. And don't stress too much because like I said I found the actual test to be easier than their practice questions. If you combine careful study of this book with writing code and doing the quizzes, you will almost certainly pass the test.

An excellent, effective Java guide that I would recommend even without regard for the certification. It has all you need to know to pass - just make sure you go through the end-of-chapter quizzes.

The book seems great for reading, but the nitty gritty of this book (practice exams, training) are all in .exe- which are windows extensions. I was expecting to find 2 types of files. Did I miss something in the description of this book that the CD only works on Windows?

NOTE TO AMAZON: Please put the requirements of the CD install in your description!!!! It isn't until you unseal the CD, load it up, that you see a Readme.txt file that states the System requirements are only for Windows. Frankly, my main purpose for buying this book was the for the training and practice exams.

So, if you have a Mac, this will not run unless you download something to allow .exe to run on Macs- which I find almost the opposite of what the Java language has been pushing- it runs on all platforms. Why does the author assume only Windows users will be needing to learn Java? Bad, Bad, Bad....

Unfortunately, I read a few chapters, did some highlighting before loading the CD. Therefore, I cannot return it. Hopefully, this review will spare some Mac users.

This could have been a great book, if only the authors and publisher had paid more attention to quality control.

First, the good:

The book covers everything you need to know to pass the exam, including advice on preparing for the exam, and a fairly detailed description of the exam itself. The language is clear and precise, with occasional attempts at humor which unfortunately fall flat more often than not.

The accompanying CD contains not only the full text of the book, but eight additional chapters on the SCJD exam, which as far as I can tell are not available in print.

Then the bad:

There are numerous typographical errors, both in the text and in the exercises. The text is sometimes ambiguous due to inconsistent use of monospace for keywords and class / variable / method names.

There are also errors in the index.

The exercises at the end of each chapter are riddled with errors. Some questions are impossible to answer correctly due to errors in the question itself or in the offered alternatives. At least one requires knowledge of material which is not covered by the book.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the electronic version of the book found on the accompanying CD is awkward to use, due to being split into separate files for each chapter, which makes it difficult to search the entire book.

The CD also includes two test exams, with the option of registering online for a third. The user interface for these exams is extremely uncomfortable, especially on a high-resolution screen. The main window is small--sometimes too small to hold the question and the choices--and can not be resized or maximized. The small proportional font, black-on-gray color scheme and lack of vertical space make the questions hard to read, even with 20/20 vision.

The test exams do not include any drag-and-drop questions, which according to the book constitute 20-25% of the actual exam; the book itself has only three, out of approximately 150 exercises.

As in the book, some questions are impossible to answer correctly due to errors in the text.

I'm sure the authors and publisher spent a lot of time and effort on the companion CD. If only they had spent that time on proofreading instead, this could have been a great book, instead of a mediocre one with a nearly useless companion CD.

This book really help in succeeding in the OCJP exam, I got 90%. If you can score high in the mock exams or in the simulator, you are ready to take the real exam.

This book has been a classic and it will help even after taking the exam. This book and Mughal and Rasmussen's are the two books I recommend a lot for practicing for the real exam.

I think this is the first review I have given to any book so far bought from Amazon:

This was the first book I ever read from start to end(2nd one is Head first Servlets and JSPs). I am not a good reader an am more into class room lectures. This book is exactly what I am into. It gives you a feeling of being in a class room and answers all the queries that come to your mind within 1-2pages.

I have cleared SCJP only by reading this book and _ONLY_ this book.

You don't need any other book to clear SCJP. (it is a complete reference).
+points:

* Very simple English.(Something that non-native speakers would love)
* Very much class oriented.(give you a feeling as if you are being taught in a classroom)
* Good humor.(one that i remember: "You are an object, get used to it." :))

The book arrived in excellent condition, is the best book I've read to certify Java, everything is explained very easily, the exercises are very practical and understandable