The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Simon Roberts (Author), Philip Heller (Author), Michael Ernest (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Sun Java certification is no picnic, so a thorough study guide is essential. Look no further than The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide for formal, structured preparation. This bulky title offers comprehensive coverage of the objectives you must master to pass both the Programmer's Exam and the more demanding Developer's Exam.

Written by a trio of Sun Java course instructors, this book uses a straightforward bottom-up approach, starting with core syntax of Java and moving into progressively more graphical and sophisticated aspects of development. The familiar textbook style makes the title very suitable for self-paced study, even if you're not shooting for certification.

Each chapter includes a test, and the answers are explained. The authors use code snippets that are not overwhelming in length to keep their readers focused on the concept at hand. A large portion of the rear of the book is devoted to a Java 2 API reference, and the CD-ROM features a test limit to help you get psyched for the big exam. If you've got the time and dedication to master the material, this fine guide is all you need to get Sun's stamp of approval as a developer. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered: Java language fundamentals, objects and classes, event management, components, graphical user interfaces, database integration, thread management, and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).

Product Description
Sun Microsystems (the creator of Java) has two Java Certification Exams--one for programmers and one for developers. This Study Guide is the ultimate authority for both of the Sun Certification Tests! The lead author of Sybex's The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide actually developed the exams for Sun. Not only was Roberts the key player in the concept, strategy, and implementation of the test guidelines, he also developed the questions. The Study Guide is organized according to the exam objectives defined by Sun. Every single objective is covered, reinforced with sample questions and annotated answers. The book has a stamp of approval from the Sun Education Team and includes a CD with an exclusive Java exam test engine.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 885 pages
• Publisher: Sybex Inc; Bk&CD Rom edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782127002
• ISBN-13: 978-0782127003
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (237 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,151,330 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

370 of 373 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars May be Ultimate - but not ultimately enough, December 16, 1999

By	Brian Bowman (Abingdon, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Yesteday, I took the JAVA 2 Programmer Exam for the first time and passed with a very comfortable margin. This text helped alot and I do recommend it. However, I have to say that the real EXAM is MUCH more difficult then the practice questions in this book. The actual EXAM (at least the version I took) requires you to think though scenarios that are not obvious, even from the "strict" information provided in this book. If you want confidence to pass the test on the first try, I would do the following:

1) Read the Gosling book "The Java Programming" Language" and code many of the examples for youself. Use a good Java IDE to step though the code and understand what it does and how variables inside specific objects change.

2) Work through many of the AWT examples from the Java Tutorial (Books or WEB) using an IDE as above.

3) Thoroughly study "The Java 2 Exam Cram" by Bill Brogden AND do his mock EXAM - it's more difficult than the one in the book being reviewed.

4) Take some WEB based mock exams (like MindQ) and/or even purchase the gEs: Java Exam simulator.

Tests are kind of subjective in many ways. Some people are better test takers then others. I highly recommend a multi-faceted approach to preparing for this exam - especially if you want to really understand Java ... and not just pass the test.

I would also say that including the Java 2 API reference at the back of this book is pretty useless and adds signifcantly to the cost AND the WEIGHT of this book. The Java Developer's Almanac 1999 is the best concise desktop reference for the JAVA 2 API that I've seen.

158 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too big, too bulky, does not contain enough *important* info, February 3, 2000

By	Andras Cser (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

I just passed the exam today with 80%.

DO NOT USE THIS BOOK *ONLY* FOR YOUR PREPARATION.

If you do, and you feel you understand everything in the book, the actual exam is going to be a big shock like it was for me for the first time when I took the exam. Like expressed by other reviewers, this book gives you the *false* feeling that you are ready to pass the exam - even if you read the whole thing. Repeat, if you feel you know everything in this book, you are most likely going to score an average of 50-60% on the real exam, which is not yet a passing score. Its lengthy style is very comprehensive, but you are much better off using your time wisely if you are trying to use this book only to *complement* the Java 2 Exam Cram by Bill Brogden. This book is particularly missing important elements and required knowledge on:

. Constructors . Inner classes . Interfaces . Utility classes (both old and new) . Java IO . Java Event Model . Casting and converting

All of the above are critical to pass the exam. Somehow this book strikes me as a book written by class instructors, not programmers (this is even mentioned in the "Introduction"), so a lot of Java hands-on experience is missing for me from it. There would be a lot more (perhaps one line) code snippets in the book to illustrate right and wrong concepts, valid and invalid lines. Sometimes this book fails to shed light on some class/interface hierarchies your will have to *know* (not just understand) to pass the exam. The book is not updated enough from Java 1.1 to Java 2. Also, do not even waste time on CD-ROM. It only contains low level questions already in the book.

I believe if you take the certification exam, you should have some Java programming experience. Write a small, but real application. This book - falsely - tries to lull you into the feeling of having that experience by explaining everything in lengthy, comfortable detail. This is NOT what is required of you at the examination: you will have to be able to answer test questions quickly and accurately.

Here's the method that worked for me after trying and failing the exam with this book only: Buy the Bill Brogden Java 2 Exam CRAM book. Make notes of it as you read it cover to cover, complement your notes with some of the AWT implications from this book, use Java 2 API documentation on GridBagLayout and the new Collection and Map interfaces which do come up in the real exma. Then learn your notes *by heart*. (There is a lot of stupid method signatures you will have to remember, some of which are not documented in either book, only in the Java2 API.) Make sure you download all the mock exams available on the internet and use Jxam (a freely available testing tool with hard enough questions, none of the others I found were hard enough compared to the real one) to test yourself. Write small example programs to grasp the concepts behind test questions. Modify and understand why and how they can be modified still to compile and run (and not to compile and/or not to run). If you can score about 80-90% with Jxam, you are likely to pass the real exam. Good luck.

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real review from someone who's read the book, December 12, 2000

By	Mr Steve Ferris (Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide: Programmer's and Developers Exams (With CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

Amazed at the negative reviews for this book I thought I would set matters straight. This book is the one and only book I recommend to my students who want to take Java Certification. Why? Because it was written by the people who wrote the examinations! They don't give you the answers directly, but you can bet all the answers are in this book somewhere.

The certification examinations are wide ranging in topic and sometimes the questions are quite esoteric even for knowledgeable Java programmers. Although on the face of it this book gives "useless messages" as another review puts it, lets qualify that statement. If the message is going to be in the exam then the it is far from useless. If the message takes up half the damn page to get the point across then perhaps the point is important? Perhaps the reviewer has not yet taken the exam?

If you are studying for the either the programmer or developer certifications in Java, you have many choices of books to use. I have both certifications and enterprise architect. I speak from experience. There is only one book where is clear, concise and complete. This one.