Java 2 Exam Cram (Exam: 310-025) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written for the new or experienced Java developer seeking Sun programmer certification, Java 2 Exam Prep provides a concise and quite thorough review of the nuts and bolts of the Java programming language, along with an appealing mix of review questions and hands-on exercises.

The tour of the Java programming language provided in Java 2 Exam Prep naturally centers on the basics needed to complete certification. You'll get all the required details here, including everything from keywords, data types, and arrays to designing classes and using built-in APIs like AWT, Swing, and network classes.

But it's the review test questions that are probably the distinguishing feature of this book. Each chapter presents about 20 review questions. (Earlier sections generally have more, and later sections have a few less.) By the end of the book, any reader who carefully works through these problems will have a definite leg up on the certification exam. While other review books certainly provide sample Java questions, the range of quizzed material in Java 2 Exam Prep is a standout.

Each chapter also has short hands-on exercises. After reading about basic concepts and necessary APIs and trying out the test questions, you might discover holes in your Java knowledge. The exercises let you build knowledge in weaker areas. The layout of each chapter lets you concentrate on those areas that need the most work.

If the format of Java 2 Exam Prep is a winner, its pleasant tone and clearly presented review of essential material can help bring blurry topics into focus. Though the Java certification exams themselves are known for their sometimes arcane detail, the upfront style of Java 2 Exam Prep may be just what you need to review Java successfully and earn Java certification. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: The Java certification process, Java data types, installing the JDK, flow control, exceptions, arrays, class design, patterns, garbage collection, thread programming, AWT and JFC/Swing basics, layout managers, event handling, AWT and Java 2D graphics APIs, I/O, SmartCards, and servlet fundamentals. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Serves as the perfect complement to all study guides and training materials for the Sun Certified Java JDK 1.2 Programmer Exam. The best way to build confidence is through study of example questions similar to those on the real exam and this book will have numerous examples and a complete practice exam. Includes sections on proven test-taking strategies, warnings on trick questions, time-saving study tips, multiple-part question strategies, and shortcuts.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Coriolis Group Books (April 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576102912
• ISBN-13: 978-1576102916
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,199,909 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

175 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but should not be your only study resource, June 26, 2000

By	Subhra Bhattacharya (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

Yesterday I took the Java 2 Programmer test for the first time passed with a 93% score. I have several years of programming experience with structured and OO programming languages but not much of Java. My total Java experience is about a couple of months only.

The reason I like this book is its brevity. I believe a study guide should have two qualities : focus and brevity. This book has both. There are a lot of good Java books that provide general information. The reason you use a study guide for a specific exam is because you don't want to be distracted by material not needed in the exam.

My suggestions for succeeding in the test are :

1. Study very carefully the exam objectives provided by Sun Education at their website. This (and not the contents of any book) is the true exam 'syllabus'. Read between the lines and into the words in the objectives and try to find out what exactly they expect you to know. The objectives change too - the whole section on 'java.io' was added recently and therefore not covered properly in any study guide. I copied and pasted the objectives in a word document and then used it frequently to search for relevant words, (e.g to find out if the atan2 function in java.lang.Math is part of the syllabus).

2. Read a good general purpose book. Since the scope of study guides is narrow they will provide you with a lot of distilled information but will also miss out some. I read the following : a) The Java Programmig Language, 2nd ed. - Gosling, Arnold. Chs. 2 - 9 and 12 - 15 are relevant for the test. This is a very good book and provides a lot of information in very few pages. b) Graphic Java 1.1 - Geary. Chs 5 and 14 for AWT c) I referred to The java Lang. Specification, 2nd ed. - Gosling, Joy, .. as the final authority to resolve any doubts. This book is not a tutorial and may be used as a final reference.

3. Read chapters 1 - 10 of the Exam Cram book (the book under review) thoroughly and do all the practice questions.

4. Read the chapter on I/0 and the four chapters on AWT from the book The Complete Java 2 Certification Guide by Roberts, Heller and Ernest. The reason I did not read the rest of the book is because its bulk intimidated me and I found the Gosling book more convenient.

5. Study the JDK documentation (and code) for at least the following : java.lang.String, java.lang.Math, java.io (according to the objectives in this section). Remember, the objectives on I/O were not published when the study guides were written, so none of these books cover I/O properly. Also, there was a question in the test on the GridbagConstraints class. You should look this class up in the JDK.

6. Take the mock exam at the end of the Exam Cram book (the book under review). For some reason, the book sets a time limit of 90 min. while the actual test allows you 120 min. I think this might be a typo, but I kept the more stringent time anyway.

7. Make sure to take some mock exams available on the web. There are some that are free. I suggest the one available at the 'sarga' website. The reason why I do not recommend Jxam is that I found many of its questions were outside of the exam objectives, e.g., all questions on applets, HTML, JARs, etc.

8. Study the cutout sheet from the Exam Cram book just before the exam as suggested by the author.

The exam will require you to think a lot and analyze a lot of code. So sleep well the night before. Good luck.

76 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helped to "bring together" my test preparation, December 23, 1999

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

On December 15, 1999 I took the JAVA 2 Programmer Exam for the first time and passed with a score of 85. Although I've had exposure to simple OO concepts for about 10 years, I've only been involved with Java for a couple of months and preparing for the test seemed like a way to get a solid foundation in Java fundamentals.

The Java 2 "Exam Cram" really helped me to "bring together" the Java language and class library skills learned from other sources (most notably "The Java Programming Language" by Gosling et. al and the "The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide" by Roberts, et. al).

The "Exam Cram" really brings focus to the objectives that are required to pass the test. It also contains an EXCELLENT practice exam that gives the reader a very good idea of the methods the actual exam uses to ellicit your knowledge of Java. This is a key benefit, because one could be very fluent in certain aspects of Java and still not pass the real Exam because of the breadth of material involved.

I highly recommend this book as the "guiding resource" in the final days of your exam preparation.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is just the Exam "Cram" it promises to be., October 1, 2000

A Kid's Review

Hello all! The 28:th of September 2000 I passed the SCJP2 with score 88% on first try. This book was a great help for me to do it. It is just the Exam "Cram" it promises to be. It is NOT a beginners book. You need this book for fine tuning after you have the basics from another e.g. the "Java 2 Certification Study Guide".

PROS:

- It stresses the "hooks" that other books doesn't mention. Just such "hooks" are in the real exam. (Example what to watch out for in a switch statement). The book pin-points what to whatch out for common errors/misunderstandings.

- The test questions in each chapter have good quality (not too easy).

- Contains useful practical tips about how the test works. Tactics etc.

- Very good Mock exam in the end. As the author suggests you should have at least 75% on the appended exam.

- This book succeeds to be packed with useful information instead of just words. In around 300 pages you will get a very good understanding what is required of you to make it.

- Thin/low weight.

CONS:

- Evem though I had version 5 of the book it stil has some basic typos not mentioned in the correction page (be sure to read the correction page).

- Some topics like Threads, AWT and IO are mentioned briefly. But as said before this is a "Cram" book. For IO, AWT and Threads:

--I suggest as additions the book "Java 2 Certification Study Guide" plus the "real" Java 2 documentation from Sun and lots of test programs.

My way:

(I wanted to learn for life not just for the test.)

- Read the excellent Java2 Certification Study Guide thoroughly. (A biginners guide).

- Meanwhile make HEAPS of simple Java programs trying out things the book tries to teach.

- Run your programs in debug mode to get a real feeling for it.

- Make your own notes.

- Read the book under review thoroughly!

- Dive into the "real" Java2 documentation on some topics: IO, System, Strings.

- To be comfortable I also read the javsoft trail for Collections.

- Take a bunch of Mock Exams. You find a nice selection on: http://www.javaranch.com/maha/_Mock_Exams/_mock_exams.html I scored 17 on the 19 toughest questions exam on Bill Brogdens home page (http://www.lanw.com/java/javacert/)

- I got several good tips in the www.sarga.com mock exams. The questions are good but the answeres have quiet a few errors.

- I also found some really good hints in Mock Exam 3 by Marcus Green http://www.jchq.net/mockexams/exam3.htm

All glory to ICHTYS! Hans Gyllensten Switzerland ([e-mail])