Product Description

Within A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification: A Comprehensive Primer, relevant topics are covered, such as using threads, building GUI with AWT and Swing components, rendering graphics, implementing applets, handling I/O streams, generating documentation using Javadoc and much more. Written for anyone with previous programming experience (although not necessarily in Java), this books comprehensive coverage of the basic and the advanced features of the language make it as useful for experienced Java programmers aiming at certification, as for programmers learning Java for the first time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #582886 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

From the Back Cover

To pass the Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform 1.4 exam (SCPJ2 1.4) you need this book. It is written for any experienced programmer (with or without previous knowledge of Java) interested in mastering the Java programming language and passing the SCPJ2 1.4 exam.

A Programmer's Guide to Java™ Certification, Second Edition, contains detailed coverage of all exam topics and objectives, helpful code examples, exercises, review questions, and several full practice exams. In addition, as a comprehensive primer to the Java programming language, this book is an invaluable reference tool for the reader.

This new edition has been thoroughly updated to focus on the latest version of the exam (CX-310-035). In particular, it contains more in-depth explanations of the syntax and usage of core language features that are now emphasized on the exam. The accompanying CD contains a version of the SCPJ2 1.4 Exam Simulator developed by Whizlabs Software, which includes several mock exams and simulates the exam-taking experience. The CD also contains the complete source code for all the examples, and solutions to the programming exercises.

What you will find in this book:

About the Author

Khalid A. Mughal is an associate professor at the Department of Informatics at the University of Bergen, Norway. During his extensive career, he has designed and implemented many courses on Java, object-oriented system development, and compiler techniques. He has also given seminars for the IT industry. He is the principal author of Java Som Forste Programmeringssprak (Java as a First Programming Language) published by Cappelen Akademisk Forlag, 2002.

Rolf W. Rasmussen is a system developer at Vizrt, a company that develops real-time graphics systems for TV, films, and the Web. Previously, he has worked on clean room implementations of the Java class libraries. He is coauthor, with Professor Mughal, of Java Som Forste Programmeringssprak.

0201728281AB07152003

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"We have written A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification to allow the reader to master the Java programming language. Mastering the language should naturally culminate in the practical goal of passing the Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform exam. In addition to preparing the reader thoroughly for the exam, this book also provides comprehensive coverage of all the essential Java features and core Application Programming Interfaces that every proficient Java programmer should master." The authors

What you will find in this book: * Extensive coverage of ALL the objectives defined for the Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform exam. * Easy to follow structure with chapters organized according to the exam objectives as laid out by Sun * Summaries which clearly state and differentiate the exam objectives and the supplementary objectives to be covered in each chapter * A list of Sun's objectives for the Programmer exam, and a guide to taking the exam * Numerous exam-relevant review questions to test understanding of each major topic, with annotated answers * A complete mock exam with NEW questions (not repeats of review questions) * Programming exercises at the end of each chapter, with solutions * Ample code examples to illustrate concepts, which have been compiled and thoroughly tested on multiple platforms * Screen shots which illustrate how the examples would look when run * Numerous illustrations which use the standard diagramatic notation, UML * An introduction to basic terminology and concepts in object-oriented programming * Advice on how to avoid common pitfalls in mastering the language * Platform independent coverage - platform specific details are provided where relevant

Additional but relevant topics are also covered, such as using threads, building GUI with AWT and Swing components, rendering graphics, implementing applets, handling I/O streams, generating documentation using Javadoc and much more

The accompanying web site includes a mock exam engine; complete source code for all the examples and the programming exercises, with solutions; links to important resources (web browsers, JDK, BDK and integrated development environments for Java); updates; additional review questions; and more....

Written for anyone with previous programming experience (although not necessarily in Java), this book's comprehensive coverage of the basic and the advanced features of the language make it as useful for experienced Java programmers aiming at certification, as for programmers learning Java for the first time.

Customer Reviews

Highle recommend it
I passed the Java 2 certification exam on first attempt. And I owe this convincing success to this book. The Java 2 certification exam mainly tests language fundamentals. This book covers fundamentals very very thoroughly. The chapters on difficult topics such as Threads and Inner classes are also very well written (not just glossed over as in some other books). The book is written is a simple and rigorous style, with no plaff! It is very easy to read and to understand. There is no wastage - of paper or words (like some other books in the market!) and very few typos. I found the code examples to be adequate and complete. The review questions are representative of the exam questions and a shade tougher, making the actual exam seem almost easy. The answers to the review questions are annotated leaving in no doubt the reason for the choice of answers and this I found to be very useful. The mock exam provided in the appendix has an interesting collection of questions - some of them are quite tricky. I just wish that the mock exam was provided on a CD, in a simulated exam environment. All in all an excellent first book for preparing for the Java 2 certification exam. Armed with this book and taking a few of the simulated mock exams available on the net will make passing the exam quite easy. Actually, this book is excellent for understanding Java language fundamentals that I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a sound introduction to the language!!

Extremely thorough
This book is full of information and covers each topic in great detail. For the novice, I suggest that one use this book along with Bruce Eckel's Thinking in Java. Both combined make an excellent resource for the certification exam.

Pros: 1> The coverage on language fundamentals, inner classes, overriding, overloading, and event delegation model is excellent. The explanation is clear and concise. There is a steady flow from one concept to another. 2> The best part of the book is that it has review questions after every 10 pages or so. The questions are very tough but then they really test you for thorough understanding of the concepts. 3> The book with its thorough analysis of the Java language can be daunting at times (enough to give up the exam preparation). This is both a pro as well as a con of the book.

Cons: 1> AWT and I/O is better covered in Roberts' Complete Guide to Java 2 certification book. 2> Additional topics on Swing and Javadoc are not part of the exam curriculum.

Suggestions: 1> The mock exam in the book is much tougher than the real exam. 2> Take all the mock exams on the internet. See the site www.jchq.net

From a non-professional programmer's standpoint
This review is written for readers who are in similar situation as mine.

My background:

-My experience with Java was minimal (2 University classes). -I didn't have work experience in Java.

My thoughts on the book:

This book covers everything you need for the Java 2 exam. It even covers topics such as Javadoc and Swing. You are told if a chapter is related to the exam objectives or not - the author categorizes the chapters' objectives (and sub objectives) into Main or Supplemental ones so you can skip a chapter (or a section) that you don't need for certification purposes.

The wording is concise and straight to the point. The terminologies and notations are based on the standards used in the industry (UML is used extensively in this book). The chapters are not closely tied so you can jump from one to another pretty easily. The concepts are defined and explained very thoroughly (important for certification) - this is the strongest selling point of this book. The practice questions and the mock exams are very good (make sure you do the written mock exam at the back of the book) and they expose one's weaknesses in the language quite effectively.

The book's website has corrections and a mock exam engine.

This book helps you master the language concepts in addition to passing the exam.

My preparation:

I took 3 months of 4-5 hour nights to study the material in this book. I have another book but that book looks like kindergarden material once you've read Khalid's book.

I did more than 15 mock exams and experimented with codes to clear my doubts.

My result:

Passed with 90%

Hope this helps.