SCJD Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition (Expert's Voice in Java)

Head First Design Patterns

Certification

SCJP Exam for J2SE 5: A Concise and Comprehensive Study Guide for The Sun Certified Java Programmer Exam

Format: Paperback
Author: Paul Sanghera
ReleaseDate: 30 May, 2006
Publisher: Apress
Rating:

Simply Excellent
I have always wondered why such a book did not exist. This is an excellent book, and the only book that you can use to learn Java programming basics while preparing for the exam. After all, who can determine better than Sun, a basic course in Java, and Sun does it by determining the SCJP exam objectives. This book is like a course in basic Java programming within the scope of the SCJP exam objectives. The author combines the two tasks (teaching basic Java programming and preparing you for the SCJP exam) very successfully without going beyond the scope of the exam objectives (Chapter 1 is the only extra addition). He does it by shuffling the exam objectives around and by using his classroom kind of presentation style. There is a perfect logical flow throughout the book: I love the way the material is presented and how all the concepts are clearly defined. It has removed many ambiguities, doubts, and confusions that I had about some concepts.

My favorite features:
* Complete code examples that are discussed in the book and available for download.
* Exam's Eye View section in each chapter to emphasize on important concepts discussed in the book.
* A complete practice exam with detailed answers and the code examples related to questions in the exam.
* Exam Quick Prep that you can use quickly go through just before the exam
* Analysis about the upgrade exam.

The beginners can find Appendix A handy that gives step by step demonstration on how to set up the Java 5 development environment on your machine. Also, there are enough visuals, bullet points, notes, and cautions to make the material stick.
I highly recommend this book.

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Great Java 5 Programming Book
Now I would like to get certification for J2SE 5. I already have the SCJP certification for an older Java version. So I bought this book. Like the SCBCD Exam Study Kit by the same author, this book explains all the concepts in a way that is easy to read and understand. I especially like the complete code examples that I'm experimenting with and the Exam's Eye View section that highlights the important concepts. The Exam Quick Prep Appendix is also cool. Will be helpful to skim through important points before the exam. Visuals, tables, notes, cautions are all in right amount and very helpful.

I especially recommend this book to those who are relatively new to Java programming. The material is precented in such a way so that even if you are a beginner, you will not have any problem in following the book. This is the only SCJP book that does not require any prior Java programming experience.
Exam or no exam, I recommend this book to all the Java programmers, especially the beginners and the intermediate.

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Great Book: He Did It Again
Previously, I used Dr. This is a great SCJP certification book which can also be used to learn basic Java programming. Sanghera's SCBCD Exam Study Kit (from Manning) to pass my SCBCD exam, and liked that book very much. Now, I have read this book from cover to cover to upgrade my SCJP certification, and I would say: He did it again!
I myself have always wondered, if SCJP is the first real Java programming certification, then why people have to buy one book to learn Java programming and another book to pass the certification. Well, this book is the answer to this question: you don't have to. With this book, you can learn basics of Java programming while preparing for the exam. It presents the material in a logical learning sequence: like a training session or a classroom course. I love the author's style: same in both books. Each concept is explained where it appears for the first time, and there si a perfect flow. So it's not an exam cram, and there is no hopping from topic to topic. But yet each chapter and each section in a chapter is focussed on exam objectives.
Here are some features that I liked:
1. Unlike SCBCD exam, SCJP exam is code intensive. Recognizing this fact, the book presents complete runnable code examples discussed in all chapters. You can download these programs, and execute them, and experiment with them to get comfortable with the code.
2. The Exam Quick Prep appendix is very useful to recap all the important points for the last hour preparation before taking the exam.
3. There is no CD, but a complete practice exam with detailed answers is given as an Appendix.
4. I also like the appendix that provides the useful information and analysis for updating a previous SCJP certification to J2SE 5.

If you are an advanced programmer, of course you can still use the book because it is very focussed on the exam objectives. just ignore chapter 1.
I recommend this book to all Java programmers who either want to pass the SCJP exam, or learn basic Java programming, or both.
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