Scjp Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide: Exam 310-065 [With CDROM]

First of all, it worked. I studied until I knew the content of this book, and I passed the exam. I scored 52/60, the minimum passing score was 35/60. But more than that, I learned a lot. I understand generics, inner classes, and concurrency much better than I had from other books and tutorials. Bates and Sierra have a knack for presenting complicated concepts (or syntax) in an enjoyable and easily understandable way. The tone can be whimsical at times, which may not suit some, but these authors are very serious about covering all of the material you need for the exam in a thorough and approachable way. Each of the ten chapters has challenging review questions, and the book comes with three full computer tests. By the time you have come to understand the correct answers to all of these, you will be ready for anything that the real exam could throw at you.

The book has excellent content. Not only does it do a great job of getting into the nuts and bolts of things, it makes one start asking the right questions and then answers them on the next page itself. Its like they are reading your mind. Also, any content that you may not have covered at all because you are only up to date with Java 5 or below, it does a great job of explaining. Even if you know your stuff, it still manages to not bore you and throw tricky tid-bits of wisdom at you that make you say, "Wow ... I didn't think of that before." This is a great way to prepare for the SCJP 6.0 exam and after I'm done with that I hope to dive into the CD provided with this book which also covers the SCJD exam!

This is a great book for learning Java SE or studying for the certification exam. The end-of-chapter questions are tough, and will prepare you for the exam. My only complaint is with accompanying pdf version of the book. It would have been nice if publisher allowed the user to copy paste the code from the pdf. (I am trying to pass the SCJP exam not graduate from typing school.)

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.

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.