02-02-2013, 12:08 PM
SCJP Sun® Certifi ed Programmer for Java™ 6 Study Guide
Programmer for Java.pdf (Size: 2.97 MB / Downloads: 71)
INTRODUCTION
Organization
This book is organized in such a way as to serve as an in-depth review for the Sun
Certified Programmer for both the Java 6 and Java 5 exams, for experienced Java
professionals and those in the early stages of experience with Java technologies. Each
chapter covers at least one major aspect of the exam, with an emphasis on the "why"
as well as the "how to" of programming in the Java language. The CD included with
the book also includes an in-depth review of the essential ingredients for a successful
assessment of a project submitted for the Sun Certified Java Developer exam.
What This Book Is Not
You will not find a beginner's guide to learning Java in this book. All 800 pages of
this book are dedicated solely to helping you pass the exams. If you are brand new
to Java, we suggest you spend a little time learning the basics. You shouldn't start
with this book until you know how to write, compile, and run simple Java programs.
We do not, however, assume any level of prior knowledge of the individual topics
covered. In other words, for any given topic (driven exclusively by the actual exam
objectives), we start with the assumption that you are new to that topic. So we
assume you're new to the individual topics, but we assume that you are not new
to Java.
We also do not pretend to be both preparing you for the exam and simultaneously
making you a complete Java being. This is a certification exam study guide, and it's
very clear about its mission. That's not to say that preparing for the exam won't help
you become a better Java programmer! On the contrary, even the most experienced
Java developers often claim that having to prepare for the certification exam made
them far more knowledgeable and well-rounded programmers than they would have
been without the exam-driven studying.
Taking the Programmer's Exam
In a perfect world, you would be assessed for your true knowledge of a subject, not
simply how you respond to a series of test questions. But life isn't perfect, and it just
isn't practical to evaluate everyone's knowledge on a one-to-one basis.
For the majority of its certifications, Sun evaluates candidates using a computerbased
testing service operated by Sylvan Prometric. This service is quite popular in
the industry, and it is used for a number of vendor certification programs, including
Novell's CNE and Microsoft's MCSE. Thanks to Sylvan Prometric's large number
of facilities, exams can be administered worldwide, generally in the same town as a
prospective candidate.
For the most part, Sylvan Prometric exams work similarly from vendor to
vendor. However, there is an important fact to know about Sun's exams: they use
the traditional Sylvan Prometric test format, not the newer adaptive format. This
gives the candidate an advantage, since the traditional format allows answers to be
reviewed and revised during the test.