Little Confused 1.3 or 1.4

[Kitty Dayal]

Hi all,

I am little confused as to whether to go for SCWCD1.3 or 1.4. After reading couple of post's I am not sure whether 1.4 is a good option. My reasons for this confusion.
- I am not sure whether I could get good mock exams to specifically for 1.4.
- Some people have said (including kathy) that 1.4 is bit more harder and has more new topics.
- And book ofcourse, Not sure to order it on amazon/BN as everybody is pointing that it is delaying.

I also have couple of questions.
1. Does taking 1.4 have any advantage over 1.3? Is 1.4 covering important topics that would be very necessary for the future development. As I dont have much experience with some of the topics.
2. Is HFS sufficient for getting good score in the exam? (I know for sure it would be a great book)

Thank you for your replies. I would appreciate some replies from people who have taken 1.4.

- Kits
SCJP 1.4

[Nicholas Cheung]

- I am not sure whether I could get good mock exams to specifically for 1.4.

You can get SCWCD 1.4 mock exams from Whizlabs and JWebPlus.

- Some people have said (including kathy) that 1.4 is bit more harder and has more new topics.

Harder does not mean you cannot make it.

From time investment aspect, I prefer to get the more up-to-date certificates.

- And book ofcourse, Not sure to order it on amazon/BN as everybody is pointing that it is delaying.

Some people have already received their books, and enjoying.

1. Does taking 1.4 have any advantage over 1.3? Is 1.4 covering important topics that would be very necessary for the future development. As I dont have much experience with some of the topics.

EL, JSTL and tag files are future trends, as they simplify the development effort and readability of JSP and Taglib.

2. Is HFS sufficient for getting good score in the exam? (I know for sure it would be a great book)

This is for sure. My own reference for SCBCD is HF EJB, and I scored with 95%.

Nick

[Shruti Kale]

Hi Kitty!!
I have got my Head First Servlets and JSP. It costs 550Rs. Its available in any retail outlet of Shroff Publishers(or Publications). The publishers have a website and you can check the nearest store for you.
All the best!

[Kitty Dayal]

Thanks Smriti and Nicholas,

Thanks for your replies. I checked my local BN and borders stores for the book. At both the places the price is more than the online price. They quote $44 as for $31 (online) with free shipping(amazon), I know its $15. But why pay somebody extra, when we can get for less. Hey Smriti, I am not sure for shroff publishers, but my sis is goin to India for couple of months, maybe I can ask her. By the way, have you started it(WCD) . How are you going, please reply back as to how u started and how r u going. I am happy u too have decided to go for WCD :beer chug:. Probably we can make the same scores this time around too.

Thanks,
Kits

[Anthony Watson]

I'd go for the 1.4 version. I know people say that the new version is harder than the old, but the old version focuses more on api memorization than the new. I don't know about you, but I don't feel the need to memorize every minute detail of every single interface that's related to servlets or jsp. Also, the new stuff that's in the 1.4 exam is important in the real world, so it doesn't hurt to study it. Finally, there is so much overlap between the 1.3 test and the 1.4 test that studying for 1.4 would still prepare you well to work for a company that uses servlets 2.3 and jsp 1.2.

[Ram Mmurthy]

Check this thread for the differences b/w the two exams.
http://www.coderanch.com/t/167984/java-Web-Component-SCWCD/certification/vs

[Shruti Kale]

Hi Kitty!
You always surprise me! First i don't know weather you a guy or a gal(i assumed a girl)! Next i assumed you will be in India (direct implication of your name again)!!
Okay so i can't help you in getting HF book coz i dont know any stores where you live!
I have started studyin for the WCD..Got the HF book..could not compile the Hello World servlet too!! Have to fiddle with the class path env variable. I think I will have to post my prob if i can't figure that out real quick.
I will go for 1.4 and it would be kool if u join in too. Will be great if score the same like in SCJP!
All the best!!

[Kitty Dayal]

Hey Smriti,

Nice to see your mail. All the best to you too. Regarding your classpath, u may try this. There are a lot of ways, but the most easied that I can think of is...

Goto Control Panel -> System Properties -> try to find something called Environment Variables(mostly under advanced tab) -> Now create a new variable under system variables like this.
name: JAVA_HOME
value: <path of your JVM> OR <path were you have installed java, the /bin dir>

After this find another variable named 'Path', click edit button and open it. Now add JAVA_HOME at the end of it. (Make sure you have the proper comma's/colon's to end).

That's it. Now you can execute any java program(.java) from anywhere. Let me know if it really helped :roll: .

I am yet to get my copy, probably by this weekend. But I got myself a good book and will probably be dwindling on it for some time. I have some exp with Servlet/JSP( Not totally new ), But definitely new to topics like JSTL, EL etc.

To completely clear your doubt once in for all, I am a Proud INDIAN GUY living in US. I have a secret with my name( Can't tell you in this forum ).

Anyhow nice to see your name on this forum AGAIN. Good luck
- Kits