Good SCJD related books

[Marcelo Ortega]

Hi people,
I just passed my SCJP (with 91% ) and am about to start my SCJD.

Any good books which you recommend me? I have K&B. Any other?

Thanks in advanced.

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Hi Marzo,

JavaRanch has an SCJD FAQ and an SCJD Reading Materials FAQ - the later of which will give you lots of links to suitable books.

One which is not (yet) mentioned there is the The Sun Certified Java Developer Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition which is about to be published, and I think it is one of the better books (but then I am biased ).

Regards, Andrew

[Ailsa Cape]

I strongly recommend the The Sun Certified Java Developer Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition. One of the authors is our moderator who is a genius and has rich experience in Java. You can search his posts in this forum's search page to identify the correctness of my words. This book can help us to pass the Exam quickly. Furthermore,it will also help us to promote our Java designing level in the furture.

Regards, Ailsa Cape
[ August 21, 2005: Message edited by: Ailsa Cape ]

[Marcelo Ortega]

Thanks Andrew, Ailsa,

I think i will end up buy Andrew's book. One question though, i have bought the developers assignment (CX310-252A), but can i use any version of java to produce my project? Are there different versions of the developers assigment which expect different platforms?

I'm asking because Andrew's book is for the Java 5 platform and i would like to use it to create my project.

One more question (for Andrew), i have just acomplished my SCJP 1.4, and your book revolves around 1.5, do you think i will have a problem? Would i have to do some outside research to help me understand the concepts of the book?

Thanks and Regards,
Marzo.

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Hi Marzo,

Originally posted by Marzo Kaahn:
i have bought the developers assignment (CX310-252A), but can i use any version of java to produce my project?

From the instructions:
You may develop your code using any implementation of the Java 2 platform, but the submission that you return must have been tested and shown to work under a production (not development) version of the Sun Microsystems' Java 2 platform and that platform must not have been superseded by a new production version for more than 18 months by the time you make your submission.

In other words, you can still use JDK 1.4 until 18 months after the release date of JDK 5 - until March 29th 2006. After March 29th 2006 you will no longer be able to use JDK 1.4.

Originally posted by Marzo Kaahn:
Are there different versions of the developers assigment which expect different platforms?

No - all the current assignments were released while JDK 1.3 was still allowable, and can be completed with either JDK 1.4 or JDK 5.

Originally posted by Marzo Kaahn:
One more question (for Andrew), i have just acomplished my SCJP 1.4, and your book revolves around 1.5, do you think i will have a problem? Would i have to do some outside research to help me understand the concepts of the book?

I don't believe you will have a problem. One of our aims in writing this edition was to ensure that we introduced the new features of JDK 5 to readers who have not had exposure to it. So you will find that we introduce each new feature thoroughly before we use it in the book.

Regards, Andrew

[Aklavya Singh]

Hi Andrew, Ailsa and Marzo,
few months back i shifted to java from yoga teaching, i've cleared SCJP 1.4 with 91%.Right now dont have any programming experience, thats why want to go for SCJD
I'll be using JDK1.4.2. In other words, you can still use JDK 1.4 until 18 months after the release date of JDK 5 - until March 29th 2006. After March 29th 2006 you will no longer be able to use JDK 1.4.
does that means i have to complete my certification and essay exam before that and if i use 1.5 ,will it fetch me more marks?
When can i expect SCJD Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition this book in indian market?
thanks in advance
all the best Marzo
regards
Aklavya Singh

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Hi Aklavya,

Originally posted by Aklavya Singh:
I'll be using JDK1.4.2.

Originally posted by Andrew Monkhouse:
In other words, you can still use JDK 1.4 until 18 months after the release date of JDK 5 - until March 29th 2006. After March 29th 2006 you will no longer be able to use JDK 1.4.

Originally posted by Aklavya Singh:
does that means i have to complete my certification and essay exam before that and if i use 1.5 ,will it fetch me more marks?

Not at all. What this means is that after March 29th 2006 you must test your assignment under JDK 5 - both compiling and running your assignment must work with JDK 5. However even then you do not have to use any JDK 5 features.

Since you do not have any time limits on the assignment, I strongly recommend that you use JDK 5 for the assignment - doing so means that you will become familiar with the new features of JDK 5 now, rather than being pushed into learning them in a hurry when you get a job.

In general, you won't gain or loose marks based on which version of the JDK you use. However there is one proviso to that - you might loose marks if you develop your own code that duplicates functionality offered by a "standard" JDK API. For example, if you developed using JDK 1.4 and decided to build your own ReadWriteLock classes - this would be OK. But if you then stated that you had developed using JDK 5 (because you were submitting after March 29 2005) then you might loose marks for having developed functionality that is in the standard API.

Originally posted by Aklavya Singh:
When can i expect SCJD Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition this book in indian market?

My book (SCJD Exam with J2SE 5 will be available at the end of December - I would expect that it will be available in India very soon after (if not at the same time) that it is released in America.

Regards, Andrew

[Marcio Aun Migueis]

Andrew,

I'm waiting anxiously for your book. I have a question. Does Apress will sold your book in a PDF format ? I live in Brazil and I pay about US$ 15 just for international shipping, so, a pdf version is be a good option form me. And what about the release date? it's confirmed that it'll be finished at the end of December ? I'm buying two books and, depending if I'll could by a pdf version or not, I'll wait until December.

Thanks,

M�rcio
[ November 21, 2005: Message edited by: Marcio Aun Migueis ]

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Hi M�rcio,

Apress do sell PDF versions of many of their books, and we (my co-author and I) have indicated to Apress that we would be willing to have PDF versions sold. I will have to ping my contacts in Apress to see what the status is with this.

As for the book itself - the chapters have all been completed, and we are now in final production stages. So end of December is a firm date.

Regards, Andrew

[Marcio Aun Migueis]

Ok Andrew,

It will be my Chistmas gift.

Thanks,

M�rcio

[Akhilesh Trivedi]

Thanks Andrew! Me waiting for it to release in India.