Howdy Cowboys and Cowgirls!
I passed the
SCJP today with 88%. I have to say I was disappointed with this score - I was sure I had only missed one or two questions. Even though my
ego is deflated, it's good to be part of the exclusive club!
I would say the exam was slightly more difficult than Marcus Green and RHE mocks, but not much (I was getting 92-95% in these). The RHE questions were the closest to the real thing. All questions were straight forward and there were no strange/wierd uses of
Java. There were no trick questions! (even all of the main methods were declared properly!). However, I had to read almost every question at least twice. They are very precise.
I can't remember the exact spread of questions but every objective was covered. There were 4-5 questions that contained long programs where I had to scroll down to answers
. 3 type in the answer. The type-in questions tell you exactly what
you should type (even listing words in some cases).
I programmed Java as a hobby for about a year before studying for the exam. I would recommend you have some experience before reading the exam study guides. I studied for about 3-4 months with a break of 3-4 weeks in the middle (work
).
Many thanks to JavaRanch (including everyone who posts to this BB) I think it would be nearly impossible to pass without you! Kudos to the authors of RHE and to Marcus Green - you guys know your stuff.
I mainly used RHE (read it many times), Rules Roundup, Java API, JLS and Marcus' site. I don't know why people say that RHE is no good for GridBagLayout. It is covers on 517-522. Make sure you apply the errata.
My advice is to be sure of the fundamentals (Java and OO). Don't go too deep into the API. Have a good night sleep the night before. Get to the exam site early so you can chill out first.
Peace and B Wild.
Lee.
Lee 