Java 1.2 exam and Java 1.4 exam...i am confused

[Serena Chen]

hi, I am new to javaranch and I saw it somewhere that there is a new programmer exam java 1.4 beta out in august.
Since I am planning to take the 1.2 exam next month, I would like to ask the differences of both. Also, will the 1.2 version become outdated soon? how do i get more information about the 1.4? Is it the same useful if i take 1.2 or 1.4...
anyway, sorry if the questions sounds stupid but I hope someone could give me some advice as I don't want to spend money on taking a outdated exam. (do I get the same certification despite the version of exam I take?)
thank you so much!

[Ron Newman]

This has been discussed in several other threads recently, so please look around the Forum for similar questions. In particular, go to the Programmer Certification Study folder at
https://coderanch.com/forums/f-24/java-programmer-SCJP .
In brief:

The 1.4 exam becomes available next Monday, but Sun will continue to offer the 1.2 exam as well.

The 1.4 exam does not include any questions on AWT or I/O.

Instead, the 1.4 exam has more questions on assertions, wrapper classes, and collections, including the use of equals() and hashCode().

The 1.2 exam has 59 questions and requires a passing score of 61% (36 questions). The 1.4 exam has 61 questions and requires a passing score of 53% (32 questions).

You have 2 hours to take the 1.2 exam. I assume the same is true for the 1.4 exam but I haven't seen any definitive information on this. (Anyone else know for sure?)

The information I gave above is from official Sun pages:
http://suned.sun.com/US/certification/faq/
http://suned.sun.com/US/certification/java/java_exam_objectives.html#programmer1.4

[Thomas Paul]

Moving this to the certification forum.

[Serena Chen]

Ron, thanks so much for your reply.
I just checked the links you provided..but I found out the 1.2 and 1.4 exam number are different(025 and 035). When I purchased the voucher last month, I didn't know there was a new exam coming so I purchased the voucher for 025...guess I'll have to stick with the old exam in this case.
one more question, one the website it says the upgrade exam(026) will be out soon. Does any of you know if the upgrade exam is free or not? and is it after i take the upgrade, they will send me a new certificate something?
Thanks a lot! i gotta go to bookstore to check out some new java books before it closes!

[Ron Newman]

Someone else earlier said that you can use the voucher for either test. Since I don't see anything official about that at the Sun web site, I suggest that you call Sun and/or Prometric for clarification. (And after you do, please tell us what you find out.)
[ August 15, 2002: Message edited by: Ron Newman ]

[Alan Phillips]

I wrote to sun via email and they said that the voucher is good for either exam. I'd double check with prometric to make sure they're aware. As of this month, you don't need a vouher in the us and canada either. I think I'm going to wait a bit to see the reactions for the new exam. The lower pass rate seems suspicious that the questions are harder and more in depth. Assertions and Wrapper classes don't seem to warrant a 10% drop!

[Valentin Crettaz]

xterra888,
Welcome to Javaranch
We'd like you to read the Javaranch Naming Policy and change your publicly displayed name (change it here) to comply with our unique rule. Thank you.

[Ashik Uzzaman]

Pals,
I heard(?) that Sun is going to launch upgrade exam for existing SCJP 1.2 holders to become SCJP 1.4 in coming September. Have you any info regarding this?
Another query is that if the upgrade is not free, do you think we should pay $150 or like that to recertify? My view is that the upgrade will be helpful for us but not worth that dollars and SUN should provide a free or a minimal cost voucher for it.

[Ron Newman]

According to http://suned.sun.com/US/certification/faq/ :

An upgrade exam (310-026) will be available in September 2002 for programmers to update from programmer 1.x to programmer 1.4.

That's all I know. It doesn't say how long the exam is, what a passing score is, or what it will cost.

[Serena Chen]

Thanks for all the replies. this is actually xterra888 but I just changed my profile name.
Anyway, i can't find much helpful information on the sun website.
Alan, when you say we don't need a voucher this month for the exam, what do you mean by that? where did you hear about that?
and..do you guys know if i get the certificate for the old exam(1.2), does it still satisfy the pre-requesite for the developer exam? what about later? do you think Sun will eventually only accept the new one(1.4) as the prereq for higher level exams?
Thank you much! you all have a nice weekends..it's raining today here..no fun

[Alan Phillips]

I got it from a link in another forum, but didn't keep the url (somewhere at java.sun.com) In Canada and the US you can now make arrangements directly through prometric, although I haven't contacted them to find out. They haven't said when it will be like that in other countries.

[HiBob Chu]

Hi Alan Phillips :
quote
-------------------------------------------------
The lower pass rate seems suspicious that the questions are harder and more in depth.
-------------------------------------------------
Really?! Where did you get the news? It surprise me. I guessed that Sun would let the new
exm easier so that people would accept it soon.

[Alan Phillips]

Well, an easy exam wouldn't reflect well and devalue the certifications. If anyone could pass it... So, my GUESS, is that the new questions are more difficult so to compensate the pass rate is lower. But, it could be easier too, but I'd rather take the chance that it's harder, study harder and do better!

[Serena Chen]

yea, I also agree the exam would be harder. hope to hear about the new exam next week.
so, i have the same question above actually but let me put it in another way:
Is it required to take the programmer exam before we go to developer exam? Will the old programmer exam(1.2) still fit this requirement? or later we must take the new one(or take the upgrade exam) in order to satisfy that requirement for developer exam?
maybe some of you have some ideas on this..
thanks

[Alan Phillips]

I'm not sure Serena, but I emailed Sun and got an answer the same day. They were really helpful and fast!

[HiBob Chu]

Anybody who has taken the new exm(include beta)can
talk about your feeling?
Anyway I will take the exm 19 ro 20 Aug.

[Salima Lalani]

Hi
If u are done with exam, please share your experience with us.
Thanks

[David Brafford]

Serena,
Both exams ( 310-025 and 310-035 ) are treated
equally from a pre-requisite standpoint
( Developer Exam, SCWCD, JCert Initiative ).
---------------------------------------
Considering the Certified Java Programmer Exam?
Get JCertify!
Now available for both 310-025, and 310-035
http://www.enterprisedeveloper.com/jcertify
Eckel, Baldwin, Green, and more

[Serena Chen]

yesterday finally I made up my mind and went to www.2test.com to sign up for the new exam.
but i wasn't allowed to...!! they said my voucher has been used
so i emailed Sun to double check if I could really use the voucher for 1.2 to sign up for 1.4.
hope to hear from them soon...
also, i went to bn to exchange the 2nd edition of heller&roberts study guide for the updated one. i haven't flipped through it yet but the 2nd edition one is obviously thicker than the new one but costs 10 bucks more but i know i shouldn't judge a book's inside from outside.
do you guys know if there's any other resources specifically for the new exam? books or websites.
okay, hope to hear more about the new exam soon. good luck to you all and good luck to my voucher too.