scjp 1.6

[sharan vasandani]

hi

can anyone give some information about scjp 1.6, which is the book for it?
are there sufficient materials for it or not?

should we go for 1.5 or 1.6?

thanks

[Ulf Dittmer]

There is no SCJP for Java 1.6, and Sun has not made a public announcement of whether or not there will be one.

[sharan vasandani]

i haved checked sun's site and there is a certification for 1.6, following is the link for it.

http://www.sun.com/training/certification/java/scjp.xml

[sharan vasandani]

ok. i got it there is only the link, but the link says the product is still not available

[Kelvin Chenhao Lim]

As far as I can tell from the SCJP 1.6 exam objectives, the only differences are:

Section 3:

1.5: Given a scenario involving navigating file systems, reading from files, or writing to files, develop the correct solution using the following classes (sometimes in combination), from java.io: BufferedReader,BufferedWriter, File, FileReader, FileWriter and PrintWriter.

1.6: Given a scenario involving navigating file systems, reading from files, writing to files, or interacting with the user, develop the correct solution using the following classes (sometimes in combination), from java.io: BufferedReader, BufferedWriter, File, FileReader, FileWriter, PrintWriter, and Console.

Section 5:

1.5: Given a scenario, develop code that declares and/or invokes overridden or overloaded methods and code that declares and/or invokes superclass or overloaded constructors.

1.6: Given a scenario, develop code that declares and/or invokes overloaded methods and code that declares and/or invokes superclass, or overloaded constructors.

Section 6:

1.5: Write code that uses the generic versions of the Collections API, in particular, the Set, List, and Map interfaces and implementation classes. Recognize the limitations of the non-generic Collections API and how to refactor code to use the generic versions.

1.6: Write code that uses the generic versions of the Collections API, in particular, the Set, List, and Map interfaces and implementation classes. Recognize the limitations of the non-generic Collections API and how to refactor code to use the generic versions. Write code that uses the NavigableSet and NavigableMap interfaces.

Section 7:

1.5: Given a code example, recognize the point at which an object becomes eligible for garbage collection, and determine what is and is not guaranteed by the garbage collection system. Recognize the behaviors of System.gc and finalization.

1.6: Given a code example, recognize the point at which an object becomes eligible for garbage collection, determine what is and is not guaranteed by the garbage collection system, and recognize the behaviors of the Object.finalize() method.

All of these seem like relatively minor changes, with only three new classes/interfaces (Console, NavigableSet, NavigableMap) added to the set of APIs that will be tested. None of the key Java 6 features (e.g. Scripting API) seem to be covered. Also, the pass score has been raised from 59% to 65%, while the total allotted time has been raised from 175 min to 210 min.

Given that the exam isn't actually available yet, I'd suggest that you just proceed with SCJP 1.5 preparation for now. If SCJP 1.6 becomes available before you schedule your exam, you can then just learn the few additional topics needed for SCJP 1.6, if you wish. There doesn't really seem to be anything in SCJP 1.5 that was removed in 1.6, so none of your effort in learning the 1.5 material will be wasted.

And if you're already SCJP 1.5 certified, my preliminary assessment is that there's not enough of a difference to make it worth the effort to take the upgrade exam. Wait for Java 7. =)
[ November 30, 2007: Message edited by: Kelvin Lim ]

[Gosia Wittemann]

Kelvin, thanks so much for taking the time to compare the two objectives sets. You saved me a lot of time

It indeed seems that the differences are minimal, so I'm curious how the the upgrade exam is going to work? You can't really make an exam out of three classes, can you?

[jeremias lacanienta]

was there any beta for this version of scjp?

[Kelvin Chenhao Lim]

Originally posted by jeremias lacanienta:
was there any beta for this version of scjp?

None has been announced so far. In fact, the SCJP 1.6 itself hasn't really been announced yet; all we know is that the Sun web site now lists the exam objectives for the SCJP 1.6 and the SCJP 1.6 Upgrade. We'll just have to stay tuned.

[Christian Pfahl]

Hi,
the SCJP 1.6 is now available in germany:
SUNs German CX-310-065 in english

(I called SUN in munich and they assured that the exam is bookable)

[Michael Raymond Jr.]

speculation: perhaps this is a prelude to the scjp1.4 being retired.

[Milton Ochoa]

[ UD: Please post in English only. We are not able to moderate posts in other languages. ]
[ December 05, 2007: Message edited by: Ulf Dittmer ]

[Marcus Green]

Christian, are you absolutely 100% certain? In my 10 year tracking of the SCJP Sun has never released a new version of the exam without previously announcing that there would be a beta test period. I find it hard to understand how Sun Germany would be selling vouchers to a an exam that can actually be taken now yet Sun US/World wide was not. It seems much more likely that Sun Germany are not in full posession of the facts.

[Christian Pfahl]

Yes, i'm sure.
I have registered (Prometric) for the exam and made an appointment.
My exam will be on friday, 14th of december (2007).
(After that i can post if a got the "correct" exam ;-)

[Ulf Dittmer]

Originally posted by Christian Pfahl:
Hi,
the SCJP 1.6 is now available in germany:
SUNs German CX-310-065 in english

(I called SUN in munich and they assured that the exam is bookable)

It looks to me as if that is a training course for the exam, not the exam itself.

[Kelvin Chenhao Lim]

Actually, I think Christian's right. Sun's US site now also indicates that SCJP 1.6 vouchers are available for purchase, and Prometric's site seems to allow you to register for the exam. It looks like Sun really did launch the exam without a (public) beta.

[Bert Bates]

I think you guys might recall that if you took the 5 exam over the last couple of months, there were some "extra", unscored questions on your exam. That was an informal "beta" for the SCJP 6 exam, since the SCJP 6 is such a small change from the SCJP 5.

[Kelvin Chenhao Lim]

Ah, so that's why people were reporting that they saw 82 questions instead of the usual 72. Sneaky, sneaky.

[Milton Ochoa]

Hi everyone, later i saw all your post, i decide to take the SCJP 6, i was very preparate for the SCJP 5, but with the new version some stuff was add, like Console, NavigableMap, NavigableSet... and i dont know what anything else.

I am request for some one to know where i can download o see this material to study, the rest of certification

SCJP 5 -> 100% preparate
SCJP 6 PLUS -> 0% preparate

Very Thanks.

[Marcus Green]

"and i dont know what anything else."

Kelvin has kindly highlighted the differences

"Console, NavigableMap, NavigableSet... "

New features of Java 6 that I did not know even existed until yesterday even though I program Java for a living and read everything I can on the subject. It seems to me that these are not big deal important features of Java (unlike annotations which are on neither versions of the exam).

The choice is yours but why make life harder for yourself. It's not that uncommon for candidates to fail the SCJP, the exam cost is not trivial and employers generally know almost nothing about the differences between the exams.

[Mikalai Zaikin]

Originally posted by Bert Bates:
I think you guys might recall that if you took the 5 exam over the last couple of months, there were some "extra", unscored questions on your exam. That was an informal "beta" for the SCJP 6 exam, since the SCJP 6 is such a small change from the SCJP 5.

Hi Bert !

Do you mean people were asked Java 6.0 stuff during Java 5.0 test ?

People may not be aware of some super-new Java 6.0 features, so results of such beta session may be not reliable.

regards,
MZ

[Peter Ricke]

I�m also mixed up by the availability of 1.6 exam as i�m going to
take on of both during this month (hopefully).

Despite also having never heard about this 3 new topics in 1.6 exam,
there seems to be one real remarkable benefit:
the testee has 210 instead of 175 minutes time but no additional question.
As i�m afraid that my speed of thinking could realy be limiting factor (for nice percentage at least) this seems to be very attractive.

But of cause i�m full of doubts : what is the cost for this additional time?
Can i expect the same question pool as in 1.5 exam (so the questions we all are or were prepairing for) and just a handfull of them replaced by new 1.6 things or will there be a complete new (and maybe more complicated) question pool which would explain the additional exam time?

How was it as 1.5 came up with respect to 1.4 ?

[Kelvin Chenhao Lim]

Originally posted by Peter Ricke:
But of cause i�m full of doubts : what is the cost for this additional time?

Don't forget that the pass percentage has gone up from 59% to 65%, though. That basically means you need to get four more questions correct than for SCJP 1.5.

[Peter Ricke]

I found some additional information here, maybe someone`s interested in:

NEW SUN CERTIFIED PROGRAMMER FOR JAVA PLATFORM 6 EXAM
What are the differences between Sun Certified Programmer for Java Platform 5 (CX-310-055) and 6 (CX-310-065) exams?

Questions concerning System.gc() have been removed.
Coverage of the java.io.Console class has been added.
Coverage of navigable collections has been added.
Several of the previous objectives have been strengthened (so you can expect more questions and more detailed questions on them). These strengthened objectives include: exception handling, collection classes and collection interfaces, assertions, threads, and flow control.

[morrsion macleo]

thanks....very nice.....

[Christian Pfahl]

Hi!

Good news - now i'm very sure that the SCJP 1.6 (CX-310-065 in english) is available (in germany) ....
....because i just managed it (2 hours ago; with 91% :-)) :-)

Thank you all for the helpful informations!

@Bert Bates: "bartender and author" is funny ;-)

[frixer lois]

Congratulations Mr. Christian Pfahl

I'll take that exam next week, so, I would like to know how different is the exam?.
I am ready for the 1.5 edittion.
how much do i need to study?
Is enough to know the 3 new interfaces in oder to pass the new exam?

Could you share your experience?.

Thanks.

[Sheelpa Gupta]

Wow Christian Pfahl. Congratulations. So now we have SCJP 1.6 with us. Please share your experience

[Fabio Kimura]

To take the SCJP 1.6 upgrade exam, I am required to have a SCJP 1.5? or can I take the exam having just the 1.4 version? The page on the upgrade exam tells:

# Prerequisites: None
# Other exams/assignments required for this certification: None

Which is obviously wrong, as this is an upgrade exam.

[Christian Pfahl]

Hi,

i got many emails with questions regarding the java 6 exam. PLEASE STOP ASKING VIA EMAIL OR PRIVATE MESSAGE! Post a reply in the board instead!

Here my answers to the questions:

i can not compare the java 5 to the java 6 exam. (i only made the java 6; and i'm not allowed to write details about the real exam questions - you know!)

My study time was about 150+ hours in the last half year. 95% of the time i studied with java 5 material and mock-questions.

I can recommend training with this book (and the included mock-exams):

SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide ISBN-10: 0072253606


Sun Tutorials are very helpful, too:

Sun Tutorial's (e.g.: generics, collections,...)


I can also recommend to read the java 6 exam objectives in detail and
to study all the topics. See also this entry (very good!):
"November 30, 2007: Message edited by: Kelvin Lim" in

scjp 1.6



Here is a small FAQ from sun regarding the java 6 exam:

Sun Java6 FAQ


and last but not least: Write code, write code and write more code!
[ December 17, 2007: Message edited by: Christian Pfahl ]

[Sergey Petunin]

Christian, it's stated that a bunch of topics was strengthened for the SCJP 6 exam, so could you compare the toughness of the mock questions you were using to prepare to the exam with the real questions? Also, were there any seemingly new topics (save the Navigables and Console) that you were unprepared for?

[Christian Pfahl]

Originally posted by Serge Petunin:
Christian, it's stated that a bunch of topics was strengthened for the SCJP 6 exam, so could you compare the toughness of the mock questions you were using to prepare to the exam with the real questions? Also, were there any seemingly new topics (save the Navigables and Console) that you were unprepared for?

Hi,
the mock questions/selftest-software in the book was good enough! I think "strengthened" means: "more questions regarding the specified topics". I think the mock questions in the book were a litte bit more difficult.
I prepared a few hours for the new topics. i used the objectives and the information from "Kelvin Lim".

[Naresh Bafna]

hi..
i just wanted to know if there is any "Free Proficiency Assessment" that sun provides for SCJP 6 as it provides for SCJP 5?
am preparing for SCJP 5 but now trying to find out if can give a shot at SCJP 6..

[Sergey Petunin]

Thanks, Christian, that's a real relief.

[Abhishek Purwar]

I am planning to give SCJP.........so do anyone tell me which is the best book for preparation

[Krishna Srinivasan]

K & B is good enough to prepare for SCJP 1.5.
SCJP 1.5 Books

There is no book available for SCJP 1.6.

[ January 17, 2008: Message edited by: Krishna Srinivasan ]
[ January 17, 2008: Message edited by: Krishna Srinivasan ]

[Konkona Sensharma]

Hello. I purchased a voucher for the 5.0 exam last year. Now I see that the 6.0 exam is available. I have not yet given the exam.
Can I use the voucher to register for the 6.0 Exam instead ?
[ February 28, 2008: Message edited by: Konkona Sensharma ]

[kal rehman]

hi,

Thanks Kelvin for the info on the differences between scjp 5 and 6 exams. Just a little correction on overloading and overriding in section 5. There appears to be no difference, so all for the better!

Section 5:

1.5: Given a scenario, develop code that declares and/or invokes overridden or overloaded methods and code that declares and/or invokes superclass or overloaded constructors.

1.6: Given a scenario, develop code that declares and/or invokes overloaded methods and code that declares and/or invokes superclass, or overloaded constructors.

[suman mitragupta]

go for SCJP 1.6 because scjp 1.5 and scjp 1.6 both are same only console and NavigableMap, NavigableSet are added.

[Jesper de Jong]

suman, did you notice this topic is more than 2 years old? The original posters are most likely not still waiting for an answer.