Yes, 1.4.2 will be fine for preparing you for the exam. In regards to editors, this is really up to you, as it depends on your tastes as a programmer. I usually use JGrasp, which is available
here. It's a no-frills editor which does not hog memory and provides some clean, simple utilities to develop your Java progs. I've also used NetBeans, which is a pumped-up
IDE that will make your life easier as a programmer, but it will take some learning to get used to it.