Seeking a Review of Richard Raposa's 1.6 Certification Book

[John Daniel]

I have a copy of Kathy and Bert's 1.5 certification book, and I'm very pleased with it. However, we're looking into rolling out Java 1.6 at work, so I've decided to invest in a 1.6 certification book to use in preparation for the 1.6 SCJP test. Even though K&B have a 1.6 book out, I'm looking at buying one of their competitors books, so that I can learn the material from a different perspective. The most cited "other" book is one by Khalid Mughal, which lists on Amazon.com for a pricey $42.89 and is a mammoth 1088 pages. But there is also a 1.6 certification book listed on Amazon for $31.49 (same price as K&B's book) which is written by Richard Raposa and is a more manageable 578 pages. Unfortunately, I can't find any reviews for it. Have any JavaRanch members read Raposa's 1.6 book that would care to comment on it?

Thank you,
John

[Deepak Bala]

I have not read the book you mentioned but i my opinion reading the SCJP study guide and a few online tutorials should do the trick.

[John Daniel]

Thank you, Deepak, for your prompt response. Just to be clear, are you suggesting to not buy a 1.6 book and instead learn the 1.6 enhancements in some online tutorial? Are the 1.6 enhancements that insignificant that they can be learned online? If so, that sounds like a good way to save $30+ to me. Do you have a recommended 1.6 enhancements tutorial that you are willing to share the link to?

Thank you,
John

[Bert Bates]

Hi John,

Well I certainly think getting different perspectives is a good thing!

On the other hand, if you already have the 1.5 book, then the ONLY reason to get ANY 1.6 book is just for a different perspective. The differences between 1.5 and 1.6 are SO SMALL that it doesn't make sense to get a new book just to cover a few, relatively simple new topics.

The new topics for 1.6 are the Console class, and Navigable Collections... that's it!

hth,

Bert

p.s. If you don't already have our 1.5 book and you're considering getting either the 1.5 or the 1.6 - go for the 1.6. It includes those few new topics, and it adds about 70 new questions to the ones that were in the 1.5 version.

[Deepak Bala]

are you suggesting to not buy a 1.6 book and instead learn the 1.6 enhancements in some online tutorial?

Yep. There are a few of them online although a conclusive and abridged one is not yet available. The java docs are of great help as well

[Vikas Chaubey]

Hello, Iam n ocpjp 6 aspirant , currently I am preparing with Richard F Raposa ( still reading) the book seams a bit easy to grasp the concept , K&B is good but not for amateurs