Granny's Programming Pearls
"inside of every large program is a small program struggling to get out"
JavaRanch.com/granny.jsp
  • Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
programming forums Java Mobile Certification Databases Caching Books Engineering Micro Controllers OS Languages Paradigms IDEs Build Tools Frameworks Application Servers Open Source This Site Careers Other Pie Elite all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
Marshals:
  • Campbell Ritchie
  • Jeanne Boyarsky
  • Ron McLeod
  • Paul Clapham
  • Liutauras Vilda
Sheriffs:
  • paul wheaton
  • Rob Spoor
  • Devaka Cooray
Saloon Keepers:
  • Stephan van Hulst
  • Tim Holloway
  • Carey Brown
  • Frits Walraven
  • Tim Moores
Bartenders:
  • Mikalai Zaikin

SCJP 6 Cleared! Or how to effectively and confidently pass SCJP exam...

 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 66
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I nailed down SCJP 6 exam yesterday! I did 84%, however, was a bit frustrated with my score, as I was aiming confidently to score 100%. During the exam there was only one or two questions that I was not too sure about the answer so I was expecting something around +95%...

I would like to thanks so much Khalid Mughal and Rolf Rasmussen for their wonderful, amazing, great, book on SCJP 6: “A Programmer's Guide to Java SCJP Certification: A Comprehensive Primer (3rd Edition)”. Actually this book is recently published and I was blessed to have the opportunity to read it before going for my exam. This book saves me a great deal of time by answering lots of my questions that otherwise I would have to perform a lot of research to find them. Such a technical, insight and deep approach to SCJP… Just “Perfect” I would say. It turns out to contain a number of beautiful questions at the end of each section that helps to build up a solid and deep understanding of the exam concepts. I read this book from cover to cover and it amazingly takes my Java knowledge to the next level, a level that makes the SCJP exam questions a piece of cake for me; and in some parts I would say even ridiculous!!

Thanks to Devaka for his fantastic ExamLab! Devaka, Your exam simulator rocks man! Keep up the great work!

Also I should thank Kathy and Bert for writing an interactive and live SCJP 6 preparation book. I read this book from cover to cover too.

Last but not least, thank you all ranchers! All those who answered my questions and all those who asked something here; therefore made me learn new things or reinforced my knowledge by clearing their doubts.

I started from almost zero Java knowledge and spent a few months for my exam preparation by reading more than six books and went over three exam simulator. Therefore, I think I have good points to share here. So, if you are pursuing a SCJP certification, the rest of this topic is for you: I’ll let you know everything you need to know for effectively passing the exam:

Books:
If you want to read just one book then defiantly go for Khalid and Rolf SCJP 6 book. However, if you are new to Java or learning it as your first programming language, then you might find it a bit hard to start with, in this case you may want to buy Kathy & Bert book first and read it as an introductory material.
In addition, if you are new to Java or coming from other programming languages with zero java experience (like me) then you may need a practical book which makes you start coding, this was one of my initial concerns when I start studying for SCJP, to find a book that I can practice Java coding with; hence, I tried quite a few Java books for this purpose. It turns out that my favourite become “Murach's Java SE 6”. It teaches Java to you so much, so fast and so thoroughly by make you start coding right off the bat! I also tried Thinking in Java and Head First Java but none them was appropriate for this purpose. (Even not appropriate for SCJP!)

Generics:
For learning Generics (if you are so passionate to gain a deep knowledge like I was) you can go for “Java Generics and Collections by Maurice Naftalin and Philip Wadler” I found it a useful one but I would say you don’t need it for the exam. Khalid and Rolf book has an amazing chapter on Generics which gives you perfect knowledge which enables you to deal with almost any type of Generics questions way higher than the exam level! Also don’t miss Angelika Langer Generics FAQ too. She has the answers for your Generics surprisings!

Exams:
Well, you know where to go for this one: our perfect Examlab software! But just a caveat here: don’t consider this as a self assessment tool for the last days! Instead, try to answer its questions during your preparation process, even as soon as when you finish each objective. I made a mistake to leave it up for the last week and I did not find enough time to go over it more than once.
Khalid and Rolf book also comes with a Mock exam which is very deep and helpful. And yes Master Exams are so important too! Even though it’s a pain to answer the Master exam questions through its simulator software but make sure that you finish all three Master Exams before going for the exam cause you may find it very helpful at you exam day ;-) I believe you can freely download it from the “Learn key” website even if you don’t buy the K&B book.
Other than that, in my opinion, you absolutely don’t need any commercial Mock exams at all! The sources that I introduced so far contains over 1000 questions which is enough, more than enough! I also bought ePractice exam from Sun but it has nothing more than that free self assessment exam available freely on Sun SCJP webpage.

Java Ranch:
Contribute to this forum! Believe me it lets you learn many new things or reinforce your learned concepts. You learn concepts but forget it too quickly? Start discussions about it with other folks in here. That concept will be tattooed on your mind!!


Ok, fellow ranchers: Good luck to you all! Study with passion and when it's time to going for the exam, beat it hard and beat it deep!


All the Best,
Morteza Manavi-Parast
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1032
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Morteza,

I congratulate you for passing, and let me say that your score does not even begin to reflect how much you know about Java. There are very few people in this board which know as much as you do, and which are willing to go to the depths of logic that you are willing to go to explain and understand Java. If I were you I wouldn't take the score too seriously however. I myself took the exam last week and scored 90% (but like you I only had doubts on 2 questions, at least one of which I thought was in error, and for which I had to pick "the least incorrect answer".) And I also expected more than that, but no big deal. At the end of the day it's about how much knowledge you have and about how much you enjoy working with Java (both attributes which you obviously have in abundance.)

Best Regards,

Ruben
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1376
Eclipse IDE Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi

Congrats Morteza !!!

I agree

i am also reading Khalid book for past one week .
I have just completed third chapter. Just going to read fourth chapter now.

Khalid book has excellent example/excercise questions given at the end of each topic..
I guess every SCJP aspirant must go through these question before giving any mock exams or actual SCJP exam

Thanks
Abhay


 
Bartender
Posts: 6663
5
MyEclipse IDE Firefox Browser Linux
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congrats !
 
Bartender
Posts: 4116
72
Mac TypeScript Chrome Java Linux
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congrats !!!
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 814
Java Linux
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congrats
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 88
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congrats Morteza for SCJP and Thanks for sharing useful information, As you have discussed about the book by Khalid Mugal, Is there any pdf of this book on the net, if so please share it so that person's like me can read/download it online...Thanks
 
author and cow tipper
Posts: 5009
1
Hibernate Spring Tomcat Server
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congratulations! And thanks for the great feedback!

-Cameron McKenzie
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 5575
Eclipse IDE Windows XP Java
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congratulations!
 
Greenhorn
Posts: 26
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
well done

and thanks for the feedback
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 56
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congratulations and thanks for the information.
 
Sheriff
Posts: 7134
1360
IntelliJ IDE jQuery Eclipse IDE Postgres Database Tomcat Server Chrome Google App Engine
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My congratulations Morteza.
Glad to know that ExamLab helped for your preparation.
Even though you expected a score higher than 95%, your score 84% is a nice score absolutely.

Devaka.
 
Morteza Manavi-Parast
Ranch Hand
Posts: 66
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Ruben,

Thanks so much, it’s very kind of you to say that. Everything you said about my level of Java knowledge is truly deserved yourself. I personally learned quite a few things from you and I’m pretty sure it’s the same case for lots of other folks in this forum.

By the way Congratulation on your great score man! Way to go! Actually at the exam, I also had a strong feeling that one of my question was wrong too but I didn’t surprised at all as I heard the same story from other fellows in here before. But anyhow, like you said, no big deal…

I’m interested to know what would be your next step? Going for SCWCD or SCBCD right off the bat or just wait for a bit to see what Sun certifications is going to as a result of upcoming Oracle/Sun merging?

 
Morteza Manavi-Parast
Ranch Hand
Posts: 66
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Abhay,

Thank you, and if you only made it up to chapter 4 so far, then I would say you still have a way to see much more beautiful things…. Wait until to read the chapter 12, 14 and 15… You’ll love it!

Plus, don’t miss the vital book errata! There are quite a few corrections for the first printing. You can find it from the link below:

http://www.ii.uib.no/~khalid/pgjc3e/errata.html
 
Morteza Manavi-Parast
Ranch Hand
Posts: 66
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Sunil,

Thank you. Well, actually this book does not come with a pdf version. However, if you buy the book, it’s included with a free 45 days subscription to the SafariOnline website which then you will have access to the full book’s online version.

So unfortunately I have not much things to share with you other than 3 pdf chapters from the book which you can freely download them from the link below:

http://www.ii.uib.no/~khalid/pgjc3e/samples.html


Plus, its mock exam engine is also freely available from here:

http://www.ii.uib.no/~khalid/pgjc3e/engine.html
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 404
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
congratulations
 
Ruben Soto
Ranch Hand
Posts: 1032
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Morteza Manavi-Parast wrote:Ruben,

Thanks so much, it’s very kind of you to say that. Everything you said about my level of Java knowledge is truly deserved yourself. I personally learned quite a few things from you and I’m pretty sure it’s the same case for lots of other folks in this forum.

By the way Congratulation on your great score man! Way to go! Actually at the exam, I also had a strong feeling that one of my question was wrong too but I didn’t surprised at all as I heard the same story from other fellows in here before. But anyhow, like you said, no big deal…

I’m interested to know what would be your next step? Going for SCWCD or SCBCD right off the bat or just wait for a bit to see what Sun certifications is going to as a result of upcoming Oracle/Sun merging?


Thank you Morteza, I appreciate your kind words. I am going to be preparing for SCWCD and SCJD, and right now I am heavily involved with Python as well. Whatever path you decide to take, I am sure you will be successful. I wish you great luck, and I will see you in the forum.

Regards,

Ruben
 
Morteza Manavi-Parast
Ranch Hand
Posts: 66
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Thanks buddy, See you around then.

Good Luck,
Morteza
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 69
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congrates

Good Score
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 52
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congrats Ruben and Morteza. You guys have been great at explaining the questions with detailed analysis.

Keep pouring in your thoughts in this forum. you guys have been great contributor here.
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 232
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
congratulation!
 
Greenhorn
Posts: 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Congratulations!
 
Ranch Hand
Posts: 86
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Morteza ,
Congratulations for your great work.can you tell me in "Learnkey.com" where we can download k&b master exams?
 
Greenhorn
Posts: 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

NagarajGoud uppala wrote:Hi Morteza ,
Congratulations for your great work.can you tell me in "Learnkey.com" where we can download k&b master exams?


I just downloaded the exam recently so I have this information handy.

The learnkey.com site is very unhlepful in finding the correct place to download the 3rd master exam.
It turns out you need to register on the following website to download the 3rd master exam for the K&B book.
http://osborne.onlineexpert.com/elearning/user/masterexam.php
 
Don't get me started about those stupid light bulbs.
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic