1Z0-808 (OCAJP 8) - What are the specific topics covered on the exam? I keep seeing conflicting info

[Mark Richardson]

As per "Oracle University," the exam topics I should study for are listed below. My intention is to ONLY study enough to pass the OCAJP (1Z0-808) - Yes, I realize that the logical step is to follow this up with the 1Z0-809 certification, but in the interest of time, I want to focus only on the first certification. Is this a comprehensive list of topics? or is there more? Again - let me re-iterate: I want to study nothing more, and nothing less than what will be covered on the exam. Thank you.


1. What Is a Java Program?
• Introduction to Computer Programs
• Key Features of the Java Language
• The Java Technology and Development Environment
• Running/testing a Java program

2. Creating a Java Main Class
• Java Classes
• The main Method

3. Data In the Cart
• Introducing variables
• Working with Strings
• Working with numbers
• Manipulating numeric data

4. Managing Multiple Items
• Working with Conditions
• Working with a List of Items
• Processing a list of items

5. Describing Objects and Classes
• Working with objects and classes
• Defining fields and methods
• Declaring, Instantiating, and Initializing Objects
• Working with Object References
• Doing more with Arrays
• Introducing the NetBeans IDE
• Introducing the Soccer League Use Case

6. Manipulating and Formatting the Data in Your Program
• Using the String Class
• Using the Java API Docs
• Using the StringBuilder Class
• More about primitive data types
• The remaining numeric operators
• Promoting and casting variables

7. Creating and Using Methods
• Using methods
• Method arguments and return values
• Static methods and variables
• How Arguments are Passed to a Method
• Overloading a method

8. Using Encapsulation
• Access Control
• Encapsulation
• Overloading constructors

9. More on Conditionals
• Relational and conditional operators
• More ways to use if/else constructs
• Using Switch Statements
• Using the NetBeans Debugger

10. More on Arrays and Loops
• Working with Dates
• Parsing the args Array
• Two-dimensional Arrays
• Alternate Looping Constructs
• Nesting Loops
• The ArrayList class

11. Using Inheritance
• Overview of inheritance
• Working with subclasses and superclasses
• Overriding methods in the superclass
• Introducing polymorphism
• Creating and extending abstract classes

12. Using Interfaces
• Polymorphism in the JDK foundation classes
• Using Interfaces
• Using the List Interface
• Introducing Lambda expressions

13. Handling Exceptions
• Handling Exceptions: An overview
• Propagation of exceptions
• Catching and throwing exceptions
• Handling multiple exceptions and errors

[Roel De Nijs]

Check the exam topics on the official OCAJP8 certification exam page.

[Igor Soudakevitch]

Mark, it appears your list was taken verbatim from the topics covered in the Java SE8 Fundamentals course at Oracle University. As such, this is *not* the list of the 1Z0-808 exam objectives. Roel was absolutely correct suggesting you look up the official Oracle certification exam page. It contains 42 subjects grouped into 9 main categories. Also, please notice that Oracle recently changed the number of the exam questions from 77 to 80; the allotted time remains the same, 150 mins.

EDIT: A little illustration of the difference between these two lists: the topics covered at Oracle Univ. course mention "Working with Dates" (group 10) and "Introducing Lambda expressions" (group 12) while the exam specificly requires us to know the LocalDate, LocalDateTime and some other date-and-time-related classes introduced in Java 8; as for lambdas, the exam will specifically ask for the lambdas that consume Predicate expressions.

[Mark Richardson]

Igor Soudakevitch wrote:Mark, it appears your list was taken verbatim from the topics covered in the Java SE8 Fundamentals course at Oracle University. As such, this is *not* the list of the 1Z0-808 exam objectives. Roel was absolutely correct suggesting you look up the official Oracle certification exam page. It contains 42 subjects grouped into 9 main categories. Also, please notice that Oracle recently changed the number of the exam questions from 77 to 80; the allotted time remains the same, 150 mins.

EDIT: A little illustration of the difference between these two lists: the topics covered at Oracle Univ. course mention "Working with Dates" (group 10) and "Introducing Lambda expressions" (group 12) while the exam specificly requires us to know the LocalDate, LocalDateTime and some other date-and-time-related classes introduced in Java 8; as for lambdas, the exam will specifically ask for the lambdas that consume Predicate expressions.

Thank you, Igor. So, if you can please confirm the following: The list found under the "Exam Topics" tab which Roel De Nijs has posted... is this a complete and authoritative list? Can I focus only on these areas to prepare for the 1Z0-808 exam? Will I be missing anything or run into any additional pit-falls? I ask because different sources appear to give different answers on this question... and given that Oracle appears to add/remove material at whim, I want to be sure that I don't miss anything while preparing for the associate exam.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

The link Roel posted is the latest/authoritative list.

[Igor Soudakevitch]

Mark, you are asking a whole bunch of double-bareled questions; rather hard to answer

Whatever Oracle cert team does is well beyond anybody's control so there can be no guarantee. However, the list both Roel and Jeanne point to is most definetely your *best* bet – but only when viewed as a general guideline. Which isn't that helpful in practice. What you really should do is get a decent book such as Jeanny Boyarsky's OCA Study Guide. I did it myself and consider it one of the finest investments in terms of both my time and money. Please also keep in mind that *all* OCA-related study guides cover just a liitle bit broader spectrum of questions than the exam actually asks. It is done to account for Oracle's seemingly erratic behavior. Just a couple of examples off the top of my head: I don't seem to recall meeting a question that tested me on the fact that private methods are non-virtual; Arrays.binarySearch() also wasn't present although all books (and Enthuware Question Bank, for instance) cover this method. On the other hand, such questions might well pop up again, this time on your exam...

As for running into pitfalls... I did. Failed my first sitting epically. But it wasn't because I was prepping myself for a wrong / incomplete / overblown list of exam objectives. No, the root cause was my mental attitude during the actual exam; please don't take it as a shameless plug but entire first part of my book is all about that dazzling experience. You can download the whole story for free from my site; a much shorter version can be found right here, on CodeRanch: https://coderanch.com/t/668003/certification/Finally-passed-OCAJP.

 

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Igor,
Keep in mind that you see a subset of the exam questions. Just because you don't see a question, doesn't mean someone else won't the next hour.