Java Programmer Certification (SCJP) 1.4

SCJP 1.4

Sun has introduced its new Java Programmer Certification (SCJP) exam (310-035) for Java 2 platform 1.4 since 19 ^th August 2002. I have had an opportunity to take the beta exam for the same much before it was officially released by Sun. The beta exam had 161 questions and 4 grueling hours to complete it. Fortunately, the real SCJP 1.4 exam consists of 61 questions and 2 hours to answer them. Usually, time is never an issue. The new SCJP 1.4 exam has dropped AWT and IO from its objectives. Instead, the new SCJP 1.4 exam has added few new objectives and it covers few others from the previous SCJP exam (310-025) in greater details. These topics are - (1)Assertions, (2)Collections, (3)Wrapper Classes and (4)Equals and Hash Code. While topic like assertions is completely new, rest of the topics are covered in more details in the new SCJP 1.4 exam. Given below is the compilation of the resources that might be useful while studying for these new topics.

General Resources

Marcus Green's JCHQ.net - Marcus Green has updated his tutorials and study material for the new SCJP 1.4 exam. As usual, his material is of high quality, complete with relevant details and review questions.

Assertions

Assertions from Java language guide - Obviously, the most authoritative reference for assertions. If you study and understand this document completely, you are ready to take on any assertion question.
Assertions from JLS - Another authoritative reference, from the Java Language Specification. You don't get anything more specific and accurate than this. Not a very easy reading though!
Assertion from JavaWorld, Part I - Part I of a very good article about assertion, their usage and mechanism.
Assertion from JavaWorld, Part II - Part II of the above mentioned article. This one discusses what is proper and improper use of assertions. The point of view discussed here is different from the one that is advised by Sun.
Assertions by Khalid Mughal - A sample chapter available from Khalid Mughal's forthcoming book on SCJP 1.4 exam with review questions.
Assertions from JDK 1.4 Tutorial - This is a sample chapter from the book JDK 1.4 tutorial by Gregory M. Travis. This chapter is available online and covers assertions in details. It should make understanding assertions quite easy.
JDC Tech Tip on Using Assertions - This is the Java Developer Connection's Tech Tips issue dated 9 ^th April 2002. Discusses using assertions practically, also discusses a little overhead that is involved while using assertions.

Collections

Collections from Java Tutorial - Details about collections framework and classes from online Java Tutorial. AFAIK, the tutorial does not yet cover JDK 1.4 specific classes like LinkedHashSet or LinkedHashMap. Nevertheless, exhaustive material to understand Java's beautiful collections framework.
Short course on Collections - A very good short course on collections, it is available as a .pdf document. It cover basics and gives practical examples of using collections. It is also available as a Power Point Presentation (.ppt) format - from here.
JavaWorld article on Collections - Though a bit old, this is a wonderful article on Java Collections from JavaWorld.
Collections - List at JavaRanch - An article about List interface of Java Collections and classes which implement it by Thomas Paul. Very well explained.
Collections - Set at JavaRanch - An article about Set interface of Java Collections and classes which implement it by Thomas Paul. It covers the new Set class LinkedHashSet in brief, also compares performance of various Set classes.
Collections - Map at JavaRanch - Map interface article from the same series by Thomas Paul. Again very well explained with all the necessary details with new classes like LinkedHashMap.
List from Java Collections book - This is a sample chapter about List interface and implementing classes from John Zukowski's Java Collections book. This chapter covers List interface in details.
LinkedHashSet and LinkedHashMap - An article by John Zukowski covering details about the new J2SE 1.4 Collection classes. This article covers these two classes in great details with their features with relevant code and examples.

Equals & Hash Code

Equals & Hash Code from Effective Java - Nice book by Joshua Bloch. Chapter 3 of this book is available online in a pdf format. This chapter deals with all the methods of java.lang.Object class. It also discusses in details the implementation of equals and hashCode methods, correct and incorrect way of overriding them etc.
Equals & Hash Code from JavaWorld - This article discusses the methods of java.lang.Object class, including Equals and Hash Code. It also explains shortcomings of using the instanceof condition in the equals method.
Importance of Equals and Hash Code - This FAQ question discusses the importance of overriding Equals and Hash Code methods correctly. It also discusses important issues regarding these two methods with respect to Java collection framework.
Equals & Hash Code from JavaRanch - An article discussing details of equals and hashCode methods, correct way of implementing it by yours truly. ;)) This article is also featured on this very site. It also includes a small mock test for this topic.

Wrapper classes

I believe for the wrapper classes it is sufficient to refer to the API documentation and write and test the code using various methods of the wrapper classes mentioned in the SCJP 1.4 objectives. If you are aware of any additional resources which might help in this, please do let me know.

Books

<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/technofundo-20" ></MAP><img src="//rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com" valign="top">	Sun Certified Prgrammer for Java 2 - by Kathy Siera. One of the most useful books for the new SCJP 1.4 exam, which covers all the related topics in details with detailed explanation and review questions.	<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/technofundo-20" ></MAP><img src="//rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification (2^nd Ed.) - by Khalid Mughal. A revised version for SCJP 1.4, a very comprehensive book with excellent coverage. Includes abridged version of Whizlabs Java Certification (SCJP 1.4) Exam Simulator as well. Excellent choice!

Mock Exams

Whizlabs Java Certification (SCJP 1.4) Exam Simulator (Formerly known as J@Whiz) - A commercial exam simulator and a very useful product indeed. It contains 10 Mock tests having questions from all SCJP 1.4 objectives with a very detailed and good explanation. It also has a timer based quiz that would help in revising the topics on the last day. It can be customized in many ways to take mock tests based on a particular topic or topics, it analyzes the performance and provides a feedback regarding the test. It can really boost your score in the real exam. It's definitely worth its price. I would highly recommend it.

Java Programmer Certification Mock Exam - This book is a collection of exams and detailed answer explanations by Dan Chisholm. The questions, answers and explanations are designed to exercise, test, and expand your knowledge of the topics that are relevant to the Java programmer certification exam. His mocks are tougher than the real exam; they help in understanding the topics quite well.

JCertify - Another commercial mock exam simulator for the SCJP 1.4 exam. Comes with good study material, and customization.

Java Prepare - A good site for Java certification with tutorials, mock exams, FAQs etc.