K&B SCJP Java 5 vs 1.4

[Anthony Karta]

To Authors and readers of K&B SCJP:

is there much different between these two books?

the reason I'm asking is I can get a lot cheaper price for 1.4 version. No much cash nowdays .

then, upgrade my knowledge to java 5 from resources on Internet.

is it a good way or worthed?

thanks folks
tony

[Bert Bates]

Well there is a BIG difference between the books (about 300 new pages plus about 200 new mock questions).

I can't tell you if it's worth it for you to find other resources to supplement for the 1.5 exam.

hth,

Bert

[Marcus Green]

There are far fewer resources freely available on the web that directly address the 1.5 objectives. If you are going to go for the 1.5 exam then you should really spend on the 1.5 specific resources.

[Anthony Karta]

Thanks Bert and Marcus for your input. Definitely I will buy the book!!

But as I cannot browse the book on store... Does the book assume no previous knowledge of Java 5 required and cover it thoroughly?

btw, How hard the exam compare to version 1.4?

thanks again
tony

[Bert Bates]

Hey Tony,

The book assumes that you know Java, but you don't have to know Java 5. In my opinion, the 1.5 exam is a lot harder than the 1.4 because very few topics were dropped from version 1.4 to version 1.5. but a LOT of new topics were added. In the case of our book, we dropped about 20 pages from the old book, and added about 250 new pages - but then, we tend to be kind of wordy

hth,

Bert