hello fellow-ranchers i cleared da scjp-exam wid 93% today !! (to be precise , 10 hours back , actually i had to move to da capital for exam , so it took me dis long to share wid u ) Trapped 55 cows out of 59 . Here r sum of my exp , which may help u ( am open to any kind of queries u hav , excpet for da original questions ) NO OF Qstns,i got : Declaration n acess control 5 Flow control & exceptions 7 Operator n assignments 7 Lang fundamentals 6 GC 1 OOPs 8 threads 7 awt 6 lang 5 io 5 util 2 i lost 1 question in each of foll : - io( about FileInputStream constructor ) - util( about ArrayList properties) - flow-control ( i donno ) - operators ( i donno ) TYPE of Qstns : 15-16 More than one choice ( it was told , how many correct ans to chosse ) 1 Type-in-da-box type Rest , single choice At least 38-40 questions were accompnied with code , but : For 5-6 qstns ( almost all from Threads ) , code-lines == 25-32 For 11-13 qstns , code-lines == 14-16 for rest , code-lines<14 Other-observations : -All questions from IO , were based on constructors -From AWT , except one q( which was from event handling) , rest were from Layout managers -Thread question require reading n re-reading to get hold of -Qstns n answer's wording is very very clear , no vague statements like some mocks -The type-in question wanted me to type value of some string , i used double-quotes(") ( like "javaranch" ) , and this answer was considered correct. -At least 4 questions about Inner n Anonymous classes -Almost all qstns from operators , flow-control , threads , lang fundamentals were accompnied wid code. -Try to be calm always , tho i had restless moments in bween , but i tried best to be clam , and dat helps. Very easily , completed da exam in 65 minutes , properly concentrating on each question . Rest of the time i used for review again n again till end . Books used : -Programmers Guide to Cert ,by Khalid A Mughal ( 2 readings , except for IO chapter , for which i didnt had time ) -Java Lang Specification 2nd ed ( Only chap 8 n 9 complete , rest chap only imp-parts n examples , dont miss any examples ) -Sun's Java Tutorial ( for introductory purpose to everything) Final-reading Notes : -Velmurugan Periasamy's Notes ( gr88888 notes , complete coverage of imp points , i just had da time for first 7 chapters , but recommened u all of it ) Others : - API Documentation - Maha anna's discussion archives(www.javaranch.com/mahaanna ) ( must do , interesting points discussed here) - IBM's IO Tutorial , coverage is same as khalid's 18 chapter , but it's presentation style is good. - Discussed doubts at javaranch n www.jchq.net - Mock-tests Given As usual me running all da time , so hadn't got enough time for many mocks , but i gave da foll : 14sept Hardest-test 63% (12 out of 19) 16sept Khalid-Mock 71% 17sept MarcusGreen-1 90% 19sept GuoqiaoSun-3 85% 20sept RHE-Tester 94% 20sept MarcusGreen-2 90% 20sept BillBrodgenApplet 92% ( 35 out of 38) 20sept Jarwoski'sApplet 81% ( 81 out of 100 , rest 58 skipped) 21sept MarcusGreen-3 93% 21sept GuoqiaoSun-1 90% 21sept GuoqiaoSun-2 85% Javaranch Rules Roundup - 88% - 100% all-da-time I learned at-least 4-5 new things from each mock .So , I recommened u to go through some more quality mocks if time permits. Write down da questions u missed , and review missed questions one day before da exam , it helped me.
Plan-for-preparation : Originally i am a C-language student , had done few projects with C lang but no experince with Java , except for 4-5 servlets i written in Java . So i had to learn Java-lang from scracth almost , i set da target of 5-6 weeks for this due to my time constraints So wht i did was , introduced myself to da things from Sun's Java tutorial , along wid reading da same topics from khalid , n JLS . I 'll write down all da points i had doubt wid , and will write code to test those points or discuss them at javaranch. I wrote code for almost every topic , but for OOPS-concepts , and Threads i had to write losta code to convince myself. Also had look at prevously written java-code , dat helps. No other special technique i adopted , just trying to clear as-many of my doubts as i culd , worked For first 2 weeks , i put very less time just 3 hours a day , but then i realized n improved to 4-5 . But actual hardwork i done was in last 10 dayz , putting upto 7-8 hrs a day. so My Advice : -Put in as much time as u can -Write as much code as u can -Discuss doubts as much as u can , and answering to others doubts is a learning-exp in itself.
Acknowledgements My heartly thanks goes to all da fellow ranchers , who always been prompt for help , just to name few : Ashik uzzaman , Swati bannore , Vanitha Sugumaran , leena rane, Angela narain ,Jose Botella , Jane Grishti ,Ragu Sivaraman , Guoqiao Sun , Sandeep Desai , Ashok Khetan and rest all fellow-ranchers Special Thankx to Guoqiao Sun , Marcus Green , Bill Brodgen n Jammie Jarwoski , for putting in there valuable time to design gr8-mocks n sites. Thankx to Maha Anna , for putting up gr8 resources links , and discussion archives Thankx to author of KAM-book , JLS , n Sun's Java Tutorial. Thankx to folks' at IBM for gr8 work about IO tutorial. Thankx to creater n maintainer of www.javaranch.com n www.jchq.com Last , but not da least , my special thankx to da designer , developer of Javaranch Rules roundup Game. I liked it so much , n got stuck into playing it again n again . Idea of Trapping cows as u go along answer qstns is so imaginative n jus unmatched , n implementation is so complete.. And it boosted my moral all-da-time entitling me to 88 to full 100% . Love thy game . And Thank u all out there who are for da cause !
Plan to hunt for job next , n after getting one , n after sum experinece , i plan to go for SCWCD & IBM's XML certifications.( just plans yet ). For now , i hav to learn J2EE platform . ( so i be here on javaranch , all-da-time ) Good Luck to everyone ! u r not alone --------- (int)Math.ceil(2.5) cheers to myself ! Gagan.
Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 SCWCD IBM486 <br />Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day, keeps you going.<br /><a href="http://www.objectfirst.com/blog" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">My Blog</a>
anurag dwivedi
Greenhorn
Joined: May 18, 2001
Posts: 22
posted
0
Heartiest Congratulations for you superb performance and best wishes for your future. Anurag
Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform.
Samira Mastali
Ranch Hand
Joined: Aug 03, 2001
Posts: 74
posted
0
Congrates. Thanks for your time to share all of your experiences. Best wishes, Samira
Jane Griscti
Ranch Hand
Joined: Aug 30, 2000
Posts: 3141
posted
0
Congratulations Gagan ... nice score ------------------ Jane Griscti Sun Certified Programmer for the Java� 2 Platform
Dear Gagan, congra! Vvery..gudda....i was watin for da news man....Have a shampane as i knew u 'ld fly with us... Ur preparation was da solid...u worked hard n i think we can start planning for da SCWCD 1st. Carry on gggagannnnnnnn.... [/^ + ^\] ....==.... ------------------ Muhammad Ashikuzzaman (Fahim) Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform --When you learn something, learn it by heart!
[This message has been edited by Ashik uzzaman (edited September 25, 2001).]
Ashik Uzzaman Senior Member of Technical Staff, Salesforce.com, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Padmaja Balaji
Ranch Hand
Joined: Jun 13, 2001
Posts: 122
posted
0
Congratulations Gagan ! GREAT SCORE. Padmaja
Angela Narain
Ranch Hand
Joined: Apr 14, 2001
Posts: 327
posted
0
Wow ! Gagan it's a great score. Well done. Wanted to ask , that in the fill in the blank type, do they mention writing within the quote..( I just read that u mentioned the questions were very very clear )
[This message has been edited by Angela Narain (edited September 25, 2001).]
ashok khetan
Ranch Hand
Joined: Jul 29, 2001
Posts: 153
posted
0
congrats Gagan!!! fact..i was eagerly waiting fot it! Nice...feel proud!.. u have won the battle! my turn on tuesday! Keep going on! wish u all the best. ashok.
Gagan Indus
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 28, 2001
Posts: 346
posted
0
Thankx Anurag , Samira ,Jane , Muhammad , Ashik , Padmaji , Angela n Ashok ! n good luck to all u guyz too ! Ashik , thankx for da drink , ma'n ! , i wish all of u to join me in drinks ! n yes Ashik , i hav noted u already going strong for SCWCD , i be joining u soon ! , good luck to u
Angela , it wasnt mentioned whether to use quotes or not , tho it seems obvious ( Yes , questions were indeed very very clear ) it was kinda this ( no where near to original q, just to give u idea) String s="java"; String r="ranch"; s+=r; What is da value of s , after execution of 3rd line ? i typed "javaranch" , including quotes , and it was considered correct So my advice , do use quotes for String-values any other query is welcome Good Luck Ashok ! tuesday is here ! go , go ,go n do it !
------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .
Angela Narain
Ranch Hand
Joined: Apr 14, 2001
Posts: 327
posted
0
Considering your example, i suppose even writing javaranch without the quotes should be considered correct ? What do u say ?
swati bannore
Ranch Hand
Joined: Oct 18, 2000
Posts: 201
posted
0
CONGRATS Gagan.........Very well Done.Your score and understanding of Java is superb. ALl the queries u answered were well wriiten and explained...Keep it Up!! Thanx ( Whenever, I see ur name..it reminds me of old Indian adv..it goes like this..Khao Gagan..Raho Magan... .do not mind...)
Swati Kale
SCJP
SCWCD
Guoqiao Sun
Ranch Hand
Joined: Jul 18, 2001
Posts: 317
posted
0
Hi, Gagan, you did so execellent there! Congratulations to you! With best wishes to your future career!
------------------ Guoqiao Sun Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform try my mock exam¹²³ at my homepage.
Guoqiao Sun<br />SCJP2 SCWCD2<br />Creator of <a href="http://www.jiris.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.jiris.com</a>, Java resource, mock exam, forum
Ragu Sivaraman
Ranch Hand
Joined: Jul 20, 2001
Posts: 464
posted
0
Gagan, Excellent Score !!!~~~~ Way to go !!! Good luck for you future Ragu
Gagan Indus
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 28, 2001
Posts: 346
posted
0
Thankx Swati , Guoqiao , Ragu ! n best wishes for u guyz also Angela , Yes . i also think even typing javaranch widout quotes shld also do Swati , lol..lol , u really made me laugh there ... yeah made me recall of school dayz , when some freinds used to say dat to me "khaoo Gagan , raho magan " lol ( for non-indian fellows-> it means , "eat gagan n live happily " , "Gagan" is also a brand name of edible-oil LOL ...tho da meaning of my name is "sky , blue-sky " ) ( and tell u more , Swati , here at our place , Company "Gagan" has sponsered some public properties , so having their name on them , so whenever i 'll use to visit these places ( of course when i was kid) , i 'll use to claim my stake at those places , n feel proud ! LOL..lol..lol..lol )
------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .
Hi Gagan, Congrats!!! Excellent score man. I am interested in knowing where can I find the IBM IO notes that you mentioned. I'll be starting my prep. in a day or two. I had also wanted to know abt. type in questions, but I guess now my doubts have been cleared. Thanks, - Manish
I hav a query , for all of u already having exp wid this : hmm.. i had a address change , so i updated my mailing address at www.galton.com/~sun/ . But the FAQ at dis site says , Sylvan database is different from this . So where can i update my demographics in Sylvan database ? Thanks
------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .
Mateen Nasir
Ranch Hand
Joined: Aug 01, 2001
Posts: 33
posted
0
can anyone give me the link for Velmurugan Periasamy's Notes Thanks
Gagan Indus
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 28, 2001
Posts: 346
posted
0
Mateen Vel's notes r here: http://www.geocities.com/velmurugan_p/ ------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going . [This message has been edited by Gagan Indus (edited September 27, 2001).]
Vikrama Sanjeeva
Ranch Hand
Joined: Sep 02, 2001
Posts: 756
posted
0
Congrats Gagan.... Dashing score!! Thanx for sharing your valuable experience.
(am open to any kind of queries u hav , excpet for da original questions)
Well, i am not going to ask the original questions anymore.But i have a Big problem which i want to share with you. I have too much problem with learning I/O.I don't no how i will learn by heart large amount of I/O methods,classes & constructors.I am totally confused when i reached I/O.Infact i've done OO,declaration,operators very robustly.But i have much problem in learning I/O. Please help me in this regard."Assume me as a layman"!! Thanks in advance. Viki.
Congratulations Gagan! Great Score! Your explanations for the queries really impressed me. All the best for SCWCD. Hope I can join you guys there, Vanitha.
Gagan Indus
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 28, 2001
Posts: 346
posted
0
Thankx Vikrama , Vanitha ! good luck to u guyz too ! Vanitha, yes , we be waiting for u in SCWCD after few dayz , hope to c ya there . Vikrama , Don u worry , IO is not dat tuff as it may seem at first glance. U jus go through it first time somehow , and u will get hold of da things coz : - most of the common method in each classes - similar type of constructors - specific properties of each sub-hierarchy u hav a look at Graphical-representation of IO-class hierarachy , and dat will make lot of work easier for u . U need to knw da constructor of : - Streams ( especailly FileInputStream , FileOutPutStream) - Readers n Writers ( especially FileReader , Filewriter , InputStreamReader , OutputStreamWriter) Along wid u need to knw da class-hierarchy of Stream n Reader/writers , and which of them are abstract( this is very imp ) Also take care of general methods in abstract classes InputStream / OutputStreams , Reader/Writer , and their return-types Also the constructor of File class are imp , along wid its methods . All the methods of File class given in Khalid shld suffice. I Didn't got any question from RandomAccessFile , but tht was jus coincidence , this class is as imp , also the fact tht it is not da part of IO hierarchy directly , it inherit from Object itself. so is serialization wid dae interfaces DataInput , DataOutput , ObjectInput & ObjectOutput. i will say , either take IBM's IO tutorial , or read this chapter from Khalid . And then hav a look at API Doc ( this is very imp , i skipped this part , n dats y i got confused n lost one q ). neither Khalid nor IBM IO tutorial covers all constructors. good luck for ur prep n exam ! ------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .
Puneet Narang7
Ranch Hand
Joined: Aug 18, 2001
Posts: 39
posted
0
Good Job Gagan, Thanks for LOADS of TIPS. Rgs, Puneet
leena rane
Ranch Hand
Joined: Aug 13, 2001
Posts: 280
posted
0
He Gagan, I am very happy, My inter connection was not working for last 4/5 days.Oops i am a little late. I am very very happy.93% .. Cool.You really deserve it. Hearty Congratulations All the Best for your future With Warm Regards, leena.
Amazing score . Great work! ------------------ Sun Certified Programmer for the Java� 2 Platform
Roopa Bagur
Ranch Hand
Joined: Nov 03, 2000
Posts: 267
posted
0
Congratulations.. great score :-)
Originally posted by Mathias P.W Nilsson: Amazing score . Great work!
Gagan Indus
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 28, 2001
Posts: 346
posted
0
Thankx Puneet , Leena , Valentin , Mathias , Roopa ! good luck n best wishes for u guyz also ! No leena , u r not late , may be i was lill early LOL yes same here net is slow , coz of extra virus-traafic , i heard Good luck for ur prep n exam ! i have a query about address-change in sylvan-database , i am repeating , c if anyone can help : i had a address change , so i updated my mailing address at www.galton.com/~sun/ . But the FAQ at dis site says , Sylvan database is different from this . So where can i update my demographics in Sylvan database ? Thanks ------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .
Gagan Indus
Ranch Hand
Joined: Feb 28, 2001
Posts: 346
posted
0
hey fellows ! Got my SCJP-certificate from Sun , and it looks cool ( tho they culd have bothered to laminate it , anyway ) My address is corrected as well in the database (along wid da cert , got one pin red/blue color , wid java caffine logo on it , and a logo-license-contract to be filled n sent back to Sun , if i wanna download n use their logo on my stationary ) ( tho i was xpecting some useful things on CD or sumtin , like demo/full version of some softwares , or APIs , tutorial , wuld have be better indeed . May be it was xpecting too much ) Regards
------------------ Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2 Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .
I agree. Here's the link: http://ej-technologies/jprofiler - if it wasn't for jprofiler, we would need to
run our stuff on 16 servers instead of 3.