Hi everyone !
Here is what I did to pass the 1.4 Exam:
I started with a 1999 copy of
The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide: Programmer's and Developers Exams by Simon Roberts, et al. After reading the objectives for the 1.4 exam (this was about six weeks before Sun released the -035 exam...), I decided to wait for the 1.4 version rather than take 1.2. The fundamentals simply meant more to me than AWT. Because I chose to take the 1.4 exam, I simply skipped the final chapters on AWT and I/O.
I read this book carefully two times and really liked it, but felt the need for another perspective, so I picked up a copy of
Java 2 Exam Cram by Bill Brogden. Amazon says this book is now out of print. Maybe they're updating it for the new test.
So, after another couple of time through this book (it's a quick read...) I started to focus on the areas that I felt I needed a better understanding. I picked up a copy of
Java Threads, 2nd Edition by Scott�Oaks and�Henry�Wong. Only the first four or so chapters apply to certification. After this, I felt that I had a firm grasp of threads.
After that, I began using the mock tests. The Java Rules Round-up game on javaranch.com was great and a lot of fun. If I missed a question, I would research the correct answer in one of the books until I understood fully. Having had a pet heifer or two in my childhood, I was relieved to learn that no cows were harmed in the making of Rules Roundup.
Then, I began taking the various mock exams which you can find on the
JavaRanch mock exam links page. I skipped any questions relating to AWT or I/O and figured my averages accordingly. Before taking the test, I was scoring in the low-90s on Marcus Green's tests.
I cannot stress enough that after each test is is very important to fire up the Hi-Fi and play "The Hustle" at neighbor-pestering decibels to celebrate one's progress...
Finally, there's the issue of the new objectives. From Sun's website, I gleaned that there would be stronger emphasis on wrapper classes and collections. For the wrapper classes, I read the API documents to understand usage of the following methods:
doubleValue floatValue intValue longValue parseXxx getXxx toString toHexString To find the answer to hashCode implementation, I searched on Google, got an anti-drug advertisement and a link to a
FAQ by John Zukowski at jGuru. That provided what was needed!
For Assertions, I read the
Sun Collections Tutorial that Ron pointed out.
That's about it! I can confirm the exact passing grade tomorrow morning.
-Greg