Not spent a lot of time at the Ranch previously, but will have to tip my hat for the links I discovered here covering binary manipulation. Had two questions requiring this knowledge, and couldn't have answered them otherwise. Thanks to all who contributed.
Threads, Collections, I/O, and AWT. Become intimately familiar with them if you aren't already. It also wouldn't hurt know the odd methods/signatures of Math. Of course there are other topics covered, but these happen to be my weakest areas!
The
test is pretty straighforward, but it is absolutely imperative that you READ CAREFULLY. Take full advantage of the complete time alloted. Mark and move on if the answer isn't apparent fairly quickly. Personally, I spent the last half hour going back over every question, making sure that I understood what was being asked as well as verifying that the correct number of options had been selected. No sense in giving up easy points.
I've had about a year of programming experience with
Java previous to sitting for this test, mostly with EJBs and
servlets. Neither of which are directly covered. First I used the Sybex text to lay a foundation in all required areas (prior experience with Object Orientation is almost a must, as the Sybex text does assume familiarity). Then, I spent quite a bit of time (two weeks) working with JQPlus until I could score 90+ in all categories. After that, some of the other free mock exams out there. Take too many, though, and you might end up confusing yourself.
All in all, I'd say the real questions are a bit more difficult than any others that you're likely to encounter. Not many gimmees. Write code. Compile different variations until you're familiar with all the rules. Many questions will require you to distinguish between code that compiles OK, code that doesn't, and code that will compile just fine but throw a runtime exception. It is doable, but is not quite as easy as some out there might lead you to believe. Anyone scoring 90+ has every right to brag, IMO.
Good Luck.
