Step towards SCJD

[Harrison Mfula]

Greetings! I'm a new member of the JavaRanch family. I just got SCJP Java 6 certified 23.02.2011. I have bought and started reading Andrew's book about SCJD. I have a question, should I purchase the assignment from Oracle before finishing to read the book or maybe its better that I complete reading the book first?

[Roel De Nijs]

Hi Harrison,

Welcome to the JavaRanch!

Congratulations with passing SCJP6

You can already purchase (and download) the assignment from Oracle. Just don't forget about the 1 year time limit. So if you have limited time, I would suggest 1st reading the book, then organize your thoughts about how you'll develop the application and finally purchase and download it. Otherwise you could already purchase (and download) the assignment.
Don't forget to save a copy of instructions and database file (because you'll need an original copy of both when you are finished and submit your assignment).

Kind regards,
Roel

[Sean Keane]

I'm in the same situation, I still need to buy the assignment and I am reading the book. Although I have a retired version of the assignment, so I have some idea of what to expect, but I would say there's very little to be gained by having the assignment, unless you are fully prepared.

There's so much you can do before tackling the assignment that I think you are better holding off buying it until you are ready - because you only have a year to complete it, and you never know what may happen down the line to drag you away from the assignment.

The book is good to give you an overall view of things. But I would also look at each of the particular areas of Java that you will need to use and if you are not proficient in those areas, then read up on them also. The book is to teach you about the OCJD, not about the particular areas of Java you may need, so in some areas there's not enough info in the book.

My plan is to:

1) Finish the book from beginning to end.
2) Cover RMI.
3) Cover Threads.
4) Cover Some GUI topics.
5) Cover how I am going to test areas e.g. GUI, threads.

I'll do (2) and onwards as I am going through the book i.e. I wouldn't do (1) to (5) sequentially. So, for example, I am looking at the RMI section now in the book. The book contains very little on RMI, so I've left the book and gone off to read other resources, do some RMI programming etc.

A few other things I plan to do before actually tackling the exam are:

1) Read this book here http://www.amazon.com/Java-Developers-Exam-CX-310-252A-CX-310-027/dp/078972992X/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1298626511&sr=8-13 , apparently it covers the essay exam quite good. So it is a good idea I think to have an idea of potential exam questions, and how you will answer them, as you are going through the design\development phase.

2) One of the guys here posted a PDF paper about OCJD, I plan to read that.

3) Use the information on this forum. To note down common problems people had, how they approached the problems, various solutions they used etc. This will all help when it comes to the design stage of your project, and will feed into your essay exam i.e. why you made certain choices.

Maybe others who have passed the exam can share their strategy, resources they used etc, this would be helpful .

[Harrison Mfula]

Hi Roel,
Thanks, I think I'll read the book, do the sample assignment then purchase the Oracle assignment.

[Harrison Mfula]

Thanks Sean, very good plan. True, I'll use the forum to get the community's ideas. Could you share the retired assignment you mentioned? I'd like to just have a look.

[Roel De Nijs]

Harrison Mfula wrote:Could you share the retired assignment you mentioned? I'd like to just have a look.

As far as I know there is no retired assignment. The only time an assignment was retired, was in the Sun era and is known as the "Fly By Night Services" assignment. The URLyBird and Bodgitt & Scraper ones are the current assignments, which come both in different versions.

[Sean Keane]

Harrison Mfula wrote:Could you share the retired assignment you mentioned? I'd like to just have a look.

I wouldn't feel right about sharing the assignment. So I'm afraid I won't be sending that on I'm afraid.

Roel De Nijs wrote:
As far as I know there is no retired assignment. The only time an assignment was retired, was in the Sun era and is known as the "Fly By Night Services" assignment. The URLyBird and Bodgitt & Scraper ones are the current assignments, which come both in different versions.

But on the point of retired assignments. We had this discussion on another thread https://coderanch.com/t/522708/java-developer-SCJD/certification/Retired-Java-Developer-Assignment

Here is the final response I got from Sun

Any assignments purchased before Jan 2008 have been retired and we are not accepting the same. Your assignment was purchased on 5/7/2007 and this is no longer accepted.

If you wish to pursue the Java Developer certification, you will need to complete the requirements for the current certification path Oracle Certified Master, Java SE6 Developer.
Regards,
OCP Team

Call me a cynical. But I think that roughly translates as "we just want more money from you", rather than the actual assignment being retired