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Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:None of the study guides for the exam are meant for someone who has never read a programming book before. I like to recommend reading Head First Java or Thinking in Java first. I recently read Murach's Beginning Java with Eclipse which is also a good first Java book.
Francis Quillin wrote:Is OCA Java SE 7 Programmer I Certification Guide - Mala Gupta (the book in the Study Materials sticky) good if you're a complete beginner in Java taking the 1z0-803 exam? If not what is a good way for a completely new student to java to learn the basics and then move on to the Study Guides and mock exam questions?
Thanks
Francis Quillin wrote:Is OCA Java SE 7 Programmer I Certification Guide - Mala Gupta (the book in the Study Materials sticky) good if you're a complete beginner in Java taking the 1z0-803 exam? If not what is a good way for a completely new student to java to learn the basics and then move on to the Study Guides and mock exam questions?
Roger Jenkins wrote:
Mala Gupta is good if you are a beginner, but maybe you need something else even before that if you are a complete beginner. You might want to check out:
http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/java/java.html
Roel De Nijs wrote:Hi Francis Quillin,
First of all, a warm welcome to CodeRanch!
Francis Quillin wrote:Is OCA Java SE 7 Programmer I Certification Guide - Mala Gupta (the book in the Study Materials sticky) good if you're a complete beginner in Java taking the 1z0-803 exam? If not what is a good way for a completely new student to java to learn the basics and then move on to the Study Guides and mock exam questions?
As you are still a novice, you might benefit from reading a book on Java first (rather than a certification study guide). Many alternatives are available: Head First Java, Thinking in Java, Core Java, Deitel & Deitel, and so on. Or you could combine the Java text book together with an OCA certification study guide. And you also can have a look at the (free) Oracle Java tutorials.
Happy learning!
Kind regards,
Roel
Francis Quillin wrote:One question, if the book is old but really good would it still work for my exam which uses JDK 7? I've seen Head First Java mentioned a lot but its from 2005, is that a problem or will it not matter for the basics of java?
Roel De Nijs wrote:
Francis Quillin wrote:One question, if the book is old but really good would it still work for my exam which uses JDK 7? I've seen Head First Java mentioned a lot but its from 2005, is that a problem or will it not matter for the basics of java?
If it is about basic Java and/or OO concepts like strings, StringBuilder, arrays, ArrayList, overloading, overriding, if statement, switch statement, for loop, while loop, enhanced for loop,... it doesn't make a difference if you are using JDK 5 or JDK 7. But with a new JDK version you often have new language features and syntax changes which are of course not covered in an old(er) Java book. For example: in JDK 7 you can use strings in switches (the concept of a switch statement didn't change), you can use an underscore in numeric literals (again the concept of a numeric literal didn't change) and you have "the diamond" with generics (but it's only saving some characters, not changing the concept of generics).
Francis Quillin wrote:Oh ok I see, so what would you advise me do to cover the basics as a complete newbie? Should I read Head First Java and then go through the newer study guides to update my knowledge? Or use this website that was posted (http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/java/java.html) or a youtube tutorial series for the basics and then go through the study guides? Obviously either way I'm going to have to go through the study guides and mock exams but I just want to know the best methods to get knowledgeable and have a good basis in java before I go straight to the 1z0-803 material
Roel De Nijs wrote:
Francis Quillin wrote:Oh ok I see, so what would you advise me do to cover the basics as a complete newbie? Should I read Head First Java and then go through the newer study guides to update my knowledge? Or use this website that was posted (http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/java/java.html) or a youtube tutorial series for the basics and then go through the study guides? Obviously either way I'm going to have to go through the study guides and mock exams but I just want to know the best methods to get knowledgeable and have a good basis in java before I go straight to the 1z0-803 material
Yes, I would start with Head First Java. I didn't read it myself, but I have read some other books from the Head First series and I really like the style of writing. I do think you can also use several different resources together, it's definitely not one or the other. No, you should combine different resources, because the more resources you have, the more different ways of explaining you have and the more likely it will be that you understand all these concepts in the end.
I don't know that website, so I don't know anything about its quality. But you can give it a go (it's free). Because it's free, I would only use it as the main resource if its quality is verified and confirmed. That's why I would use different resources as well: you could verify statements in different resources and so it's easier to spot mistakes. And if one of the resources has plenty of mistakes, you'll know you can get rid of it Not every section of this website is appropriate for you, I had a look and you should only focus on sections 1 until 8 (included). All other sections are not considered to be basic Java and will not be covered by the OCA exam (some of them will be covered on the much more advanced OCP exam).
A final remark: don't spend your time at learning how to create GUIs in Java, because that's really advanced stuff and is not very useful. If you encounter a topic, just check the exam objectives of the OCA exams. If it's on the list, then you should learn and study about this topic (as the OCA exam is an entry-level certification about Java and OO basics).
Hope it helps!
Kind regards,
Roel
Francis Quillin wrote:Going through the basics right now with Head First Java, also just bought that Enthuware mock exam thing to check out how the questions come, pretty neat stuff gonna be helpful when I finish.