Andrea Black

Hi, Brian!

I passed the OCAJP 7 this spring, the older version. (Although my score should have been higher. That's another story.)
Whenever I really wanted to understand a concept, I'd read the corresponding section in the Sierra & Bates guide to the OCPJP 6. I am loving the new Sierra & Bates guide to OCA/OCP SE7 that just came out.

But if you are studying for OCAJP 7, you should hang out on: https://coderanch.com/forums/f-117/ocajp
They will have more OCA appropriate topics.

Good luck!
Andrea

OCA/OCP Java SE & Programmer I & II Study Guide by Sierra & Bates arrived from Amazon today, and I'm already reading and enjoying it!

Yes it is. And I just got an email saying it shipped out today. Long time coming!

Hello Andrea Black,
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Ohhhh...well of course hard coding the current name of the class or anything that could change, is poor practice. And I feel so stupid about code tag thing.

Thank you, and thank you!

And I can't get the code formatting to work! I chose Java and Code, and placed the tags before the code snippet, but it refused to format. It took out my blank spaces. And if I could figure out how to fix it, which must be simple, it won't let me edit my post any more.

I am going through the OCP Java SE7 Programmer Certification Guide V11 (work in progress) by Mapa Gupta. She says you shouldn't use names of classes in the override, but then seemingly contradicts that.

First: "You override the toString inappropriately, if it returns any text that is specific to a particular class, for example, name of class or value of a static variable:..."

Then she goes on to show examples of inappropriate overriding, but only with static variables, not names of classes. OK.

Then there is a Twist in the Tale Exercise asking which overrides are appropriate and inappropriate:

class Book4 { String title; int copies = 1000; public String toString() { return getClass().getName() + ":" + title; }
So I marked this as inappropriate because it returns the name of the class. But, she seemingly contradicts herself in the answer key, when she says:
"The method toString in classes Book3 and Book4 returns the value of title and its class name-which also exhibit appropriate definition of this method."
What???
So then I google all over the place, and nowhere does it say returning the names of classes is inappropriate, and in fact one source says it's good practice.

Somebody please help.

Thanks. Sorry, I am just getting antsy because I thought the Sierra/Bates book would be out by now, and have been lazy and wasting time waiting, even though there are other study materials available.

That is a good question! Actually there is a different subforum specifically for OCAJP questions. And I remember this subject has been discussed there already.

There are so many subforums, it can be confusing.
Here is the link to the other forum: https://coderanch.com/forums/f-117/ocajp

I have been putting off studying for the OCPJP7 for a long time. I am so glad it's coming. Should we pre-order from Amazon or is there a better way?

I forgot to say: I was NOT allowed to take a drink in! One of things I brought with me was a bottle of spring water. The attendant insisted I lock everything I had, including the water, in a locker.

I took the OCA7 exam on March 26 and don't remember everything but here are some points:

1 - I was giving a whiteboard and dry erase marker. The dry erase marker dried out and stopped working. I panicked but it was close to the end and I didn't want to waste time going out of the area, not sure if I was allowed to or if the clerk would be at the desk anyway. Afterwards they said I should have asked. This definitely impacted my score.

2 - Yes, could mark questions & return.

3 - Yes, move freely without restrictions.

4 - Don't remember about surveys.

5 - I knew how much time was remaining so there must have been some timer or clock.

6 - I didn't know if I was allowed to take a break or not.

7 - Got results on the drive home.

8 - I don't know if I even ordered the hardcopy.

Just like to add, I'm reading chapter 1 of Gupta's new pre-release guide to OCPJP 7, and I love it. Clear and well written. This chapter is review for those who took OCAJP 7 though. I just don't think I can learn the new stuff this way.

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:Swaraj,
Yes. Later this year, it will be better to go straight to OCPJP 7. (when the books come out for it.) Until that happens, you are better off getting the cert there are study materials for under your belt first.

This is exactly the issue I am dealing with. I passed OCAJP 7 this spring. I have been wasting time, hoping for Sierra/Bates new book to be released. I learned well from their previous guide. I now have Mala Gupta's early release edition. But I am new to Java and find that book too dry to learn from initially. I like to use it for reference. Today I decided to bite the bullet, and learn all the objectives on Oracle's website, somehow. I am looking forward to reading Head First Design Patterns as well.

What do you think the people who already passed OCAJP should do at this point?