Rating: 
Summary: Wasn't what I was looking for...
Review: I was hoping for something that'd give me information about what I needed to know to pass the exam, this book does that, but also goes into the how's and whys. I would have been more useful for me to have that information separated, allowing me to look that up when needed and not get bogged down with prose. Still a good book, but heavy to get through if you're already familiar with most of the concepts.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful Unavoidable (?) Boredom
Review: If you are aiming at Java Programmer certification (and only in this case) do buy this book. It is an excellent resource to test and amplify your skills. It offers clarity, depth , good code examples and more than enough material to challenge your current understanding and knowledge of Java. Don't expect it to be an easy or pleasant read however. It is a lean and mean certification guide, just the meat, no bells and whistles. It does give new meaning to the word "arid" but in doing so it offers very effective help to get your beloved certificate. The review questions and mock test are also excellent. As a side note, I don't think people should need to be "certified", cheese does.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent study guide, excellent reference
Review: If you are studying to become a Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform 1.4 this book will help you to receive not just a passing grade but an excellent understanding of the intricacies of the Java programming language. Mughal and Rasmussen aren't satisfied with simply giving you a minimal understanding of Java so that you can pass a test. They are interested in helping you to understand the language at a deeper level. After all, it is much easier to pass the certification exam when you actually understand the material rather than when you have simply memorized a lot of details.
I'll give you an example of the level of detail that the book covers. Section 5.2 of the book covers Selection statements. The section starts with a description of the if statement followed by an activity diagram which explains the flow of the statement. The authors then show a simple example followed by a clear explanation of the if statement. Then they do the same with if-else, this time using several examples. The same level of detail follows for the switch statement, again providing clear text, with a simple activity diagram, followed by several well explained examples. Finally, the section ends with several review questions. What this means is that this book can serve you well even after you have passed the certification exam. You will be hard pressed to find a better written reference.
The book covers all the information you need to pass the certification exam and covers the material needed to connect all the pieces together. The included CD has several mock exams with questions that will help you understand the type of questions that you will face on the actual exam. If you do well on the mock exams you will do well on the real thing. Overall, this is an excellent book for studying for the Java certification. But it is such a good reference that you will want to keep it nearby even after you have passed the certification.
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Summary: This is the best!
Review: In my opinion, this is the best book for the SCJP 1.4 certification. This book very comprehensive and covers all the exam objectives very well. You don't need any other book to score high in the real exam. Inorder to score high in the exam, you also need to write lot of small code snippets and take lot of practice exams. I scored 96% in the final exam.
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Summary: What a book !
Review: Mughal and Rasmussen's programmer's guide to Java Certification is a tremendous effort in putting accross a real conceptual picture of Java and OO Concepts. I used the first edition to take my SCJP exam, and cleared like a cakewalk. I used the second edition to know about newer things like Assertions in Java 2, and it impressed me once again.The practice questions given at the end of each lesson are really comprehensive w.r.t to the lesson under reading. On top of that a full mock exam at the end of the book adds more value to this precious work done by authors. I would strongly recommend using *only* this book for SCJP 1.4.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthwhile purchase
Review: The book has a a few typographical errors, but these are well documented at the "Errata" link on the book's website: http://www.ii.uib.no/~khalid/pgjc2e/ Typos notwithstanding, I cannot identify any problems with this book. It delivered on its promise to help me pass the SCJP1.4 exam. The technical information is presented in a clear, methodical fashion, and the accompanying self-test questions at the end of each chapter are surprisingly effective in identifying the reader's misunderstandings. The mock exam engine is a very good approximation of the real exam, albeit slightly less difficult. It would be nice if these authors produce a study guide for the SCJD exam.
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Summary: More than just a Java Certification guide
Review: There are many books on the market dealing with the topic of Java Certification, and this is a newer entry in that popular field. From the title, A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification, one is led to believe that this book is for experienced developers who are looking to complete their knowledge of Java and go on to the next level of mastery. This book does achieve this goal, but it goes far beyond this objective and is worth much more than a simple study guide or reference manual. In the preface of the book, the authors state that this book will not address graphics, as graphics topics are not part of the Sun Certification exam. Since this book is aimed squarely at helping the reader pass the certification exam, there is no need for topics dealing with graphics, and the authors make this very clear from the beginning. This is therefore the wrong book for you if you need AWT or Swing material. Consistent with its implied goal of expanding the knowledge base of experienced developers, the book has deep discussion of the structure of Java applications, but the discussion is taken a step further. The authors use UML diagrams, starting as early on as page 3, to give a more graphical depiction of the relationships and structures they describe. This is very different from the other Java books I have seen and is a very strong reinforcement for the topic. Not only does the reader read about the topic, but the UML diagrams drive home the point so that the reader can *see* the relationships. The authors even explain in enough detail how to interpret the UML notation, so previous knowledge of UML is not a requirement. UML is not the focus of this book, so there is not an emphasis on it and there's no exhaustive tutorial on it, but it's enough to supplement their main topic -- Java. Each chapter follows a logical format, beginning with a brief summary of the exam and chapter objectives, followed by one more sections of discussions with review questions for each section (some small sections do not have associated review questions following immediately). The chapters are concluded with a chapter summary and one or more programming exercises to reinforce the material. Answers to the questions, and solutions to the exercises, appear in an appendix towards the end of the book. Appendices A, B and C describe the different certification exams and states which exam this book targets. They explain in general terms what is involved in taking the test, from registration to getting the certificate from Sun, as well as the objectives of the exams as determined by Sun. Pay close attention to Appendix C -- it draws special emphasis to topics that are highlighted on the platform upgrade exam and points the reader to relevant sections in the book. The book includes a mock exam for certification as well, and the CD that comes with the book has additional mock exams. After digging through the book as well as taking the mock exams, the reader can expect to be very well prepared when taking the certification test. This book might be written with the express purpose of taking the certification exam, but it serves other purposes as well. After the exam, this book will serve the reader well as a reference guide for Java, arguably one of the best reference guides at that. For non-Java developers (coming from C, C++ or another developmental language) it serves as a marvelous introduction to Java that will propel the reader to an excellent understanding of Java from go. So, how does the actual content of the chapters stack up? I'll break this up into two paragraphs, because there's two different aspects I'd like to address. Many Java books are written in the typical 8th-grade English designed to be more "personal" and approachable. This book, however, uses more advanced grammar and vocabulary, being more in line with university reading levels. It gives the book a more "sophisticated" feel, and I personally like that. As far as the actual material, the reader cannot read this book and come away without a good understanding of the subject. For example, Chapter 9 deals with threads. Another certification manual I have follows the topic of threads by giving a tidbit of information, followed by a blob of code, followed by the next subtopic. There is never a real discussion of threads. This book, however, explains the need for threads, how they work, how to create them in both manners, and gives supporting code to emphasize the material. In the middle of the discussion are UML diagrams, depicting relationships of the structures used. After the supporting code, there's a little more discussion, followed by a section for review questions. ONLY THEN does the book move to more advanced thread topics, instead of teasing the user. A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification is an excellent preparatory work for taking the basic Java Certification exam, but it is much, much more. Readers can expect to come away with a thorough knowledge of Java fundamentals, as well as a basic understanding of UML and object relationships. After passing the exam, the reader will have a superb reference manual that will server him/her well. If you are wanting to take the exam, or even if you just want to learn Java, this book is the right place to start.
Rating:
Summary: This book passes the test because I did.
Review: This book definately helped me pass the test. It is very understandable, thorough and has good examples, questions and assignments. Its a very good book overall. The practice test has a few errors if you take it out of the book. For some reason I was expecting the practice test in the book and the test included on the CD to be different so I did the book test first. I would have liked them to have been different so that I had more practice. I suggest that the test on the cd be taken so as to simulate the actually test environment. One thing I felt was not explained well enough was overriding the hashcode() method. This is only a minor gripe though and that subject may only come up in 1 or 2 out of 61 questions.
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Summary: The Path To Certification
Review: This book is your road map to certification.
I find that this book covers the Platform from end to end and is better than any other I have seen in doing so. I spent a lot of time surfing the web looking for help on studying Java and while it is possible to find a lot of information, it is not going to be as well organized, as is this book. This book will give you what you need and it is all collected in one place. The only negative is that in many parts it does not flow too well. You are referred to other parts of the book. It might make the book thicker and more expensive but it would be nice to repeat things if need be in order to put them right where you are currently studying If you follow this book and do all the examples you will have a good knowledge of Java.
The included review questions and programming examples are essential. In my opinion it is not enough to simply read the book cover to cover. You must get on your computer and actually do it. The examples are a great help. The source code for all of this is on the CD. They don't make you go to a Web Site to get them. This is a very nice convenience. If you do the entire book and all of the examples you are almost certain to pass the EXAM. I especially think that the fundamentals of Keywords and Operators are clearly covered. When you take the EXAM you will be happy too. They ask a LOT of questions about these basics and you MUST understand all of them.
The explanation of Threading and Synchronization is also well done. This is probably one of the most difficult parts of the language to understand and it is done well. The other difficult topic is Exceptions and they too are well taught here. The EXAM asks a lot of questions about Catch and Try. The Mock exams included on the CD are very helpful. I believe that if you score well here, you are going to pass the EXAM. It is very important that you do these. You get not only an idea of where you stand but the EXAM simulator shows what it is like sitting the EXAM. It is as though you were there in person taking the EXAM. It makes it a lot less intimidating experience. The book also covers what you need to take the upgrade. If you are certified at a previous level you can use this to study for the upgrade EXAM.
Rating:
Summary: neccesary and sufficient - for SCJP 1.4
Review: This book was sent to me for review, and the review only takes into account the merits (and demerits, though hard to find) of this book. This book is like an end-to-end solution for Java 2 Platform 1.4 exam (CX-310-035). I found this book to be exceptionally well organized with in-depth coverage of exam objectives. Though there are already some books in the market which covers the exam objectives thoroughly, this book does better in comparison due to its extensive use of illustrations, UML diagrams and relevant code examples. What I liked most about this book is that it does not assume anything (even familiarity with object oriented concepts) about the reader; rather it explains the basic OO concepts in a nutshell. This book, in my opinion, can be used for dual purpose; it surely serves its main purpose - preparation for SCJP exam, secondly this book could be used by somebody new to Java to get a nutshell view of important concepts. I would want to specifically mention that the coverage of the Collections Framework and Thread Synchronization are really superb, they have covered it in a wholistic manner rather than what is only included in the exam objectives. And yes, for those of us who did SCJP 1.2 certification, it got the Platform Upgrade Exam covered! I wish they would write cert guides for the Developers exam and Enterprise Architect exam also. I do have what seems like a minor quibble. The exam objectives (Appendix B) sould be placed at a more accessible and handy location, have it in the beginning of the book, and/or have a tear-out page or whatever... readers would not complain if its duplicated in the book.
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