Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Book For Exam Preparation
Review: I am taking this opportunity to express my thoughts concerning this Java certification book. After reading the book in little over three weeks, working the review questions and taking the practice exam via the mock exam engine, I passed the Sun Certified Programmers exam for Java2 Platform with a score of 84%. I chose the book primarily based on the excellent reviews presented here.Admittedly, I did not want to read several books on the subject but instead preferred to complete one comprehensive book, then take the exam. This book is a thorough and extensive work covering the necessary material you will need to pass the exam. As pointed out in other reviews, the questions in the book are more difficult than that presented in the actual exam. The latter is certainly a safe means of preparation. I highly recommend the work as a source for programmers desiring to succeed on the exam.
Rating:
Summary: Great for exam and general review
Review: I have read several Java books (though not Bruce Eckel's Thinking in Java) and three Java certification books (this, Brogden's, and Roberts/Heller/Ernest's). This is by far the best of the lot. The book is written in the language typical of a "Primer" (part of this book's title). It is written in a very academic style, with excellent detail about the Java language and JVM. I just passed the Programmer's exam yesterday and owe most of my success to this book. The review questions in the book (and the sample exam at the book) are definitely harder than the real exam, and this turned out to be a good thing. I did not receive a passing grade on this book's sample exam nor in Brogden's (around 62% on both), but I passed the real exam with an 85%. If you can only afford one book, this is the one to get. If you have a little more room in the budget, buy Brogden's as well. It's a little more succinct (doesn't add as much additional material beyond the exam objectives), and covers a few things in a different way than this book. Don't forget to print out Sun's new Programmer Exam objectives (available on Sun's site)...they changed as of 10/4/00!!! Make sure as you study that you are covering each exam objective. The new passing grade is 61%, so expect the new exam to be harder.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST book on non-j2ee java.
Review: I have read over a dozen books on the java and this by far the best one for learning the language in its entirety. Obviously, this book can't cover everything but it gives a very thorough and in-depth introduction. If you can only have one book on java 2, make this the one you pick. Many other books on the subject waste tons of space with simple examples that aren't very informative. This book cuts through the nonsense and gives you all it can in its 700 pages. Great explanations, Great Code Samples, all around top notch.
Rating:
Summary: Makes one an accomplished programmer
Review: I took the Java 2 programmer certification exam some time ago and very narrowly missed the prevailing passing score of 71%. I had studied the Simon Phillips' Java 2 certification study guide for a week before the exam. The result was a disappointment. Little then I realise that the exam demands a lot of preparation which includes learning many new concepts, testing and applying them by writing code snippets, and some mental preparations. The initial disappointment dampened my spirit to try the exam again until recently I felt an urge to try again after I bought this book on the recommendation of one of my friend. I threw away Simon Phillips and embraced this book and went over it cover to cover at least three times until I felt comfortable that I digested the concepts real well and the practice samples at the end of each chapters felt quite easy. I also took study notes as I read and often would casually browse through the book. This, along with my Java programming experience got me through the exam on this second attempt with a score of 88%. I did not read any other book or guide, neither did I take any sample exam other than in this book. Exam or no exam, this book makes one an adept at programming in java, which I feel about myself during coding. Kudos, Khalid and Rolf.
Rating:
Summary: One time shop
Review: I just cleared the JCP exam with 86%. I bought Mughal's book three weeks ago. I should have bought it long time back. This book covers all topics covered by the JCP exam. If you have taken a course in other computer languages (and not dumb), then you should be able to read this book without any difficulties. The layout of the book is precise. All explanations are concise. Unlike Java Language Specification which is written for computer scientists, this book is written for programmers. All explanations are in plain English. The exercises at the back of each chapter are excellent. If you can clear all the questions at the back of every chapter, you should have no problem passing the exam! By the way, I have Deitel & Deitel's book which is 3 stars, Thinking in Java which is 4 stars, Beginning Java 2 which is 4 stars, the Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide which is 3.5-4 stars. As far as the JCP exam, none of them beats Mughal's book. If you want to learn Java as a language, I would say Thinking in Java, Beginning Java, and Mughal's book should not be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Really Helpful for certification
Review: I found this book to be a very useful resource for the Certification. The questions and mock exam were closer in quality and difficulty to the actual exam compared to other mock exams. I found quite a few other mock exams on the web to be misleading about how difficult the exam would be and also about what type of questions would be asked.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book for Certification and a little more
Review: I bought this book in addition to another Java cert book (The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide). While the other book was like a Java Cert for dummies and was straight to the point (gave u just what u need and nothing more), this book was more like a java textbook geared around certification. It had alot more indepth info than was needed for the exam. If your a true java nerd and you enjoy reading textbook type books, this is your certification book. If your someone in a hurry and just wanna pass the exam with a superfical knowledge of exam material, then some of the other books might be a better option. Overall, Good book. Gave info needed to pass the exam, and will be kept on the bookshelf nearby now that exam is over.
Rating:
Summary: Best technical review book for Java
Review: This is the most technical book I have read on the Java programming language. The book has only a few typos which is
pretty amazing since it is so technical. I do not recommend using this as an initial learning tool, however, once you have read the basic intro stuff, this book will get you to the other side. Great book for the exam too.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent preparation resource for Java Certification
Review: Like many reviewers here, I passed Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 1.4 Platform exam yesterday on the first try - thanks to this book. It's an excellent resource in preparation for the exam. Very thorough coverage of all required aspects. The book even goes beyond exam objectives as it covers advanced topics extensively (enjoyed inner classes coverage). Test question s at the end of each topic are tough but really test your understanding of the material. For 1.4 exam, make sure to get a chapter on assertions from book's web site.
Book's mock engine is a little tougher than one on the actual exam - make sure you score high on mock engine before taking the real test. This was the only book I used in preparation for the exam and it was enough. To succeed on the exam, take lots of online test simulators - that's the key! In my opinion, to befefit the most from the book you need to have some programming experience as this is not an entry level book. Will definitely keep this book as a reference resource. Michael
Rating:
Summary: A perfect resource to pass the Java certification exam.
Review: This book is well organized, precise, thorough, and very accurate. It uncovers all the detail of Java and the API that you need in order to pass the test. Using this book as my primary resource along with some practical experience and Sun's Java API documentation, I passed the test on the first attempt... scored 93%.
| 
