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Summary: EXCELLENT BOOK!!!!
Review: Great book, great authors (they actually REPLY to you if you send an email), great often-updated site of errata, and a great resource even after you have passed the exam.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book!
Review: This is the best certification book I bought! It covers the Java 2 Exam Objectives pretty well, and the review questions are excellent! I took the exam recently, and cleared with 95%! The sample exam provided at the back of this book is even tougher than the real exam, and it did boost my confidence. Also, the chapter on Collection, I/O and Threads are pretty good.
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Summary: Simply detailed and thorough
Review: I used Boone's book as the starting point for my study. One week later I couldn't pass the example test in the back of the book because the information just wasn't in the book. I bought this book and two weeks later I passed the test with an (unexpected) excellent score. This book covers all the subjects very thoroughly and clearly, with a lot of attention to detail, good examples to illustrate the concept, and practice questions with well commented answers. I have since returned the Boone book, but kept this one as a reference. Probably the best reference second only to the Java Language spec.
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Summary: The best book for certification.
Review: This book is undoubtedly the best book i've seen so far on certification. I cleared the exam with merely 15 days of study. The key concepts have been clearly presented with lots of (working)examples. The material is well prepared and organized. The review questions at end of each chapter are also excellent. A must have if you're serious about the certification.
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Summary: Simplified, smooth and excellent
Review: I have quite a few books on java. But none of them are as precise as this book. This book covers the topics precisely and to the point, does not wastes time in unnecessary details and keeps everything to the point. Buy it if you are planning to take the java certification exam.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: I bought this book in January, 2000 and passed Java 2 Programmer exam in April. It has everything you need to know in order to pass exam. I also use it as a good Java reference.
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Summary: Excellent Book for all java programmers.
Review: I think this is the best book for Java Certification. Lots of details for serious programmers. If you are planning to buy just one book for certification, I would highly recommend this one. It covers all the important details that other books miss out.
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Summary: Book to Help Get the Programmer Certification
Review: I have come across a few books that claim to be useful for the Programmer Certification. But this one, in my opinion is top on the list. The book is very well-organised and very few corrections (from the author's web site) needed before getting into serious reading. The mock test engine was good. It tests understanding and there is no way one could have passed at first attempt without a good understanding of the language features. Take the mock test first. Then read the book. I got a sense of great satisfaction while reading through as I feel that I am really learning from the book. Explanation was clear. Almost every section that I read point out something to note. This book doesn't waste paper ! For some parts of the book, UML (Unified Modeling Language) is used to explain what is going on. But it is used appropriately without throwing in unnecessary complicating object models. So, I think even if one doesn't have exposure to UML before, should be able to understand the concepts as you go through the book. The author has done a great job with this book that teaches, unlike some authors who might throw in object-oriented jargon to impress people. UML is something one would probably need to know later on if one is thinking of taking the Java Architect certification. Also, I had no problem with downloading the test engine from the supporting web site and also source code. The author DOES NOT just tell you, for example, "Only (a) and (b) are right." and leave you in the lurch. Answers are provided at the Appendix section with short but useful explanation. The answer section is definitely useful. If you want to take the Programmer certification, which is not easy, this is the book to get. If you are looking for easy stuff look for "shallow" books elsewhere.
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Summary: Excellent for experienced programmers
Review: This book does not waste any words - it is packed with useful information. If you are looking for an entertaining introduction to Java, look elsewhere. If you understand the basics of programming and Java syntax, and you are willing to study to pass the certification exam, this is the book for you. There are relatively few errors, and most of them are corrected in the Internet errata. The authors' stated approach is that the book helps the reader to master the details of Java which then naturally leads to passing the Sun programmer certification. To this end, each subject is covered in depth, sometimes more than is required for the cert test itself. Subjects such as Swing and Javadoc which are not mentioned in the test objectives are also covered in the book. The review questions at the end of each chapter are thorough, and the answers are well explained and occasionally add information not provided in the main text. The sample exam is available for download from the internet and if you can pass it, you should be well prepared for the real thing. Using this book plus hands-on coding plus taking lots of practice tests should lead to certification success.
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Summary: All you need to get certified!
Review: This is the only book you need to read to prepare for and pass the Java 2 Programmer Certification exam. The coverage of Java fundamentals is comprehensive and complete. Also, the questions presented throughout the book are very instructive and are an excellent guage of you mastery over the language. If you score well on the mock exam in the back of the book, you will have no problems passing the real thing.
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