Rating: 
Summary: The BEST!
Review: This is the best book out there for the cert test. I first used the programmer 2 study guide but then a co-worker recomended this one. I was glad he did because there were some assumption that the other book made about certain things like two's compliment and binary conversion which I didn't know since I wasn't a computer science major. I would recomend using this book and the Java 2 Exam Notes. It's only ... and you get so much value for that. I would study that book, then if I didn't understand a subject, I would read it from this one. Good Job Khalid and Rolf!
Rating: 
Summary: Not too impressed
Review: Having decided to embark on the Java Certification trail after 2+ years as a Java Developer, maybe I was expecting a bit too much from this book. I found the content a bit lightweight, the examples similarly so. There may be a gap in the market here for books for Java developers with a lot of experience who just want to be able to pick up the book, read for the things they don't know/ aren't too sure of, then sit the test.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to read. . .
Review: I have tried hard to go through this book twice. I was disappointed about its writing each time. I would consider that is a torture to myself to finish reading this book. Not even mentioning I still have to pass the exam. . . The good thing about this book is its exam questions. They are well-designed questions and can test your understaning.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for SCJP
Review: A lot of elbow grease went into this book. I think I found one error in the whole book and even that was minor. Mughal explores the dark corners of the language and you end up the wiser for it. File I/O was huge on my exam so make sure and read ch. 18. Threads are probably the most challenging piece to wrap your head around and Mughal does a good job of coaching through the growing pains. The source code is very available so make use of it. I read the reviews here and got this book and I wasn't disappointed. I had less than a year's experience with Java... you really don't need any. *But* you will learn the language regardless. Balance this with Bill Brogden's book and your golden.
Rating:
Summary: Probably best out there to understanding the Java language.
Review: Been using Java on and off for several years and have looked at many books. I liked this for its complete coverage of the basic language and it's academic style. I generally prefer plain-vanilla style as opposed to those books which are unnecessarily wordy. My time is too valuable for fluff. Just teach me the stuff. The review questions are pretty good. Author has a site which provides fixes for any errata - found that good too. No complaints on this purchase. I have others though that I should just resell on this site. As an amendment to this review - I passed the exam first time around within six weeks with just this book and many simulation exam testers. Cheers GG. SCJP
Rating:
Summary: For Beginners to Pros - Comments and FAQs
Review: This book is great for beginers to pros. The organization and explanations in this book are clearer than other Java books I have read. I wish I had this book years ago. FAQs -
Did this help for the exam? This book has much more information than is on the exam. Conveniently, the chapters are organized by the exam's objectives so I skipped over the chapters that were irrelevant to the test. I later came back and read the rest. So did it help to pass? Using this book and Sun's online practice test I passed! Don't forget to use the CD's practice questions too. Any cons? All of the book's diagrams are in UML. So if you are a beginner and not familiar with UML the images are of no help. I am a visual learner, and I did not know UML at the time so I was disappointed. But, if you are an experienced programmer, the UML is a really nice feature. Another con is that some of the questions on the CD are out of date or incorrect so you have to go to the supporting web site to a download new Java 2 practice exam program. Overall, this book is great for studying for the exam or using it as textbook or beginner's guide. The beginners will like its thoroughness and abundant examples. The pros will like its modular organization and UML diagrams.
Rating:
Summary: Best on the market for beginner --> advanced
Review: This is the best book on the market for java certification, I studied for the certification and entered the exam in sep. 2001, and I got 93% with the aid of this book. I also bought the "Java 2 exam cram" & "The complete Java 2 certification study guide", and I read all of cram, but little chapter in the complete study guide, and simply Khalid's is the best for the following reasons:
1- starts from the begining, assuming u have no expereince, while I nearly completed a year & half in java but I found lots of simple tips that made me know java more better.
2- In most topics cover the topic as explaining not as for certification, as for the four chapters of the AWT, I didn't program AWT before as I'm a server side programmer, but I ONLY learned it from this book, and I got 100% in the AWT part in the exam.
3- Tables included for briefly memorize helped me a lot, as the table in the inner classes which is a very important topic in certification questions.
4- Diagrams & the use of UML ( which I didn't knew when reading the book ) helped me to connect everything with simple diagrams.
5- Questions included in the book r very good, although it is tougher than the exam, but this must be the case so that yr exam will be easy to u. Disadvanteges:
1- Sometimes I found some words that I must look it up in the dictionary, although some simple words can replace it :((
2- the book included some chapters which r not in the objective in the certification as "APPLETS" & "SWING". Conclusion:
BUY the book if u want to be certified & read it once then solve as many exams as u can from the net for free :)) & go for the certification
Rating:
Summary: Very good explainations
Review: I used this book as a training guide as an re-intro to Java after several years of not programming in the language rather then for Java Certification. I have to say that the real forte of this book is that it gives very clear, understandable explainations, esp in regards to IO streams. The excercises in the book are also very helpful for testing your understanding as you go through the material. As far as using this book for an intro to Java, its only failing is that it focuses on the old AWT for windows layout instead of the more modern Swing classes.
Rating:
Summary: The book's questions are harder than the real test
Review: I got certified by only studying from this book. I had a school course background in Java. I had good structured programming experience before taking the Java course in school. This book relies on your basic knowledge of the Java language. I used this book by itself for the exam. It covers everything in the exam. Pay a lot of attention to the file system chapter, 10 - 15 % of my exams questions were about it. I listened to the reviews on this book & I passed the test after 35 days of studying. You need to do a lot of practice too (mock tests on the internet). If you pass the practice test in this book, the real test should be easy for you. I got 67% in the practice test in this book & 70% in the real test. Good Luck.
Rating:
Summary: the only book for your getting the certification
Review: I got my certification after I spent two months to read this book. Now I am using this book as java dictionary for my java project.
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