Introduction to the Material in the Book

The Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) exam is considered one of the hardest (if not the hardest) in the IT industry, and we can tell you from experience that a large chunk of exam candidates go in to the test unprepared. And we're talking about the ones who already know Java quite well and have been programming in it for years! As programmers, we tend to learn only what we need to complete our current project, given the insane deadlines we're usually under. But this exam attempts to prove your complete understanding of the Java language, not just the parts of it you've become familiar with in your work.

Experience alone will rarely get you through this exam with a passing mark, because even the things you think you know might work just a little different than you imagined. It isn't enough to be able to get your code to work correctly; you must understand the core fundamentals in a deep way, and with enough breadth to cover virtually anything that could crop up in the course of using the language.

The Sun Certified Developer Exam (covered in chapters that are contained on the CD) is unique to the IT certification realm, because it actually evaluates your skill as a developer rather than simply your knowledge of the language or tools. Becoming a Certified Java Developer is, by definition, a development experience.

Who Cares About Certification?

Employers do. Headhunters do. Programmers do. Sun's programmer exam has been considered the fastest-growing certification in the IT world, and the number of candidates taking the exam continues to grow each year. Passing this exam proves three important things to a current or prospective employer: you're smart; you know how to study and prepare for a challenging test; and, most of all, you know the Java language. If an employer has a choice between a candidate who has passed the exam and one who hasn't, the employer knows that the certified programmer does not have to take time to learn the Java language.

But does it mean that you can actually develop software in Java? Not necessarily, but it's a good head start. To really demonstrate your ability to develop (as opposed to just your knowledge of the language), you should consider pursuing the Developer Exam, where you're given an assignment to build a program, start to finish, and submit it for an assessor to evaluate and score.