Review Questions

Review questions are provided after every major topic, in order to test and reinforce the material. These review questions reflect the kind of questions that can be asked on the actual exam. Annotated answers to the review questions are provided in a separate appendix.

Example 0.1 Example Source Code

We encourage experimenting with the code examples in order to reinforce the material from the book. These can be downloaded from the book Web site (see p. xxxv).

Java code is written in a mono- spaced font . Lines of code in the examples or in code snippets are referenced in the text by a number, which is specified by using a single-line comment in the code. For example, in the following code snippet, the call to the method doSomethingInteresting() hopefully does something interesting at (1).

// ...
doSomethingInteresting();                                                 // (1)
// ...

Names of classes and interfaces start with an uppercase letter. Names of packages, variables , and methods start with a lowercase letter. Constants are all in uppercase letters .

Chapter Summary

Each chapter concludes with a summary of the topics, pointing out the major concepts discussed in the chapter.

Programming Exercises

Programming exercises at the end of each chapter provide the opportunity to put concepts into practice. Solutions to the programming exercises are provided in a separate appendix.

Mock Exam

A complete mock exam is provided in a separate appendix, which the reader can try when she is ready. In addition, the accompanying CD contains several mock exams for the SCPJ2 1.4 exam.

Java 2 SDK and API Documentation

A vertical gray bar is used to highlight methods and fields found in the classes of the core Java APIs.

Any explanation following the API information is also similarly highlighted.

In order to obtain optimal benefit from using this book in preparing for the SCPJ2 exam, we strongly recommend installing the latest version (at least 1.4) of the SDK and its accompanying API documentation. The book focuses solely on Java 2, and does not acknowledge previous versions.

Java 2 Platform Upgrade Exam

For those who have taken the Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform 1.2 Exam, and would like to prepare for the Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform Upgrade Exam, we have provided an appendix with details of the upgrade exam. The appendix contains the upgrade exam objectives, and for each section of the syllabus, study notes are included to point the reader to topics essential for the upgrade exam. The accompanying CD contains mock exams for the upgrade exam.

Accompanying CD

The accompanying CD contains a wealth of information to help prepare for the exam, and provides numerous mock exams for the candidate to test her skills. The software included simulates near exam-like conditions in order to acquaint the candidate with the exam environment. Appendix H provides details about the contents of the CD.

Book Web Sites

This book is backed by Web sites providing auxiliary material:

http://www.ii.uib.no/~ khalid /pgjc2e/

http://www.awprofessional.com/ (search for ISBN 0201728281)

The contents of the Web sites include the following:

source code for all the examples and programming exercises in the book
mock exam engine
errata
links to miscellaneous Java resources (certification, discussion groups, tools, etc.)

Information about the Java 2 SDK Standard Edition and its documentation can be found at the following Web site:

http://java.sun.com/j2se/

The current authoritative technical reference for the Java programming language, The Java Language Specification, Second Edition (also published by Addison-Wesley), can be found at this Web site: