There are nearly 4 million Java programmers. How to stand out from that gigantic crowd? Earn Sun’s brand-new J2SE 1.4 platform certification. Base-level certification involves passing the new Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform exam (310-035). Once you’ve done that, really demonstrate your chops: Pass the Sun Certified Developer exam (310-027). One book will prepare you for both exams: Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2 Study Guide.
Part I offers focused, example-rich coverage of every programmer’s exam objective: declarations and access control; operators and assignments; flow control, exceptions, and assertions; overloading; java.lang; collections, garbage collection, inner classes, threads, and more. Every chapter ends with a two-minute drill on all the high points, followed by a multiple-choice self-test with careful explanations of every answer. (You’ll find hundreds more questions on CD-ROM.)
Next, it’s on to the Developer’s Exam, wherein you’re asked to build your own application and justify its design. Here, Kathy Sierra focuses on effective project organization, coding, and development practices, as well as Swing-based user interfaces, networking, RMI, database implementation, and other advanced topics. She covers everything you need to translate your Java knowledge into certification -- and all the good stuff that goes with it. Bill Camarda
Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.