Agenda

What is Professional Certification? What is Java Certification (SCJP)? Structure and syllabus for SCJP How to prepare for SCJP? What books and mock exams are available? What after you are certified? Sample questions from Mock exams Q&A

What is Professional Certification?

Professional certification often called simply certification, is a designation earned by a person to assure that he/she is qualified to perform a job or task.

Why Professional Certification?

Academic degree doesnt prove your proficiency in a technology that is used in real-world applications, such as Java, .NET, Oracle etc. Training institute (including Authorized training centre) issues certificate to everyone so cannot be used to measure your skill. Industry needs a way to asses your skills regarding the technology they use (like Java, .NET) to build applications. To prove your credentials in global market.

Why Professional Certification?

IT jobs are among the 10 hardest jobs to fill, according to an April 2008 survey by Manpower. Nearly 25 percent of employers are having problems filling open jobs because of a lack of talent. Multiple studies suggest there will be a wide gap in the next five to 10 years between the demand for IT workers and the supply of workers with the right technical skills. Research firm IDC puts that gap at 40 percent.

Past and Present

In late 80s Novell started Certified Netware Engineer (CNE). In early 90s, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco etc. started Now, every technology company provides some sort of certification related to its products.

Who offers Professional Certifications?

Apple Inc Cisco Systems Hewlett-Packard Dell IBM LANDesk Microsoft Corporation MySQL Novell Object Management Group Oracle Corporation Red Hat Sun Microsystems Sybase Zend Technologies

Value of Certification
True value is the ability to verify whether a person possesses skills that are important to employer. Software company can either grab a contract or charge higher bill if they have more certified professionals so they sponsor certification. Certification can prove to be an added advantage on the graduates resume. It proves you knowledge about real-world technology. Employers are looking for job candidates with some level of industry knowledge. What better way for an entry-level worker to demonstrate his or her knowledge than by obtaining a recognized industry credential? Certification in the IT industry is critical for getting your foot in the door. It helps you to learn technology completely gives you broader picture. Though IT certifications take time, effort and resources including money to attain, the return on investment can be significant.

500000
Sun Microsystems Has Awarded 5,00,000 + certificates. That includes Java and other certifications of Sun Sun reached this milestone a few months back It is less than 10% of total number of Java professionals assuming there are 5 million Java Developers

Would you like to join 500000+ community?

Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 ( CX-310-065)
This foundation certification is for programmers interested in demonstrating proficiency in the fundamentals of the Java programming language.

Java Certification Path

SCJP 6.0 Exam Details

Exam type: Multiple choice and drag and drop Number of questions: 72 Pass score: 65% (47 of 72 questions) Time limit: 210 minutes Prerequisite : None

Declarations, Initialization and Scoping

Classes (including abstract and all forms of nested classes), interfaces, and enums, JavaBeans naming standards. Variable-length argument list. Legal return values (including covariant returns)

Flow Control
Switch statement All forms of loops and iterators Assertions, and distinguish appropriate from inappropriate uses of assertions. Exceptions and exception handling clauses (try, catch, finally), Understand which of these are thrown by the virtual machine

API Content
Primitive wrapper classes and/or autoboxing & unboxing. Differences between the String, StringBuilder, and StringBuffer classes. Reading from files, writing to files, or interacting with the user, develop the correct solution using the following classes (sometimes in combination), from java.io: BufferedReader, BufferedWriter, File, FileReader, FileWriter, PrintWriter, and Console. Serializes and/or de-serializes objects java.text package to correctly format or parse dates, numbers, and currency Describe the purpose and use of the java.util.Locale class. java.util.regex packages to format or parse strings or streams.

Concurrency
Write code to define, instantiate, and start new threads using both java.lang.Thread and java.lang.Runnable. Thread states Object locking to protect static or instance variables from concurrent access problems. Given a scenario, write code that makes appropriate use of wait, notify, or notifyAll.

OO Concepts
Encapsulation, loose coupling, and high cohesion in classes Use of polymorphism. Further, determine when casting will be necessary and recognize compiler vs. runtime errors related to object reference casting. Declares and/or invokes overridden or overloaded methods and code that declares and/or invokes superclass, or overloaded constructors. Develop code that implements "is-a" and/or "has-a" relationships.

Collections / Generics
Comparable interface. Overrides hashCode() and equals() methods, Write code that uses the generic versions of the Collections API Recognize the limitations of the non-generic Collections API and how to refactor code to use the generic versions. Write code that uses the NavigableSet and NavigableMap interfaces. Write generic methods or methods that make use of wildcard types Use the java.util.Comparator and java.lang.Comparable interfaces to affect the sorting of lists and arrays. Natural ordering of primitive wrapper classes and java.lang.String on sorting.

Fundamentals
Appropriate access modifiers, package declarations, and import statements Object becomes eligible for garbage collection Recognize the behaviors of the Object.finalize() method. JAR file, construct the appropriate directory structure for that class. Classpath Operators Write code that determines the equality of two objects or two primitives.

Difference between 1.5 (055) and 1.6 (065) Exam Objectives

java.io.Console, java.util.NavigableSet, java.util.NavigableMap. You will be tested in greater depth: exception handling, collections, assertions, threads, and flow control.

10

Difference between 1.5 (055) and 1.6 (065) Exam Structure

Number of questions: 72 (no change) Time: 210 minutes (increased from 175 minutes) Passing score: 65% (increased from 59%) Format of questions: No change.

Other Certification Exams Related To Java

SCWCD - Sun Certified Web Component Developer SCBCD - Sun Certified Business Component Developer SCDJWS - Sun Certified Developer for Java Web Services SCEA - Sun Certified Enterprise Architect

SCJP is prerequisite for all these exams

11

Question Format
Question format is multiple choice, including some drag-and-drop questions. The number of correct answers is given in case of multiple choice questions with multiple answers. There are hardly any questions with true/false answers. There are a lot of questions with three (or sometimes two) correct answers. Question with radio button answers means that only one answer is correct. Questions vary from very easy to very difficult, but mostly difficult. No credit is given for partially correct answers in case of questions with multiple answers. No Negative marks.

How to prepare for exam?

Understand exam objectives, registration, tests If you do not know Java then learn Java first. Refer to the API documentation and the Java Language Specifications Study at least one good (and current) certification preparation book. Take as many mock exams as possible. Use these to determine where additional study is needed, and as a guide to when you are ready.

12

How to prepare for exam?

Go through one book at a time If you're brand-spanking new to Java, don't go directly to a Java Cert book Code Code Code Dont memorize answers, understand answer. Don't try to learn the entire language in a week/month, take your time walk before your run.

How and when to take exam?

After having purchased the exam voucher, contact an authorized Prometric Testing Center near you. List of authorized Prometric Centers can be obtained from www.prometric.com Reach the testing center at least 15 minutes before the test start time, and be prepared to show two forms of identification, one of which should be a photo ID. You cant bring anything with you into the testing room. You will be provided something to write on and something to write with.

13

How Exam Is Conducted?

A cubicle with a desktop computer No personal belongings or food allowed. Candidates can make notes, but cannot take the notes with them after the exam. A test run before the actual exam Presents a set of randomly-selected questions one at a time through a graphical user interface. Ability to navigate back and forth through the questions. Use the EXHIBIT-button to open the code scenario in a separate window Utilizing the allotted time 72 questions within 210 min., less than 3 min. on average to answer each question. If the answer does not become apparent within a reasonable time, move on to the next question. Time permitting, you can return to any questions left unanswered. Review the answers if you have any time remaining.

At the end of Exam

After you finish the test, the computer screen will display your result (whether you have passed or not). You will also receive a printed copy of the detailed results. Within a month or so, you will receive your certificate from Sun in the mail if you passed the exam. However, if you fail to pass the exam, you can take the exam again, but you will need to purchase another voucher and wait for 2 weeks before retesting. The test program will not divulge which questions were answered correctly or the answers to the questions asked.

14

My Mark sheet

My SCJP Certification

15

How long is my certification valid?

Beginning with all Sun certification exams taken on or after August 1, 2003, certification offerings from Sun no longer have an expiration date.

Books On SCJP
SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide (Exam 310-055) by Katherine Sierra and Bert Bates SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065 by Katherine Sierra and Bert Bates A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification by Khalid A. Mughal, Rolf W. Rasmussen - Covers 1.4 only. SCJP Exam For J2SE 5 - Paul Sanghera, Ph.D

I Strongly recommend Kathys book

16

Prometric Testing centers

http://www.register.prometric.com/Centers.asp 367 test sites are available in India SAI - Sun Academic Initiative Go avail discount.

Prometric Testing centers In Vizag

SREENIDHI INFOTECH Visakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530016 Phone: 6642699 Site Code: IIH302nd Floor Varanasi Majestic Complex, 2nd Lane, Dwarkanagar Opp. Pizza Hut. CALIBER TECHNOCRATS VISAKHAPATNAM, Andhra Pradesh 530016 Phone: 6648412/6649300 Site Code: IIH41DOOR NO 49-24-51/A/8 SRI PAVAV ESTATES, FLAT NO 103 SHANKAR MUTT ROAD KRISHNA INFOTECH Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530016 Phone: 6662071 Site Code: II461IIHT, IIHT House, 48 - 8 - 1 Chaitanya College Road Dwarkanagar

17

Mock Exams
www.javaranch.com www.javabeat.net www.enthuware.com www.javaprepare.com www.jcertify.com www.whizlab.com www.jdiscuss.com

The ultimate website for Java certification aspirants is www.javaranch.com

Some opinions about Certification In Blogs

You're willing to sacrifice your time and money to get something which will formally indicate a level of ability. You are self-disciplined enough to do an exam you're not forced into doing. You have a certain level of commitment to Java You know the nitty-gritty detail of Java.

18

19

SAI - Sun Academic Initiative

The SAI is one of many programs Sun offers to further its collaborative relationship with educational institutions. Free access to an extensive portfolio of Web-based courses through Sun Learning Connection Free Web-based access to Instructor Led Training (ILT) courseware Free Web-based ePractice Certification Exams Discount for Certification Exams

20

SAI - Sun Academic Initiative

Go to https://sailearningconnection.skillport.com

SAI - Sun Academic Initiative

Click on Register link to register to SAI Learning Connection

21

Thank You
It was my sincere attempt to share my knowledge of Java Certification with those who aspire for certification. Material related to this workshop is found at www.srikanthtechnologies.com/workshops/scjp.html. Please fill Workshop Registration Form (given to you) and return at the Front-office. On the back of the form, please write your suggestions. Please let me know what you want from me!

All best for your certification endeavors!

22