The official Sun Java certification has a high reputation. This hardback title has some coverage of the Java Developer exam and the Java Architect exam, but the main focus is around becoming a certified Java programmer.

A serious approach has been taken. Many of the code samples are small jewels and the core of every exam objective is well captured, but there is a great drawback. Overall the code is terribly formatted, badly enough to moderate my enthusiasm. An example from the book;

class Thread5 {  public static void main(String args[]) {  Thread controller = new Thread(new Controller(resource));  Thread[] user = new Thread[3];  for(int i = 0;iApart from the poor formatting it is also confusing to give a thread  a name (
controller
) that is so easy to mix up with a  inner class name (
Controller
) following in the code  a few lines down.
It seems to have been more important to force all of the text to the  left half of every page than to offer clear and legible code.
On the plus side are the hundreds of review and exam-questions in  the book and on the enclosed CD, which contains a complete test- engine. The student who aims for the Java architect title will also  find a lot of useful stuff. There is even a chapter that offers an  overview of the Java Developer Exam, but in that position, you don't  need this book.
To sum up, the author knows the subject and despite the drawbacks  has succeed in producing a good companion for the certification- aspiring Java student.
Finally, to get a feeling for this exam, a 'typical' question;
QHow can you force an object to be garbage  collected?
A. Make the only object reference point to null.
B. Invoke it's finalise method.
C. Use all available memory.
D. Call System.gc();
ANone. Garbage collection can never be forced.