Reviews for SCJA Sun Certified Java Associate Study Guide (Exam CX-310-019) (Certification Press)

1. Appropriate material for SCJA exam takers

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2010

   This is a book tailored to assist you to pass the SCJA exam, and in that context it is a good book: it does not waste time explaining things which are not likely to be on the exam. That makes it a frustrating read because the SCJA exam covers a vast array of Java technology but only at the surface level - but that is not a criticism of the book, which mirrors the breadth and depth of the exam.
   
   Each chapter contains practice questions, some of which are a bit too easy. The accompanying CD contains a complete on-line copy of the book for later reference, and a reasonable on-line exam simulation. After completing the exam simulation, I would recommend purchasing and completing the official practice tests from Sun or Oracle. (At the time of writing Oracle have recently purchased Sun and the future branding is not yet clear [to me].)
   
   Whilst you don't need to read around this book to pass the SCJA exam you will inevitably wish to do so. I found these online resources useful: Dr Dobbs tutorial on Java Beans, and the ConceptGO Enterprise JavaBeans tutorial (formerly from IBM). You may also wish to learn more about UML (though you do not need to do so for the exam) and the UML User Guide is a good choice.
   
   The book could be greatly improved by the creation and maintenance of an online errata by the original authors. (I cannot fine one.) This would (a) help to provide the reader with confidence in the text, and (b) provide an opportunity to correct mistakes in the original text.