S.G. Ganesh's Blog

In order to facilitate OCPJP aspirants, we created a screencast to provide information about Oracle Java Programmer certification. In this screencast, we discuss why a programmer certification is required, what different certifications are available, some tips about exam preparation and resources to prepare for OCPJP 7 certification exam.

We hope that the readers will find the attempt useful and informative.

Screencast: Cracking Oracle Java Programmer Certification - Part I 
Screencast: Cracking Oracle Java Programmer Certification - Part IIScreencast: Cracking Oracle Java Programmer Certification - Part III 

Newbies in Java hear about programmer certification organized by Oracle and aspire them. However, many a times, they are not clear first, whether to go for certification, and second, which certification to target. This confusion becomes a puzzle when the newbie learns that (s)he can go for programmer certification version 6 and version 7. Here, we would like to help you to resolve the confusion.

For programmer certification (at associate and professional level), Oracle offers OCAJP 7 (Oracle Certified Associate Java Programmer) and OCPJP (Oracle Certified Professional Java Programmer) certification. There are currently three popular exams associated with OCPJP:
OCPJP 6 : Oracle Certified Professional Java Programmer for SE 6 (1Z0-851)OCPJP 7 : Oracle Certified Professional Java Programmer for SE 7 (1Z0-804)OCPJP 7 upgrade: Oracle Certified Professional Java Programmer for SE 7 upgrade exam (1Z0-805)So, which one is appropriate for you? We prepared the following self-explanatory chart to help you; we hope it would be helpful for you in making your decision.



(1) A certification primer
(2) SCJP/OCPJP 6 or 7?

Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 7 Programmer Exams 1Z0-804 and 1Z0-805   is a concise, comprehensive, step-by-step, and one-stop guide for the Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 7 Programmer Exam. (Publisher: Apress)
Why an OCPJP 7 aspirant should refer our book? Here is the answer:
- Our book is the first and only book available right nowfor OCPJP 7 exam preparation. It covers all the exam topics for OCPJP 7 with required depth.
- First chapter (FAQs chapter) of the book clears very basic questions that one may have related with the exam. 
- Second chapter sports a pre-test which can be used to know the preparation level initially and where one needs to put more effort. 
- Each topic is explained using examples with many corner-cases covered.
- After each chapter, a set of questions are presented to quickly test what one just learnt. 
- "Points to remember" is a very interesting section that lists corner cases and tricky elements with respect to the topic. 
- The book comes with two full-size mock-tests (90 questions each) which gauge preparedness of the aspirant for the actual exam.
If you are new to Java certification, please refer this post. We offer a set of downloadable resources here. You can report a possible mistake from this erratapage.

Why Oracle Java Certification?  
Let us start with the question - why get certified? 
The reason is to differentiate yourself. The key to getting a job, hike, or promotion is to show that you deserve it! 
Getting certified is one of the means to show that you have relevant knowledge and skills:Show that you have some document proof that you have relevant skills or knowledgeShow that you are different from others (competing with you) that you have some specialized skills or knowledge Getting certified also has other benefits as well: Preparing for a certification exam gives you focus on learning relevant and important topics; the certification exam date gives you a deadline so you will take learning seriously The process of preparing for the exam and actually passing the exam gives you confidence necessary for getting a job or asking for a promotion or a raiseNow you may ask, why Java certification? One obvious reason is that Java is one of the most popular programming languages on this planet. As on 17th March 2013, according to TIOBE index - the language popularity index most people refer to - listed Java as the most popular language in the world ahead of languages like C, Objective-C, C++, and C#. This popularity of Java translates to the need for more Java programmers in the IT industry. Java certifications are one of the most popular IT certifications, so potential employers or your managers will recognize this certification.There is always need for high-quality Java developers and having this certification shows that you are one of those qualified Java developers Next, we’ll briefly discuss about the Oracle’s certification path. At a very high-level, there are four levels of certifications: Associate, Professional, Expert, and Master levels. Oracle Certified Associate: This certification shows that you have fundamental skills necessary for an IT career; it provides a strong foundation for further exams.Oracle Certified Professional: This certification shows that you have professional skills and technical expertise to develop enterprise software. Oracle Certified Expert: This certification shows that you have specialized levels of skills and knowledge.Oracle Certified Master: This certification shows that you have mastery or expert level of skills and knowledge.      There are three Oracle Java exams for Java SE 7 at beginner to intermediate level.Java SE 7 Programmer I: The is a beginner level exam - if you pass it you get Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 7 Programmer (OCAJP 7) certification. There are no pre-requisites for taking this exam. Java SE 7 Programmer II and Upgrade to Java SE 7 Programmer: These two are intermediate level exams - if you pass either of these exams, you will get Oracle Certified  Professional, Java SE 7 Programmer (OCPJP 7) certification. If you have older Java certifications such as SCJP 5, then you can go for Upgrade to Java SE 7 Programmer; otherwise, you need to take Java SE 7 Programmer II exam. For Java SE 7 Programmer II exam, the prerequisite is that you should have passed the OCAJP 7 exam. Oracle Certified Professional Java Programmer 7 (OCPJP 7) Overview
Exam topics
There are 12 exam topics for Java SE 7 Programmer II certification - Java Class DesignAdvanced Class DesignObject-Oriented Design PrinciplesGenerics and CollectionsString ProcessingExceptions and AssertionsJava I/O FundamentalsJava File I/O (NIO.2)Building Database Applications with JDBCThreadsConcurrencyLocalizationHowever, the Upgrade to Java SE 7 Programmer has only six exam topics: Language EnhancementsDesign PatternsJava File I/O (NIO.2)Building Database Applications with JDBCConcurrencyLocalizationIn other words, the Upgrade to Java SE 7 Programmer assumes that you know topics such as class design because you have passed one of the earlier exams. So, the focus of the Upgrade exam is only on additional topics or Java 7 topics.  
Getting familiar with OCPJP 7 exam 
The exam has only multiple-choice questions. You will get 4 to 7 options for each question; but most questions will have four options. Note that many questions will have more than one answer to be selected - the question will clearly tell you how many options you need to select. 
The exam questions intend to test your ability to solve real-world problems. You can expect most questions to be programming-based questions. For example, given a program or code segment, the question could be to predict the behavior by selecting the expected output from the given list of options. You will also get a few conceptual questions. These questions will test your knowledge and will not have any programs in it. Examples: What are different kinds of drivers in JDBC? What are different kinds of liveness problems with threads? 
Most questions will check your knowledge of language features and their usage. They will test if you understand language features and can apply them in practical situations. But note that most questions will not be on obvious aspects of Java language features. Rather, the questions will be on nitty-gritty details or corner cases, or unusual aspects of the language. For example, you don’t just need to understand the generics feature in Java but also need to understand problems due to type-erasure in generics. 
Many questions will test your knowledge of library features and their usage. They will test if you are familiar with Java APIs and know how to use them in practical situations. You can be sure that questions will be on nitty-gritty details or corner cases, or unusual aspects of the library. For example: What does the remove() method of Deque do? (Answer: It removes the front or first element from the underlying deque instance - not the back or last element).
To summarize, the exam tests your understanding of the Java language and library and your ability to apply it for problem solving. However, note that it does not test your memory skills. Still there are few topics where you may need to remember key things. Some examples: Letters used for creating custom date and time formats (i.e., "string patterns") for use with SimpleDateFormat classCharacters used for forming pattern strings in regular expressionsFormat specifiers and their meaning for use in format() method in String and in printf()If you have done programming with time formats, regular expressions, format specifiers etc. you’ll know them; but if you are relatively new to these topics, then you need to refresh them before appearing for the exam. 
Also note that exam questions need not be exactly from the exam objectives! Any topics related to the exam objectives can come in the exam. For example, serialization and use of transient keyword is not explicitly mentioned in the OCPJP exam topic. But this topic can come in the actual exam because it is related to reading and writing streams, and one of the streams is ObjectStreams and it relates to serialization!
How to Prepare for the Exam 
Now let us discuss about preparing for the exam. 
The best way to prepare for the exam is to write lots and lots of small programs and learn from your mistakes! If possible, try taking up some small toy projects in the topics you’re new or not familiar with. This is especially important if you don’t code in Java in your regular job. 
However, it is also important to read and learn more about the language features and the library. There are some excellent resources out there in the internet freely available for you to read. One is Oracle’s online Java tutorial: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/; http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/extra/certification/javase-7-programmer2.html Another one is the rich Java API documentation:http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/. Most Java programmers don’t read - they just code; but for exam preparation, and to master Java, it is important to read as well. Some tips for exam preparation When preparing for the exam, focus especially on the new features introduced in Java 7.   Take a close look at the exam objectives and grade yourself from, say 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. Prepare all the topics for which you've rated yourself as 8 or below.Plan for taking your exam well in advance: look out for scheduling the exam when you’ll be free for at least a few weeks for exam preparation; avoid last minute rush to prepare for the exam. How to register for the exam?
You have three options:You can register and pay at the Pearson VUE website (this is the option most exam takers choose).  You can buy exam voucher from Oracle and then register yourself in Pearson VUE website. You can register and pay in the Oracle Testing Center (OTC). Before we end 
Do checkout our OCPJP 7 book which is the only book available in the market for exam preparation. 


That’s all, and wishing you all the best for cracking the OCPJP 7 exam with ease. 

You can read the whole report here: http://media.dice.com/report/january-2013-repeat-priorities/

Extract from this report:

What’s not new is the continuing demand for developers – the closer to the application, the stronger the job market. Atop the priorities list for the second consecutive year: Hiring Java/J2EE developers. More than one in five of the 77,000 jobs posted on Dice contained some mention of the need for java know-how. The bottom line: If you’re looking to hire veteran Java-fluent talent, expect plenty of competition for the human equivalent of the iPad Mini, this year’s “tech gadget everyone has to have.”

Bottom-line: Getting certified in Java could be one of the ways to differentiate yourself in the high-demand market for Java developers!

We announced a contest two weeks back where we invited our readers to write reviews and win free printed copies of our book (see the relevant post). The contest got over on 3rd Nov 2013. Overall it attracted decent participation. Based on the reviews, we are happy to announce three winners of the contest:
Tomas Petras Rupsys (from Lithuania)Carl Clemens (from USA)Ujwala (from India)Congratulations to winners!!

We are in the process of sending them printed copies of our book; they will receive the book in a few days. Thanks to all the participants who had participated in the contest. 

Cheers!!

One of the most frequently asked questions on OCPJP 7 - IZ0-804 exam preparation is this: Where can I get mock exams, preferably with exam simulator?

Of course, there are 300+ questions in our OCPJP 7 book (including 2 full-length mock tests). Hence, the book is the source that we would like to recommend.

We found that there are many resources where you can get (mostly commercial) mock tests and use simulators to try them out. Please note that there are numerous free mock exams available in the internet, but when we checked, all of them were SCJP 5/6 mock exams; they are yet to support OCPJP 7 exams. For a detailed list of SCJP mock exams, check this link in coderanch (where else :-))  

For OCPJP 7, we found that there is no single place where a list is maintained. Hence, we have started collecting a list; here is an initial list to start with:

Free: 

(To our surprise, we did not find any completely free OCPJP 7 mock exams. If you find any, please let us know, and we'll update this list)


Oracle has Commercial: 
Kaplan SelfTest (Oracle authorized): 170 questions, price starts from $69  Transcender (Oracle authorized): 190 questions, price starts from $109 WhizLabs: OCPJP 7 exam simulator (700 questions - 5 full-length mock exams) -- Rs. 1500 (10% discount usually available) EPractizeLabs: OCPJP 7 online training -- $399 (50% discount) => $199 (announcement - training not released yet). OCPJP 7 study guide + mock exam questions -- $30 (720 questions) Enthuware: $9.95 for question bank with around 500 questions. TechFAQ360, JavaCert, CertChamp: (4 mock tests + lots of sample questions) (strangely, the descriptions of the exam appeared to be the same so clubbed these three together!)  
Are we missing out any? If so, please post it as a comment here or contact us.

Disclaimer: We are sharing these links in our blog because many of our readers are interested in knowing about the available mock tests. We have NO personal experience or contacts whatsoever with any of these mock exam providers; so we have no recommendations. 

We would like to be connected with our readers. Initially, we created this blog to serve the intent. To further improve communication between our readers and us, we have created a Facebook page, and a Linkedin group along with our personal twitter accounts. We invite our readers to connect with us via all of these social mediums so that we get connected and share information mutually.

Twitter: @GSamarthyam @Sharma__Tushar
Facebook page: OCPJP 7
Linkedin group: OCPJP

Here is the excellent opportunity for all our readers to win free printed copies of our book. All you have to do is write review for our book on Amazon (.com or any of the country-specific Amazon site) and you stand a chance to win a free copy of our book.

Readers can participate in this contest by writing a review of our book on any of the Amazon site. Once the review is online, you need to send a mail to us (ocpjp7@gmail.com) to complete the participation. After the contest period, we will choose four best reviews (in terms of details, good things about the book, things that could have been improved, etc.) and we will mail printed books to the winners. To increase your chances to win a book, write a detailed informative review for our book.

There are total four printed books to grab. Readers from all over the world (except India) have a chance to win two copies of our book. Readers from India also have a chance to win two copies. 

So what you are waiting for? The contest period is 20th Oct 2013 to 3rd Nov 2013. Hurry!!

Great news for all OCPJP 7 aspirants residing in India. Our book Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 7 Programmer Exams 1Z0-804 and 1Z0-805-A Comprehensive OCPJP 7 Certification Guide is available at Amazon.in in just Rs 599. This is the excellent opportunity to buy the printed book in a very cost-effective way. 

Please note that the book sold by Amazon.in is the revised version (in which first set of errata is fixed).




Flipkart also sells the book; however, the cost-effective print is out of stock on the shopping portal.