Rating: 
Summary: Some unclear points.
Review: In all fairness, it did a great job guiding me towards passing the exam. But there were many times when I had to actually write a small block of Java code to clarify a given topic that was somewhat unclear. A couple of the test questions/answers at the end of each chapter were wrong. Who proofread this book?
Rating: 
Summary: Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Review
Review: This book is absolutely chock full of outrageous errors on very basic aspects of java. The editing is pretty poor, also. While it may provide some help in passing the certification exam, some of the errors are dangerously misleading. I cannot recommend this title.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good book
Review: I took Sun certification Java 2 programmer's exam and came out with 88%. I strongly recommend this book for those who are planning to take this exam. Just study this book,take some practice tests in the net and appear the exam to pass it with more than 85%.
Rating:
Summary: Get Certified
Review: I have no regrets buying this book at all. It was 3 weeks hard studying for the test but I passed and now I'm certified. As a bonus I know every aspect of the Java language from top to bottom, something I didn't expect going in. It definitely pays to get certified and I'm now considered the Java expert at work.
Rating: 
Summary: Passed Exam, but this book is full of errors.
Review: I took the cert exam today and passed so, the book was usefull enough in that respect. However, this book has so many errors that it may mislead and cause actual exam questions to be missed. Also, note your edition, as the first edition is missing a section on java.io! This IS tested for the cert exam. Also, be sure to download the error page from the Syngress website, even then be carefull as there are still plenty of others! Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a joke
Review: There are many good Java certification books available. This is not one of them. The text is lame compared to "Exam Cram" or "Passport Java 2." The CDROM test is worthless. It contains so many errors that I doubt it was ever proof read.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent book
Review: Last year I have no occupation in computers but very little knowlege of program Java. This book I use to prepare for exam and receive with it good mark. I now have job in computers and it is this book that thank from me. This book has everything to do good on exam.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this book
Review: Contrary to what some people are saying here, it does have a section on File I/O, but I agree that the mock exam is NOT useable. The code isn't indented, making it almost impossible to read. The Review mode of the exam (where the answers should normally be given) doesn't work at all and although they offer a fix (for what?) on their web site it doesn't work. If you need mock exams get jq+ and check out javaranch.com. The book itself seems to be ok, but I am less than impressed and regret this purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Complete coverage and good practice questions
Review: This book is more than simple test preparation and provides the reader with a solid grounding in Java. If you just know a little object oriented programming I would recommend that you buy this to introduce yourself to Java. The topics in each chapter are coherent and to the point. Another excellent part of this book is the example code demonstrating almost every point, so rather than guess what the author is trying to explain you can actually see it. This really helped me with the concepts more than simple theory could. Everything is clearly explaned and you will learn exactly what you need to program in Java. The book also makes a good effort to make you appreciate some of the more common pitfalls in Java programming. It's almost like icing on the cake that after you will be able to pass the Java exam! One complaint that I heard mentioned here is the nature of the questions. Once in a while I was a little frustrated with the difficulty of some (but not most) of the questions. And sometimes the questions seemed to ask the same topic is 2 or 3 different ways. But after going through the repetitive questions I realized it was just reinforcing necessary information such as the difference between passing variables by reference or by value. Some of these topics were repeated on the exam too, so when all was said and done I passed with room to spare. Another valuable part of the questions is that every multiple choice answer is explained, not just the incorrect ones. This really helped me pinpoint why I had some of the questions wrong. I haven't been able to find the errors some people have reported here. I went to the company site to check for errors and there were a few mentioned but not nearly enough to warrent criticism on that level. My guess is some of these reviewers are a little green and aren't finding real errors (or if they think they are they should report them). An excellent book on all fronts.
Rating:
Summary: A poor excuse for a study guide
Review: This book has all the ear marks of being written by a comittee. The are substantial errors, plus numerous typos. The example questions at the chapter ends, do not appear to have been proof read at all. The exam simulator on the included disk does not work at all, nor does the downloaded update... In several chapters the author(s) provide no insight but merely state that the subject matter must be memorized and then present the material in a manner that is very flat and confusing. Other similar books (exam cram for example) present this same material in an organized manner that makes learning it much easier.. Recomendation: don't waste your money on this.
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