StackOverflow2013

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copied!<p>I have a little book with "Exam Cram" in its title. The emphasis is on "little;" you can read through it in a single evening. It describes in prose all the important features of Java, it contains tables of quick facts that will be essential, and it covers, briefly, all of the SCJP exam.</p> <p>For the less than eidetic, it gives hints on how to write yourself a crib sheet from memory once the test starts (meaning you can carry a bit of what you need to know in short-term memory). There are also some tips on pitfalls and such. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is at least one practice exam in it (haven't looked at it in a while) and a bunch of drill questions.</p> <p>Alas, from what I see at Amazon, the book I recommended only covers Java 2: <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1576102912" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.amazon.com/Java-Exam-Cram-310-025/dp/1576102912</a> Still, there are bound to be similar, more timely books.</p> <p>This one: <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0071591060" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.amazon.com/SCJP-Certified-Programmer-Java-310-065/dp/0071591060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261601183&sr=1-1</a> by Kathy Sierra is similar and about Java 6.</p> <hr> <p>Some people would (and in fact did) recommend buying a general purpose Java book. Ideally, all you should have to do is learn "all of Java" and then you'd be ready for the exam. But this is not a winning strategy!</p> <h3>related anecdote</h3> <p>The first time I took my driver's test with the DMV, I had a long wait and quickly skimmed through a little info booklet they provided. I easily scored 100.</p> <p>I later had to take the test again. Knowing the test was laughably easy, I spurned the booklet and failed the theoretical test. The booklet didn't contain anything I didn't already know: But being by the same people who administer the test, it contained the same wording, it had similar situations from the test, it emphasized similar topics and situations. In a few minutes, it could easily make the difference between passing and failing.</p> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>Same approach with these "prepare for test XXX" books. It's a racket, but the special-purpose prep books work better at preparing you for the test than general knowledge (or general knowledge books) do.</p>

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