This book helped me pass the 1Z0-808 test with a 90% grade. I am an experienced C++/C# software engineer, with a limited Java background. My goal in taking the test was to improve my understanding of core Java. I set the goal of taking the exam before the end of 2016 (two months after purchasing this book). This kept me motivated to study and I learned a lot more than I expected to. Most developers having a OO background in another language will easily pick up Java, but there are quiet a few details to the language that are easy to gloss over and separate a good Java developer from an average one in my opinion. The exam and in particular this book help very much in that regard. Thanks to the authors!

After passing the exam, I immediately purchased the book for the next exam 1Z0-809. The material in this one is a lot more interesting working with lambdas, streams, threads etc.., although I hear the exam is much more difficult (I will find out soon enough).

Highly recommended for studying for the exam or just learning core java.

The last time I took the Java Programmer's Certification was for Java 1.4. Autoboxing didn't exist yet, everybody was still using StringBuffers, and the certification was administered by Sun, not Oracle. 12 years later, I have a ton of practical Java experience, but I felt like it was time for a refresher course. Libraries and APIs are easy to look up on the fly (thanks Google!) and therefore not as important to memorize. However language fundamentals absolutely must be ingrained into the professional Java developer's mind.

This study guide reminded me very much of the guide I used for the 1.4 test (a guide that I was very happy with, but forget the name of.) This Java SE 8 guide focuses on the language fundamentals required by the certification, providing well-reasoned examples and very useful sample questions. The writing is very straight-forward and easy to understand.

I believe all Java developers should take this certification--not because the Programmer 1 certification itself is critical, but because:

1) the higher level certifications _are_ useful and this one is a prerequisite, and

2) knowing the basics of the Java language is what separates the so-so developers from the great developers.

Yes, there are some errata, but honestly the quality of the writing and explanations far outweighs the negatives of a few proof reading mistakes. The author has really thought creatively about how to structure the topics in the most easily accessible and understandable way, without cutting corners. I read the book about 4-5 times over a period of 12 weeks along with using the Sybex tests and Enthuware software. I have a busy life with two small children and very little spare time so really appreciated the quality and economical approach of the book. These were my only resources. Passed exam with 80% (I have about 4 years Java coding experience, with 8-9 years overall experience in Java based technologies within an IT consultancy role).

I bought this book about a month ago to pass the OCA test (1Z0-808) and yesterday achieved my goal with a score of 85%. This book is a big part of what gave me the knowledge to reach this goal, however I simply can't give it 5 stars because there are typos in it.

I give this book high marks for high-level organization and for a focus on low-level code snippets that illustrate the key principles that are important to learn for the test. I'll also add the the typographical errors I ran into were few and far between, and they fit into two categories which include (a) word-jumbling where you have to read a passage twice to realize what they meant (caused by double-words or other silliness that usually an editor would clean up), or (b) errors in the review question answer key where you had to flip back and forth 6 times to confirm that the authors misfired on 4-6 questions throughout the book in their answer key. I'm sure there is (or soon will be) an errata to correct this, but while I was studying I never got motivated to seek this out.

One thing that the "About this Book" section talks about is how the review questions at the end of each chapter are harder than the actual Java SE 8 OCA exam. This is an understatement. In my estimate the review questions are significantly harder, and I would actually have liked if the authors told you how many answers to choose instead of saying "Choose All that Apply" since this is how to actual exam does it. In my opinion, leaving it open-ended is less educational than specifying how many answers are actually correct for each question.

Having said all that, I passed my test on the first try thanks to this book, and based on my search from last month (Oct 2015) there isn't a better book for this exam on the market, so despite its flaws I'd still give this book both thumbs up and recommend it if you want to earn a passing score on the Java SE 8 OCA exam.

This book and EnthuWare mock exams are necessary for passing the exam.

The book is clearly written and uses effective code samples. It is direct without being dry. The chapter tests and online tests are necessary for learning and exam preparation. The chapter tests are in the book and online; however, the three practice exams are on the website and the website is a royal pain to use (blink too long and it times out--time out during a review of your answers and you cannot return to it). A PDF version of the book is NOT included.

I like this book enough to buy the OCP study guide from the same authors.

can’t wait to get started on this book! arrived in good condition - definitely worth it!

It's an OK book that would be much better if it didn't have so many errors. The language is fairly easy to follow although in a few cases, the way the information is presented seems to be a bit ambiguous at first but (usually) becomes clearer as you read forward. I was a bit on the fence as to rate this book 3 or 4 stars. As at least one other reviewer pointed out, the authors incorrectly refer to method declarations (without the enclosing braces) as method signatures all throughout the book. You need to print out the errata and refer to it often as errors occur frequently. Even, then I still found errors that are not in the errata. One such example is when the author refers to the last part of a print out of LocalDateTime.now() as nanoseconds, when in fact they are milliseconds. I could have easily given the book a 4 or 5 star rating if it weren't for having so many errors.

Having said that, the book still has plenty of usefulness. There is a wealth of materiel covered and the authors are careful to keep the material in line with the exam objectives and very rarely stray from that objective. The questions at the beginning of the book and the end of each chapters are not easy and they definitely make you think carefully about the answers. Although, I did have a hard time actually finding any references from the chapters that adequately explained why certain answers were correct. I didn't always discover the reason why until I checked the answers in the back of the book and found the explanation in the answers section. Because of the number of errors, I kept finding myself questioning whether or not a specific statement or piece of code was actually correct. I found myself having to test pieces of code for myself in order to confirm that the way they were presented was actually correct (which may not have been a bad thing as it reinforced my knowledge).

I do believe the authors are very knowledgeable on the subject, but at the same time there are enough errors to make it difficult as a reader to fully trust the content without corroborating it against another source. I also believe that this is probably currently (May 2016) the best book out there specifically on the 1Z0-808 exam simply because this is a newer exam and there just aren't a lot of books out on it yet. I does make me wonder if the authors were just in a rush to be the first to get their book on the market, hence all the errors.

I have attempted to learn Java for about 15 years. The two weekend classes I attended moved to fast and there was not enough time for hands on examples. Sitting through full semester classes was not practical for a professional who has worked for 35 years. A different approach was needed. Luckily I ran into Jeanne's book. The subject matter could have been dry because most of the OCA test asks questions having to do with scope, lifetime, garbage collection and syntax. In the past I found myself falling asleep when trying to read about Java. The difference with this book is that the introduction to each topic quickly turned into examples with code to try. The examples hit on topics such as animals, food and families of ducks. It was constantly fun! It was an enjoyable read when Jeanne acknowledged to the reader that a tough chapter was just covered. The brain load factor was always followed by a topic that was easier. I feel that I could write code I when I need to and I have a reference guide to use as well. I would want to have the opportunity of having a real Java Contract and then I'd give the exam a try. I hope she writes an update to the book so I can read it again. By the way if you use her website mentioned in the book with a question or a recommendation, she will reply immediately.

I just passed my Java certification this year. I really used this book a lot. It has some small typo errors, but this is because it's the first edition published. Otherwise, I can see that this was written by developers, the examples are very clear and the errors thatmight arise because of bad code are really well organized and presented. Make the associated exercises in the book and buy also the package from internet and it will be ok. I cannot wait for the professional to appear in December

Excellent book and covers majority of the concepts in all areas through several cases. The best part is that every case has detailed explanation as such why the code behaves the way it does. Even the practice examples have answers which are very nicely explained.

Also the exam tips at the end of the book is an additional value add. Thanks a lot Jeanne Boyarsky and Amazon for publishing and hosting this book!!

Thanks and Regards,

Ahir.

Product is same as description. But missed expected delivery date. I got it after 6 days of expected date.

Ich bin Azubi in Fachrichtung Anwendungsentwicklung im 2. Lehrjahr und habe dieses Buch zur Vorbereitung auf das erste OCA Zertifikat bestellt. Man liest einige Meinungen hier auf Amazon und merkt nur das man es nie allen rechtmachen kann. Manchen scheint das Buch zu knapp geschrieben und unvollständig, kann ja sein, dann lesen Sie doch bitte Java ist auch eine Insel...., manch anderer sagt es wäre zuviel drumrum und nicht kompakt, auch da kann ich nur dieses Inselbuch empfehlen um zu sehen das dem nicht so ist.

Wenn man schon eine Programmiersprache kennengelernt hat und keinen 1000 Seiten Wälzer braucht wo noch einmal erklärt wird was der unterschied zwischen einer Variablen und einer Funktion ist, ist mit diesem Werk gut bedient. So ziemlich alles was man (zumindest für die Prüfung) braucht wird kurz, knapp und verständlich erläutert.

Die Produkte von enthuware sind mir ebenfalls bekannt und diese wurden von mir auch zur Vorbereitung auf das OCA Examen benutzt und wenn man das Buch wirklich durchliest (nicht durchblättern, lesen) wird man jede Frage Problemlos richtig beantworten können.

Das einzige was ich nicht so toll fand waren die Codebeispiele, die gerne am Ende der Seite anfangen sodass man hin und her blättern muss, ansonsten top!

Il libro per la certificazione Java OCA si è rivelato un'ottima risorsa per prepararmi al meglio per l'esame. Questa guida completa fornisce una panoramica dettagliata dei concetti fondamentali di Java e delle competenze richieste per superare con successo l'esame di certificazione.

Una delle cose che ho apprezzato di più di questo libro è la sua struttura organizzata e intuitiva. Gli argomenti sono presentati in modo chiaro e progressivo, consentendo una comprensione graduale dei concetti. Ogni capitolo è accompagnato da esempi pratici e da una spiegazione dettagliata, che facilitano l'apprendimento e la memorizzazione delle informazioni chiave.

Inoltre, il libro include numerosi esercizi e test di pratica che permettono di mettere in pratica ciò che si è appreso e di valutare il proprio livello di preparazione. Questa componente pratica è estremamente utile per sviluppare le competenze necessarie e acquisire confidenza nel risolvere problemi reali.

Un altro punto di forza del libro è l'attenzione che viene data agli argomenti più importanti dell'esame. Gli autori si concentrano sugli argomenti chiave e offrono spiegazioni approfondite, consentendo di focalizzare lo studio sulle aree più rilevanti per l'esame.

Infine, il libro è aggiornato alle ultime versioni di Java, garantendo che le informazioni presentate siano attuali e rilevanti per l'esame di certificazione. Questo è particolarmente importante, considerando la natura in continua evoluzione della programmazione Java.

In conclusione, il libro per la certificazione Java OCA è una risorsa indispensabile per chiunque desideri ottenere la certificazione. Con la sua struttura ben organizzata, gli esempi pratici e i test di pratica, fornisce una preparazione completa e mirata per affrontare l'esame con successo. Consiglio vivamente questo libro a tutti coloro che desiderano consolidare le proprie competenze in Java e distinguersi come professionisti qualificati.