It was a looooong journey. I took OCAJP7 at the end of May and OCPJP at the middle of October. I was very suffering when I prepare for the exams, but everything is worth, it is guaranteed that the exams keep me growing. Now I can understand Java SE better and it get my Java skills increment.
Taking a glance of the exams, and experience the real exam level:
(1)
public static void main(String[]args){....}
public static void Main(String[]args){...}
public static void main(){...}
(2)
try{
throw new IOException();
}catch(Exception e){
throw new FileNotFoundException();
}
which Exception will be thrown?
(3)
Files.copy(sourcePath, destinationPath);
Question: if the source file under sourcePath is hidden, what if we copy it to the destination path, is it Hidden?
What resources are required?
(1) The Java Tutorial
Programmer Level 1
Programmer Level 2
Those two links covers the topics of OCAJP7 and OCPJP7 respectively. Those links can only help you understand well which topics you should prepare, but if you only read those materials, it is far from passing the exams.
(2) SCJP6. This book is highly recommended. This books covers all the details of the topics it provided. Because of this book is for SCJP6 exam, some topics of OCAJP7/OCPJP7 are not covered by this book, for example: try-with-resource, string processing, File IO(NIO2), even though, it is still a good book for preparation.
(3)Oracle Certified Professional Java SE7. Java SE7 covers all the topics for OCPJP7, and it is as board/deep as the real exam. The topics not covered in SCJP6, they are involved by Java SE7. It has two mock tests, each has 90 questions, they can help you to estimate your level(The average score of those two mocks is very close to my OCPJP7 score :) ). Here's their official link: http://ocpjp7.blogspot.ca/, a tons of useful information are posted here.
My impression of the exams
1. Topics are not even distributed. Before I took the OCPJP7, I thought it would have a lot of questions are related to Generics and Threads, but when I sit in front of the real exam, I found only about 10 questions about Generics and Threads, and more than 15 questions are about File IO(NIO2) and String processing, and only 1 or 2 questions covered JDBC. Therefore, be careful when you prepare for your exams, you should understand all topics well.
2. Too many details
replaceAll(String regex, String replacement)
replace(char oldChar, char newChar)
Such kind of methods will be involved in your multiple choices questions, and you should know which is the best. For example, replace and replaceAll, they have the same functionality. The old characters will be replaced with the new one, replacing all the occurrence of old characters. When those two methods appear in the same question, you may think replace only replace the first occurrence of the oldChar, right?
Suggestions
1. Be patient when you prepare your exams. Provide enough time for your preparation. Don't register the exam first, you can prepare for it and when you feel you are ready, then go register.
2. Coding. Dont just read the books, it is not enough, you must practice each topic by yourself. If you do your practice, the compile time error and runtime error will be a piece of cake for you! You can use IDE or not, it is your choice, the thing is understanding why the codes is working or why it is not working.
3. The most important part is the topics are not even distributed. I thought the topics about Generics and Threads will have a lot of questions, but I was wrong, it had a lot of File IO questions and made me suffering.I believe when you read the third question about the Files.copy at the beginning of this post, you experienced it already
4. Don't buy any mock exams, it is not necessary. All the resources I suggested is enough for you get a good score. If you can understand them well, the exams are not too challenging.
I hope this post helps. Best wishes for your exam:)
