Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

I have been meaning to post this review for some time. I purchased this book mid last year, read it and liked it very much. The book is "A Programmers Guide to Java Certification" by Khalid Azim Mughal and Rolf Rasmussen (Addison-Wesley publisher).

It was more comprehensive, accurate and clear than several other Java cert books I have read. The book covers all areas of the Java 2 certification (the version I had was for the Java 2 1.3 cert stuff, not the new 1.4, but it still works for 1.4 you can just omit the AWT/Swing chapter AND pick up some other reference material on assertions such as the sun assertion guide).

In addition this book teaches the concepts of OO programming and goes beyond just the basic cert stuff. Dont get me wrong, it stays focused on the exam objectives but at the same time it succeeds in TEACHING why things work they way they do rather than just memory exercises. The book is well organized, well written and overall one of the best cert books I have seen. When I was done reading this book and performing the exercises I felt like I was not only ready for the test but had a much better understanding of Java as a whole. 5.0 penguin afros out of a scale of 5.2.

If you are looking to get Java 2 certified then get the book AND check out all the free SCJP 1.4 cert stuff at developerWorks.   Programmers Guide to Java Certification: Amazon