Why This Book?

Back in 2013 when I decided to study for the Java 7 Programmer certification, I spent some time browsing and looking for resources that could become helpful along the way. The result was discouraging: except for a useful exam simulator software, the best I could find were a couple of very long 600+ page books. I started studying with one of these books… but didn’t even finish the second chapter. Since I was, at that time, a Java programmer with some experience, I felt that I was wasting a lot of time by reading pages and pages about things that I already knew. I felt that it wasn’t the best path to reach my goal.

Large books do prepare you for the exam, but in a time-consuming way that you don’t really need. For example: if you have some previous Java experience, what’s the point of reading twenty pages about operators? You probably already know what most operators mean, so, to prepare for the exam you just need to focus on the few tricky things about precedence, data types (operand promotion) and the order in which operands are evaluated.

So I decided to create my own study materials. I reviewed and studied the Oracle® Java Tutorials sections that cover the official exam topics, stressing the latest additions to the Java language. I also practiced a lot with the exam simulator and reviewed all the question explanations (both for right and wrong answers). And all along this process I was writing notes, tables and code examples.

This book is the result of compiling and presenting in a helpful an organized way all those materials I had to create to prepare for my exam. Its goal is to help you to get your Java™ Certification in a guided and smart way. I’ve written it like the one I’d have loved to have found back in 2013 and I hope you’ll find it useful to achieve your goal. I finally got my certification with a score of 95% and if a simple Java programmer like me can do it, so can you.

Getting a Java certification doesn’t happen overnight. You need motivation and you still have to study and practice with an exam simulator. It takes some hard work, but this book will help keep the process less overwhelming and much less time consuming.

How Does It Work?

The study process is really simple; for each exam topic you have to do the following 3 tasks:

1. Read the chapter about that topic. Read it carefully and try to understand the concepts, but don’t try to memorize anything this time (there will be time for that later, nearer the exam day). Challenge yourself and have fun with the many tricky questions you'll find in the book: copy and paste the code in your favorite Java IDE (e.g. Eclipse) and check if your answers are right. 
2. Do the test(s) for that topic with the simulator. By doing this you validate and consolidate what you’ve learned from the book and get a better idea of where you are (what level) and what topics you have to work harder on. These tests also help you to get used to the kind of questions and code samples that you’ll find in the real exam for a specific topic. It’s very important to always review failed questions, check why your answers are wrong and if you feel that you need it, write some code to practice those topics.
3. Smile. You have done the hard work.

Simple, isn’t it? Once you’ve done these 3 steps for every topic, you’re more than likely ready for trying the exam. But you probably don’t just want to pass it (65%) or want to be more confident before trying it, so what I recommend at this point is doing the following 2 extra steps:

4. Read the book a second time. This helps you to consolidate every topic. Now you should spend more time studying the topics that you don’t feel you dominate or those topics where you scored less in the simulator tests.
5. Do the standard tests with the simulator. These tests are similar to the real exam in terms of topic distribution, toughness and duration. If you are able to pass them comfortably, then you’re ready to pass the exam with flying colors!

All the additional resources provided in the book (Planning Sheets, Study Sheets, Tips for the Exam) are all proven and useful resources that will help you to follow this roadmap and finally get your goal.

Who is This Book For?

This book will prepare you to pass the Oracle® Java SE 8 Programmer I exam (exam number 1Z0-808) in order to earn the Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer certification.

The book is not meant for beginners but for programmers with some Java experience who want to improve and update their knowledge of the Java language while at the same time getting it validated by obtaining the valuable and recognized Oracle Java Certification.

For example, this book won’t teach you what a Java class or interface is, but it will teach the little details and helpful tricks that you must know about classes and interfaces for passing the exam comfortably. If you are a beginner then you’ll probably want to improve your basic Java knowledge first. In that case, you can take a look at my Resources section where I keep an updated collection of recommended Java books.