thedailychannel.com — recommended books

Programmer's Guide to Java 2 Certification
by Mughal and Rasmussen

This is a great book on Java. I learned at least one interesting and valuable thing about Sun's Java programming language from every page. Since the book runs over 600 pages, I know quite a bit more than I did before.

The great thing about approaching a programming language in this way (comprehensively) is that when you first sit down to write a program, rather than being frustrating, it's relaxing. There are several chapters that go well beyond what's required on the certification test, but even if you don't plan to take a certification test, this is a good book to get.

For one thing, the care and thought with which it was put together means there aren't really any errors to speak of. For some of the study questions you will need to consult the Java API, but you should be looking at it anyway.

If I ever take the test, I'll let you know how well I thought it prepared me, but judging from what the other reviewers say, this is the book. If you're interested in Java programming, I can definitely recommend Programmer's Guide to Java 2 Certification, by Mughal and Rasmussen.

reviewed Saturday April 14, 2001

2003 update

All that having been said, people now are taking 1.4, and it seems that Sierra and Bates is the preparation book of choice for that exam. Sun Certified Programmer and Developer by Sierra and Bates. Good luck!