Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Who Should Read This Topic
This topic is for the working Java professional who needs an introduction to J2SE 5 and has an
eye toward learning the material needed to pass the Sun Certified Java Developer exam. The
SCJD exam gives programmers a slice of what they can expect on a real-world assignment,
and you have to be ready for that challenge. A developer who has passed, or could pass, the
Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) exam will feel at home here. A developer with less than
six months of experience should probably supplement this topic with some of the excellent
Java topics available from Apress or other publishers.
This topic describes in detail many features of the JDK, some of which have been part of
standard Java for many years, and some of which have only been introduced in JDK 5. The
only assumption we have made in this topic is that the reader will be familiar enough with
Java to pass the SCJP exam—so we do not need to spend time explaining the basics of the
language (for example, the difference between an int and a long ). However, we do go into
details of changes to the language, so candidates who have not yet learned the JDK 5
language enhancements can discover them here.
About This Topic
This topic addresses the SCJD certification, which is one of several Java certification exams
offered by Sun Microsystems. The SCJD and SCEA (Sun Certified Enterprise Architect) certifi-
cates require candidates to complete projects, whereas the other certifications only require
theory-based exams in which the candidate typically has multichoice questions to answer. As
far as programming goes, the SCJD exam is the most challenging of the exams that Sun offers,
and that is precisely why it is the focus of this topic.
This topic is divided into three parts. Part 1 focuses on general development considera-
tions and outlines a sample project. Part 2 teaches necessary concepts from the ground up,
while facilitating both understanding and implementation. Part 3 concludes the topic with a
discussion of design and implementation decisions made and possible alternative paths.
A sample project is provided that offers challenges similar to those you'll find on the SCJD
exam while introducing and taking advantage of the relevant new features of J2SE 5. Each
topic related to the exam is explained in detail, and trade-offs are considered. Where appro-
priate, parallel development paths are explored and implemented.
Where applicable, chapters briefly discuss the design patterns being used and offer a brief
explanation of those patterns. We strongly encourage you to purchase or download some pat-
tern resources. Various web sites offer insightful tutorials, including the Sun site ( http://www.
sun.com ) and TheServerSide.com ( http://www.theserverside.com ). There are also various
excellent topics on the topic, including Head First Design Patterns , by Elisabeth Freeman, Eric
Freeman, Bert Bates, and Kathy Sierra (O'Reilly, 2004).
Throughout this topic, we present numerous examples that aid in the development of a
real-world Java application. Each chapter contributes directly to this application by address-
ing a critical topic such as threading, Swing, or networking. The text explores questions that
naturally arise in these topics and explains how the challenges can be met. More important,
the trade-offs and implications of these choices are discussed.
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