Changes/Improvements added to Oracle Certified Professional Java Programmer 7 (OCPJP 7)

Major Changes:

1.       To appear for OCPJP 7 you must either OCAJP certified or must possess OCP certification in any prior version of exam

2.       Following are the topics which are newly added to OCPJP 7

a.       Design Patterns

·         Design a class using the Singleton design pattern

·         Identify when and how to use composition to solve business problems

·         Write code to implement the DAO Pattern

·         Design a class that uses the Factory design pattern

b.      Database Applications with JDBC

·         Describe the JDBC API

·         Identify the Java statements required to connect to a database using JDBC

·         Use the JDBC 4.1 RowSetProvider, RowSetFactory, and new RowSet interfaces

·         Use JDBC transactions

·         Use the proper JDBC API to submit queries and read results from the database.

·         Use JDBC PreparedStatement and CallableStatement

Minor Changes:

1.       Following topics have been changed/improved

a.  Concurrency
            ·     Use Executors and ThreadPools
            ·     Use the parallel Fork/Join Framework

b. Localization

·         Build a resource bundle for each locale

·         Call a resource bundle from an application

·         Select a resource bundle based on locale

2.       Following content is newly added

·         Use String in the switch statement

·         Use binary literals, numeric literals with underscores

·         Use try-with-resources

Rests of the topics are same as in previous version of exam i.e.  OCPJP 6.

To summarize this, two topics are newly introduced while small minor improvements are added to few topics.

Check following links for more details  
Java SE 7 certification details
Java SE 7 New Features 

~Ajinkya.

How to prepare for OCPJP 6?

                                            

  A heads up on the preparation for OCPJP

Recently (On 6th December 2011) I cleared OCPJP with 96%.Inspired with the score, thought of jotting down a roadmap with tips and experiences. Will be talking about what I did, what I would have done differently and how it would have helped me.

Following DO's and DONT's might help you to achieve a decent score.

1. Decide a timeline -
My very first advice: Decide a timeline or you will unnecessarily spend/waste lots of time in preparation.
I spent overall 3 months for preparation. Spent 2-3 hours on weekdays and maximum possible time on weekends. Depending on your prior Java experience and skills you may require more/less time.
Another tip that might work for most of you, if possible buy the exam voucher. It will push you to squeeze in time to your routine for preparation. Remember we all don’t work unless we have a deadline, the voucher would serve this purpose of a deadline.

2. Grab a good book -
You will find plenty of good books and many books which claim to be good. Prefer Kathy Siera and Bert Bates. It is fairly thorough and carries helpful tips. Moreover it’s an entertaining guide to OCPJP traversing through unnecessary but helpful jokes.
Most of the sites/blogs advise you for multiple books but I will highly recommend you to marry a single book. It will help you to avoid confusion.

3. Read, Spoil, Remember -
Go through K&B (or any other book you are comfortable with). Read, think, understand and try to remember it. In my opinion if you understand it well, you don't need to remember it.
While reading I used to spoil pages with different symbols/words like *, WTF, Awesome, Really! Etc  Etc.
Or sometimes used to fold pages which surprised me most. (Very first reason behind doing all this, I am too lazy to take notes.) This helped me put things into head quickly and saved ample time while revising it again.
One humble request: DONT ASSUME/skip anything while reading even if you have lots of experience with Java. Java is a tricky language with lots of pitfalls so go through each and every line.
REMEMBER: ASSUME = making ASS of U and ME.

4. CODE CODE and CODE -
while reading try tons of mad, messy, nonsense code. It is bound to help you a lot. Also prefer a normal text editor like notepad or notepad++ over any IDE. I know it's a painful thing but trust me it is worth to bear the pain. I initiated my start up with notepad++ and after getting enough confidence moved to Eclipse.

5. Dare to give mock tests-
Alright, once completed the book. I assume you to be familiar with the required concepts. Gear up now, give some mock tests. You will find many sites offering free mock tests. (Assuming you are good at Googling ).
I will suggest scjptest.com , found it reliable and good enough. Don't bother about the score, just note down questions/topics which troubled you and move on.

6. Do it again-
You went through the book and showed enough courage to face mock tests. Now you must be familiar with areas which surprised/troubled you, time to WORK ON IT. Read it again, ask Google, put it on forums and scream for help until you get over it. In my opinion this is the most important stage. I spent quite some time fighting with threads, collections, generics etc.

7. Spread the world -
Keep visiting Javaranch and Stackoverflow whenever you are free. Ask questions, try to help others.
REMEMBER: The best way to learn is to teach. I spent more time on Stackoverflow than Facebook and tweeting. Sorry for being biased but I am in love with Stackoverflow.
Discuss all stuff with your friends, colleagues, neighbors and strangers. These Discussions/arguments which I had with my colleagues, nurtured my knowledge.
Trust me, dive into it and you will enjoy swimming through the journey.

8. SHOWTIME:
Alright, here you are. If you have accomplished all of this: Congratulations :) Now register a date for the exam.
Just before the exam: relax, be confident and ensure a good sleep. (I slept for barely 4 hours and things went a little difficult)Most of all, keep your mind at its place.
IMPORTANT: Whichever question you face, don't panic, answer the easy ones at first, mark the tough ones and move on. Keep yourself calm and revisit marked questions.

9. What if I fail-
Go to step 1. Remember it doesn't matter how many times you were knocked down, what matters is how many times you got up again.

Hope this helps you all aspirants of OCPJP :) All the very best!
PS: Please bear with me for any wrong assumption. Best Wishes!!
and special thanks to Paji for reviewing and editing my first post :D

~Ajinkya.