Sun Certified Professional
Sun Certified Professional (
SCP) is a
professional certification program by
Sun Microsystems. It is meant to verify a particular skillset in Sun technologies, especially the
Java programming language.
Sun Certified Java Associate
The
Sun Certified Java Associate (or
SCJA), the newest of Sun's Java certifications, concentrates on basic knowledge of
object oriented programming,
UML, and the essentials of the
Java programming language and
platform. It is targeted at newcomers to Java who are not necessarily working in technical positions, such as project managers, students, or developers for whom Java is not a primary development platform.
Sun Certified Java Programmer
The
Sun Certified Java Programmer (or
SCJP) exam is the entry level
Java exam which is a prerequisite to the other Java-related certifications. It is designed to demonstrate that the programmer has met a fairly detailed test of basic knowledge of the essentials of the Java programming language. It tests only for the essentials of the language such as classes, looping constructs and
variables, and does not cover many real-world technologies such as
GUI creation, web or
network programming.
It is assessed through an automatically administered multiple-choice test system and consists of 72 questions which the candidate has 3 hours and 15 minutes to answer. The exam is actually taken at a
Prometric test center, which is often also affiliated with a training organization. To take the test a candidate must buy a
voucher from Sun (approximately US$200 in the US, but £150 in the UK) and book the test in advance.
With each new release of Java, Sun releases a new version of the exam; the current version is aimed at the
JDK 1.5 release of Java. The newest version of the exam introduces "drag and drop questions". With each new version of the exam new topics are introduced and old topics dropped. Thus the JDK 1.5 exam introduces variable arguments,
autoboxing, and generic types, and it drops the
bit shifting topics from previous exams. The version of the test based on Java 1.4 is still available and quite popular as it is generally considered easier than the Java 1.5 exam.
One of the main goals of this new exam is to create a test that is "performance based" rather than "knowledge based" (Sun's terms). Generally what this means is that a "knowledge based" question focuses on memorization of details, and a "performance based" question focuses on more real world activities like actually writing code.
The SCJP is a useful member in the teams that write various java applications and can provide at least some instructions on how they must be implemented. The ability for the unsupervised work is confirmed by the subsequent
Sun Certified Java Developer certification.
Sun Certified Java Developer
Sun Certified Java Developer (or
SCJD) is the advanced Java programmer certification level. Unlike the easier SCJP, this level confirms that the participant is able to write a real-world commercial applications, solving all typical problems. It is the highest qualification that Sun confirms for the Standard Edition Java programmer.
The certification consists of the practical programming task and the subsequent written theory exam. The participant must write the described application, extensively using custom file formats, distributed computing (
JRMP) and advanced
Swing features that are not fully accessible from the popular rapid develpment tools (JTable, component data models and so on). The code must be documented, and the user manual must be supplied. The task itself is written in the way like it would be given from the non-programming end user. Apart one or two interfaces, no technical details are given.
The participant is not allowed to use
CORBA,
RMI-IIOP, web browsers and third party libraries of any kind, because these might make a task too easy and are also subject of other certifications. He/She is allowed to use any preferred Java
IDE. There is no strict time limit for this exam. The main disadvantage of this certification is that the participant must invest the considerable amount of work (at least several weeks) in writing that program.
Both parts of this certification are available from Sun representatives widely across the world. It takes up to months to get this certification, because all working systems, written by participants, are carefully examined in the source code level. Because of the same reason it is about two times as expensive as the SCJP exam.
The SCJD is a useful member in the teams, creating distributed desktop applications and should be able to write such systems or their parts, without additional supervision. Even employers that are sceptical enough not to count the SCJP at all, still count SCJD as equal to the two years of the practical work in the serious programming industry [
1].
Sun Certified Web Component Developer
The
Sun Certified Web Component Developer (
SCWCD) certification targets information regarding Java components related to web-applications, specifically Servlets and Java Server Pages (JSPs). To achieve this certification, the candidate must pass a computer-based test available world-wide at
Prometric test centers.
As of 2005, the SCWCD covers the
Java2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) version 1.4 code, corresponding to Servlet version 2.4 and JSP version 2.0.
Sun Certified Business Component Developer
The
Sun Certified Business Component Developer (
SCBCD) certification targets information regarding Java components related to distributed applications, specifically
Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs). To achieve this certification, the candidate must pass a computer-based test available world-wide at
Prometric test centers.
As of 2005, the SCBCD covers the
Java2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) version 1.3 code, corresponding to EJB version 2.0.
Pre-requisite for this certification is that the candidate should be a Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform (any edition).
Useful Link for Tutorials, Mock exams is http://www.javaranch.com/scwcdlinks.jsp.
Sun Certified Developer for Java Web Services
(SCDJWS)Sun Certified Developer for Java Web Services certification exam is for developers who have been creating web services applications using Java technology components such as those supported by the Java Web Services Developer Pack and the Java 2, Enterprise Edition 1.4 platform. It is probably the toughest and most respected Java certification yet as there are no study materials made specific for it and because it covers a wide range of subjects
Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer
The
Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer (SCMAD) certification targets information related to developing Mobile applications, through platform Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME). It focuses in specifications like JTWI, CLDC, MIDP, WMA and MMAPI.
Sun Certified Enterprise Architect
Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for the Java EE Platform (
SCEA) certification certifies the skills of a software architect in the
Java Enterprise Edition technology (formerly J2EE). Obtaining the certification requires the candidate to pass three individual stages:
* a multiple choice exam on the basic concepts of Java EE technology
* a UML design project involving Java EE technology
* an essay exam regarding the design project
The multiple-choice exam can be taken at any
Prometric testing center around the world. Passage of this portion is required prior to registering with Sun Microsystems for the design project, which is downloaded from a secured website. After completion of the assignment and upload to the same secured website, the candidate then sits for an essay exam, once again through a Prometric test center. As the questions on the essay exam are based on the assignment for Part II, it is advised to take the essay exam as soon as possible after submitting the assignment. (The last two steps are essentially one step since they are graded in unison.) Scores for the Part I exam are known immediately after taking the test; however, the scores for Parts II/III are only available after six to eight weeks through Sun's certification manager website.
Unlike other higher-level Java exams, this certification does not require passing the
Sun Certified Java Programmer exam as a prerequisite. This is due to the different job-role an architect fills on the software development team.
Should the candidate pass, Sun will award the person the status of a professional Java architect. Unlike some other technology exams (such as
MCSE), this exam and all of the other Sun
Java exams does not have an expiry date.
Sun Certified Engineer for Sun ONE Directory Server
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Sun Certification Page*
JavaRanch forums on Java certificationSCJP 5.0 & SCJD
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SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide (Exam 310-055), ISBN 0072253606.
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Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide, ISBN 0782144195.
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The Java(TM) Language Specification, ISBN 0321246780.
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Free SCJP 5.0 mock exams*
JavaBeat MockExams*
SCJP Downloadble Mock exam*
CoffeeWithJava SCJP Today's Special, SCJP RainbowSCWCD
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Head First Servlets and JSP: Passing the Sun Certified Web Component Developer Exam (SCWCD), ISBN 0596005407.
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SCWCD Exam Study Kit Second Edition: Java Web Component Developer Certification, ISBN 1932394389.
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Professional SCWCD Certification, ISBN 1861007701.
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SCWCD study notes*
SCWCD study notes*
JavaRanch SCWCD linksSCMAD
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SCMAD certification center mock exams and study material
