Introduction

This book is for those studying for the IZ0-815 (Java SE Programmer I) or IZ0-811 (Java Foundations) exam along with those looking to learn Java more deeply.

If you've taken the OCA 7 or OCA 8 exam, note that the IZ0-815 exam is a lot tougher. While covering more basic topics, the exam is at the same level of difficulty as the OCP 7 and OCP 8 exams.

In this introduction, we will cover important information about the exam before moving on to information about this book. Finally, this introduction ends with an assessment test so that you can see how much studying lays ahead of you.

Understanding the Exam

At the end of the day, the exam is a list of questions. The more you know about the structure of the exam, the better you are likely to do. For example, knowing how many questions the exam contains allows you to manage your progress and time remaining better. In this section, we discuss the details of the exam, along with some history of previous certification exams.

Choosing Which Exam to Take

Java is about 25 years old, celebrating being "born" in 1995. As with anything 25 years old, there is a good amount of history and variation between different versions of Java. Over the years, the certification exams have changed to cover different topics. The names of the exams have even changed.

Oracle released two exams each for Java 7 and Java 8. The first exam tended to be easier and completing it granted you the title of Oracle Certified Associate (OCA). The second exam was a lot more difficult, with much longer questions, and completing it granted you the title of Oracle Certified Professional (OCP).

Oracle did not release an exam for Java 9 or Java 10, probably because neither of these are Long Term Support (LTS) releases (more on that in Chapter 1, "Welcome to Java"). With Java 11, Oracle decided to discontinue both the OCA certification and its associated exam. You still have to take two exams to earn an OCP title. There's also a basic Java Foundations exam that we will describe shortly.

Figure I.1 shows these past and current Java certifications. This image is helpful if you run into material online that references older exams. It is also helpful if you have an older certification and are trying to determine where it fits in.

Figure I.1 Past and current Java certifications

The first exam, and the one this book is designed to prepare you for, is the 1Z0-815 Programmer I exam. It covers a lot of basic Java properties including class structure, methods, inheritance, and modules. It is somewhat similar, but significantly more difficult, than the previous OCA 7/8 exams. If you've taken a previous OCA exam, it might help to think of the 1Z0-815 exam as containing much of the same OCA content, but with the level of difficulty of the original OCP exam. This means questions are longer, answers often have multiple parts, and the level of depth of the material is significantly more difficult.

The second exam is the 1Z0-816 Programmer II exam. It is quite similar to the previous OCP 7/8 exams, with a number of new topics such as annotations, modules, and security added in. We've included notes throughout this book on some topics that aren't in scope for the 1Z0-815 exam but will be when you study for the 1Z0-816 exam.

Oracle has also released a 1Z0-817 OCP Upgrade Exam for those who hold an existing Sun Certified Programmer 6 (SCJP 6), OCP 6, OCP 7, or OCP 8 title. The objectives for the upgrade exam are quite similar to the 1Z0-816 Programmer II exam.

Oracle also offers a 1Z0-811 Java Foundations exam. This is often for a novice programmer or nonprogrammers. If you are planning to take the Java Foundations exam, this book prepares you as well. You will get to skip some parts of the book, so be sure to read the objectives/chapter mapping later in this introduction. The Java Foundations exam is an easier exam but does not serve as a prerequisite for the OCP certification. If you are considering taking the Java Foundations exam, please see the linked blog post from our book page to weigh the pros and cons of each exam:

http://www.selikoff.net/ocp11-1

Figure I.2 reviews the exams you need to take in order to earn the latest Java certifications. This book will prepare you for your choice of the 1Z0-815 and the 1Z0-811 exams.

Figure I.2 Latest Java certification exams

Broad Objectives

In previous certification exams, the list of exam objectives tended to include specific topics, classes, and APIs that you needed to know for the exam. For example, take a look at a previous objective for the 1Z0-808 (OCA 8) exam:

• Compare and contrast the features and components of Java such as: platform independence, object orientation, encapsulation, etc.

Now compare it with the equivalent objective for the 1Z0-815 exam:

• Identify key features of the Java language

Notice the difference? The older version is more detailed and describes specific topics you will need to understand. The newer version is a lot vaguer. It also gives the exam writers a lot more freedom to, say, insert a new feature without having to update the list of objectives.

So, how do you know what to study? By reading this study guide, of course! We've spent years studying the certification exams, in all of their forms, and have carefully cultivated topics, material, and practice questions that we are confident can lead to successfully passing the exam.

Changes to the Exam

At the time of this book being published, all three OCP 11 certification exams contain 80 questions and have a duration of 3 hours. The 1Z0-815 and 1Z0-816 exams require a passing score of 63%, while the 1Z0-817 exam requires a passing score of 61%. The 1Z0-811 Java Foundation exam is a little different than the OCP exams. It contains 75 questions and has a duration of 2.5 hours, and it requires a score of 65% to pass.

Oracle has a tendency to fiddle with the length of the exam and the passing score once it comes out. Oracle also likes to "tweak" the exam topics over time. It wouldn't be a surprise for Oracle to make minor changes to the exam objectives, the number of questions, or the passing score after this book goes to print.

If there are any changes to the exam after this book is published, we will note them on the book page of our blog:

http://www.selikoff.net/ocp11-1

Exam Questions

The 1Z0-815 exam consists of multiple-choice questions. There are between four and seven possible answers. If a question has more than one answer, the question specifically states exactly how many correct answers there are. This book does not do that. We say "Choose all that apply" to make the questions harder. This means the questions in this book are generally harder than those on the exam. The idea is to give you more practice so you can spot the correct answer more easily on the real exam.

If you read about older versions of the exam online, you might see references to drag-and-drop questions. These questions had you do a puzzle on how to complete a piece of code. Luckily, these are no longer on the exam.

Many of the questions on the exam are code snippets rather than full classes. Saving space by not including imports leaves room for lots of other code. In Chapter 1, we provide advice on reading code in various formats.

Out-of-Scope Material

When you take the exam, you may see some questions that appear to be out of scope. Don't panic! Oftentimes, these questions do not require knowing anything about the topic to answer the question. For example, after reading this book you should be able to spot that the following does not compile, even if you have no idea what LocalDate and ChronoUnit are:

While the classes and enums used in this question are not in scope for the exam, the reason it does not compile is. In particular, you should know that you cannot reassign a variable marked final.

See, not so scary is it? Expect to see at least a few structures on the exam that you are not familiar with. If they aren't part of your exam preparation material, then you don't need to understand them to answer the question.

Question Topic Tips

The following list of topics is meant to give you an idea of the types of questions and oddities that you might come across on the exam. Being aware of these categories of such questions will help you get a higher score on the exam.

Questions with Extra Information Provided Imagine the question includes a statement that XMLParseException is a checked exception. It's fine if you don't know what an XMLParseException is or what XML is for that matter. (If you are wondering, it is a format for data.) This question is a gift. You know the question is about checked and unchecked exceptions.

Questions with Embedded Questions To answer some questions on the exam, you may have to actually answer two or three subquestions. For example, the...