Recommended books

Title : SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Exam 310-065

Author : Katherine Sierra , Bert Bates

Publisher : McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (June 24, 2008)

The Best Fully Integrated Study System Available--Written by the Lead Developers of Exam 310-065

With hundreds of practice questions and hands-on exercises, SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 6 Study Guide covers what you need to know--and shows you how to prepare--for this challenging exam.

• 100% complete coverage of all official objectives for exam 310-065
• Exam Objective Highlights in every chapter point out certification objectives to ensure you're focused on passing the exam
• Exam Watch sections in every chapter highlight key exam topics covered
• Simulated exam questions match the format, tone, topics, and difficulty of the real exam

CD-ROM includes:

-Complete MasterExam practice testing engine, featuring: Two full practice exams; Detailed answers with explanations; Score Report performance assessment tool
-Electronic book for studying on the go
- Bonus coverage of the SCJD exam included!

• Hardcover: 851 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071591060

Title : A Programmer's Guide to Java SCJP Certification: A Comprehensive Primer (3rd Edition)

Author : Khalid Mughal , Rolf Rasmussen

Publisher : Addison-Wesley Professional; 3 edition (December 29, 2008)

"We have written A Programmer’s Guide to Java Certification to allow the reader to master the Java programming language. Mastering the language should naturally culminate in the practical goal of passing the Sun Certified Programmer for Java‘ 2 Platform exam. In addition to preparing the reader thoroughly for the exam, this book also provides comprehensive coverage of all the essential Java features and core APIs that every proficient Java programmer should master."

What you will find in this book:

1. Extensive coverage of all the objectives defined for the Sun Certified Programmer for the Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 (CX-310-065) Exam
2. An easy-to-follow structure with chapters organized according to the exam objectives, as laid out by Sun Microsystems
3. Summaries that clearly state and differentiate the exam objectives and the supplementary objectives to be covered in each chapter
4. A list of Sun’s objectives for the SCJP 1.6 Exam and a guide to taking the exam
5. A complete mock exam with new questions (not repeats of review questions)
6. Numerous exam-relevant review questions to test your understanding of each major topic, with annotated answers
7. Programming exercises and solutions at the end of each chapter
8. Copious code examples illustrating concepts, where the code has been compiled and thoroughly tested on multiple platforms
9. Program output demonstrating expected results from running the examples
10. Extensive use of UML (Unified Modeling Language) for illustration purposes
11. An introduction to basic terminology and concepts in object-oriented programming
12. Advice on how to avoid common pitfalls in mastering the language and taking the exam
13. Platform- and tool-independent coverage
14. Information about the SCJP 1.6 Upgrade (CX-310-066) Exam

• Paperback: 1038 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 3 edition (December 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321556054

Title : Effective Java (2nd Edition)

Author : Joshua Bloch

Publisher : Prentice Hall PTR; 2 edition (May 28, 2008)

Highlights include:

• New coverage of generics, enums, annotations, autoboxing, the for-each loop, varargs, concurrency utilities, and much more 
• Updated techniques and best practices on classic topics, including objects, classes, libraries, methods, and serialization 
• How to avoid the traps and pitfalls of commonly misunderstood subtleties of the language 
• Focus on the language and its most fundamental libraries: java.lang, java.util, and, to a lesser extent, java.util.concurrent and java.io

Simply put, Effective Java™, Second Edition, presents the most practical, authoritative guidelines available for writing efficient, well-designed programs.

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2 edition (May 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321356683

Head First Servlets and JSP: Passing the Sun Certified Web Component Developer Exam

Author : Bryan Basham

Publisher : O'Reilly Media; 2 edition (March 25, 2008)

• Paperback: 912 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2 edition (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596516681

Title : Java Concurrency in Practice

Author : Brian Goetz

Publisher : Addison-Wesley Professional (May 19, 2006)

This book covers:

1. Basic concepts of concurrency and thread safety

2. Techniques for building and composing thread-safe classes
3. Using the concurrency building blocks in java.util.concurrent
4. Performance optimization dos and don'ts
5. Testing concurrent programs
6. Advanced topics such as atomic variables, nonblocking algorithms, and the Java Memory Model

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (May 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321349601