Appendix B
OCA Certification Program
The Oracle Certified Associate, Java SE 7 Programmer certification is based on one exam (number 1Z0-803) of 90 multiple-choice questions. To pass, you need to answer at least 68 questions correctly (75). Two and a half hours are allotted to complete the exam.
The 803 exam does not include any questions that are based on recall alone. Instead, it tests your ability to interpret and analyze code and determine if it will compile, execute, and run correctly. Candidates who can read Java code accurately and are familiar with the basics of the language, as defined by the exam topics, have a strong chance of passing. Although the exam format does not allow for written code responses, the candidate who can write short Java programs has the strongest chance of passing.
Before you schedule the exam, you should feel knowledgeable in the syntax and use of common Java programming language constructs, including keywords; reserved words; operators; differences between primitive and object types; arrays and array operations; decision constructs; declaring fields and methods; defining concrete classes, abstract classes, and interfaces; and using exceptions.
This exam focuses on a few key classes in the Java core libraries, namely the String, StringBuilder, ArrayList, RuntimeException, and Error classes. You should expect detailed coverage of these classes. Be prepared to answer questions on any aspect of their intended use. Know their visible constructors, methods, and fields by heart.
You should also feel comfortable defining object-oriented principles such as inheritance and composition and be able to differentiate between them. Expect questions that stress techniques including declaring constructors, casting objects, overloading and overriding methods, extending classes, implementing abstract methods and interfaces, and catching and throwing exceptions. You should be able to define the principles of encapsulation and polymorphism and recognize their application in sample code.
These topic areas are all covered in this book, but the exam is not its sole focus. The topics are arranged to help the reader build skills over a course of study, whether self-directed or part of a college course, and to consider higher level goals in programming that an employable programmer is expected to understand. The book helps you to appreciate clear Java code and to apply everyday practices that help you achieve it. As you can see from Table B-1, I’ve mapped the exam objectives to my chapter outline with those goals in mind. Some exam elements appear outside the subcategories defined by Oracle so I could create a more natural sequence.
Certain topics that do not appear heavily weighted in the exam are given far greater weight in the book. It’s my opinion that these topics cover skills that are essential for your further professional development and thus deserve strong treatment in the early stages of your practice.
Certification Objectives Map
Table B-1 provides objective mappings for the Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 7 Programmer exam. It identifies the chapter where each exam objective is covered.
Table B-1: OCA, Java SE7 objectives map
| Objective | Chapter |
| Java Basics | |
| Define the scope of variables | 1 |
| Define the structure of a Java class | 1 |
| Create executable Java applications with a main method | 1 |
| Import other Java packages to make them accessible in your code | 1 |
| Working with Java Data Types | |
| Declare and initialize variables | 2 |
| Differentiate between object reference variables and primitive variables | 2 |
| Read or write to object fields | 2 |
| Explain an object’s lifecycle | 2 |
| Call methods on objects | 7 |
| Manipulate data using the StringBuilder class and its methods | 2 |
| Create and manipulate strings | 2 |
| Using Operators and Decision Constructs | |
| Use Java operators | 3 |
| Use parentheses to override operator precedence | 3 |
| Test equality between strings and other objects using == and equals () | 3 |
| Create if and if/else constructs | 3 |
| Use a switch statement | 3 |
| Creating and Using Arrays | |
| Declare, instantiate, initialize and use a one-dimensional array | 4 |
| Declare, instantiate, initialize and use multi-dimensional array | 4 |
| Declare and use an ArrayList | 4 |
| Using Loop Constructs | |
| Create and use while loops | 5 |
| Create and use for loops including the enhanced for loop | 5 |
| Create and use do/while loops | 5 |
| Compare loop constructs | 5 |
| Use break and continue | 5 |
| Working with Methods and Encapsulation | |
| Create methods with arguments and return values | 7 |
| Apply the static keyword to methods and fields | 7 |
| Create an overloaded method | 7 |
| Differentiate between default and user-defined constructors | 8 |
| Create and overload constructors | 8 |
| Apply access modifiers | 6 |
| Apply encapsulation principles to a class | 6 |
| Determine the effect upon object references and primitive values when they are passed into methods that change the values | 7 |
| Working with Inheritance | |
| Implement inheritance | 9 |
| Develop code that demonstrates the use of polymorphism | 9 |
| Differentiate between the type of a reference and the type of an object | 9 |
| Determine when casting is necessary | 9 |
| Use super and this to access objects and constructors | 9 |
| Use abstract classes and interfaces | 10 |
| Handling Exceptions | |
| Differentiate among checked exceptions, RuntimeException and Error | 11 |
| Create a try-catch block and determine how exceptions alter normal program flow | 11 |
| Describe what exceptions are used for in Java | 11 |
| Invoke a method that throws an exception | 11 |
| Recognize common exception classes and categories | 11 |