The best thing about this book is its insider-track perspective on three Sun exams. This book concentrates on the Programmer exam (which comprises well over half the book) but also addresses the Architect and Developer tests. Since the author has worked with Sun to help develop the actual exams, he is a worthy guide to the material here. And as the author himself points out, even if you are a great Java programmer, passing these exams isn't easy because they include details--and sometime obscure features--that you don't use every day.

Even if you are an experienced Java developer, you will appreciate the author's thorough tour of Java language fundamentals, core classes, and packages. Even the book's numerous tables present Java information efficiently.

Rather than a general guide to Java programming, the presentation is geared closely to what you'll need for these certification tests. Another standout feature here are the review questions, which follow Sun's format and style as well as the inclusion of a sample computer-based exam on CD-ROM.

For readers seeking a higher level of Java certification, the book provides everything you will need for the Architect and Developer exams too. Besides a review of Java APIs like JDBC and Remote Method Invocation (RMI), you will find material on the basics of distributed systems, including short sections on CORBA and DCOM. For Developer certification, the book lists dos and don'ts for writing successful code on the exam.

With its mix of expert guidance and challenging sample test questions, Java 2 Certification Training Guide makes for an effective guide to getting certified on today's Java 2 platform. --Richard Dragan