The Sun Certified Developer for Java 2 Platform SCJP 5.0, CX-310-055) certification validates a developer's understanding and familiarity with the basic syntax and structure of the Java programming language. It proves a developer's ability to create Java technology applications that run on server and desktop systems using Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0

The Sun Certified Programmer for Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 certification exam, the latest certification exam from Sun Microsystems, is for programmers experienced using the Java programming language. Achieving this java certification provides evidence that a programmer understands the basic syntax and structure of the Java programming language and can create Java technology applications that run on server and desktop systems using Java Platform.

Comparison of SCJP5.0 and SCJP6.0

Number of questions:
*SCJP 5.0 – 72
*SCJP 6.0 – 72

Time:
*SCJP 5.0 – 175 minutes
*SCJP 6.0 – 210 minutes

Passing score:
*SCJP 5.0 – 59% (43 of 72 questions)
*SCJP 6.0 – 65% (47 of 72 questions)

Exam Objectives:
SCJP 5.0 (http://www.whizlabs.com/scjp/scjp-5.0-details.html) - exam is based on the following objectives:
*Declaration, Initialization and Scoping
*Flow Control
*API Contents
*Concurrency
*OO Concepts
*Collections/Generics
*Fundamentals

SCJP 6.0 (http://www.whizlabs.com/scjp/scjp-6.0-details.html) – Objectives of SCJP 6.0 are almost same as SCJP 5.0 except few changes which introduce new topics like Console (API Contents), NavigableSet, and NavigableMap (Collections/Generics) and removed the overridden methods and constructor from "OO Concepts".
Objectives - The seven categories of objectives for the exam are as follows:
*Declarations, initialization, and scoping
*Flow control
*API contents
*Concurrency
*Object-oriented concepts
*Collections/generics
*Fundamentals

Cost:
*SCJP 5.0 - USD 150 (or locally priced)
*SCJP 6.0 - USD 300 (or locally priced)

Having looked at the difference the natural question in your mind would be so "Which should I go for?"

Well there is no clear cut answer to this, the choice is subjective (depends on individual preference). Whizlabs recommendation is that you go for the latest certification (in this case SCJP 6.0) unless you have compelling reasons like client's requirement, some ongoing project in your organization etc. The differences are really not very significant so the switchover is not so difficult.

How to prepare for the certification?
The real challenge in preparing for certification exams comes from the fact by this time most of the IT professionals are working and preparing along with a full time job becomes quite a challenge. Also maintaining the zeal for the exam on your own comes in the way. Here are some suggestions that are quite helpful in successful preparation:

* Get into a group – be a part of any discussion group or couple up with friends or colleagues to prepare for the exam. Some discussion groups you may consider are javaranch.com, javabeat.net.

* Practice questions by actually writing the code a website on this is devsquare.com

* The trick to cracking the SCJP certification exam is not only knowledge of Java but also being able to complete the exam well in time. Thus practicing for the certification from before on time taken to choose between the multiple choice questions, time taken to switch between screens etc is always helpful. In this case using exam simulators is a good idea.

You may not need to relearn ABCD to know the spelling of "catastrophe". Whizlabs certification exam preparation techniques are inspired by the philosophy represented in the above statement.

Whizlabs Certification Preparation Kit has you prepare in a question-answer format which is known to have exponentially high retention power than any other form of study. It results in an immediate boost to your performance in the exam. You get so used to the question types, exam environment, exam temperament, exam level concentration that it naturally results in boosting your marks in the exam. This kit drastically reduces your preparation time because you will only be spending time on areas you need to rather than everything in the subject. The biggest benefit of this preparation kit is it jump starts your preparation saving you huge amount of time and effort, it kills procrastination.

Preparing with Whizlabs SCJP certification Preparation kit is a win-win situation for you, god forbid in case you do not clear the certification exam we will refund back the entire amount you spent with us to you without asking any questions all you have to do is send us a copy of your results. So you have nothing to loose with us. We have been in the IT certification industry since last 8 years with success rate of 99.7 %.