Since you’ve decided to pick this book up, we’re guessing that you’re considering taking the OCP Java SE 6 Programmer exam.

The OCP Java SE Programmer exam is considered one of the hardest in the IT industry, and we can tell you from experience that a large percentage of exam candidates go in to the test unprepared. As programmers, we tend to learn only what we need to complete our current project, given the insane deadlines we’re usually under. But this exam attempts to prove your complete understanding of the Java language, not just the parts of it you’ve become familiar with in your work.

Experience alone will rarely get you through this exam with a passing mark, because even the things you think you know might work just a little different than you imagined. It isn’t enough to be able to get your code to work correctly; you must understand the core fundamentals in a deep way, and with enough breadth to cover virtually anything that could crop up in the course of using the language.