I took and passed the "1z0-817 Upgrade OCP Java 6, 7 & 8 to Java SE 11 Developer" exam this week. I previously held the OCP (Oracle Certified Professional) Java 8 (Note: Oracle renamed the OCA (Oracle Certified Associate) and OCP to Programmer I and Programmer II respectively). In this post are some of my thoughts and recommendations.
Revision
The exam topics are purposely vague. This is so Oracle can tweak the exam and test you on broader concepts.
1Z0-817 is specifically an upgrade exam from previous OCP versions to Programmer II in Java 11. Documentation and guides are more abundant for the full Programmer I and II exams (1Z0-815 and 1Z0-816) as there is a higher demand.
These two aspects make studying for 1Z0-817 more challenging. I found and used the following resources:
Oracle University: If you have the funds then the Java University subscription is a great option. Oracle added hundreds of hours of new videos this summer as part of their site and content revamp. You can pick and choose the videos relevant to the course. They also have X2 speed for twice as fast learning! You can also get access to a virtual machine (VM) to work through code examples though I personally found some of the code to be messy and overdeveloped for what I needed - stick to the videos.
java.boot.by: This is an excellent (and free) resource from Mikalai Zaikin who also hosts guides on many many other exams. His well researched descriptions and code examples are a great addition to any study plans. Additionally you can purchase questions with detailed answers from Mikalai for a very low fee.
OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 11 Developer Complete Study Guide: Exam 1Z0-815, Exam 1Z0-816, and Exam 1Z0-817: As you can tell from the lengthy name this book claims to cover all three Java exams and it does it very well. Scott Selikoff and Jeanne Boyarsky's writing style is very conversational, making even the more complicated subjects simple via their more human step by step guidance. Buying the book also gives you access to 500 flashcards (meh) and over 800 exam questions via the Wiley site. These questions are much more difficult than the actual exam, with longer code examples and more choices. I read this book with the Kindle App which has a great note taking feature via highlights which I found invaluable when cramming on exam eve and exam morning.
How long you need to prepare depends on how dedicated you are. The Java Uni videos can be sped up and the book could be blitzed a chapter or two a day. My only recommendation is have more than one source for revision for a deeper understanding on any area and to ensure nothing is missed.
Taking the exam
This was the first exam I've taken at home. You need to make sure you personal computer can run the test software (PearsonVue). On exam day you will need to take photos of your workspace from all angles, plus yourself and a form of identity. Your web cam will be on for the duration of the exam but you soon forget it as you focus on the questions. Make sure no one interupts or enters the room to avoid it being thrown out. They also disallow you from reading the questions outloud. If you want to make notes or write anything down the software includes a whiteboard.
Exam difficulty
The pass mark is 61% so you need at most 49 correct from the 80 questions. With 180 minutes there is no chance you will run out of time. I passed the exam with 89% with well over an hour to spare.
I read through the resources cited above (much of it multiple times) so I was very prepared. Many questions regarding var, the new interface methods (i.e. default, static and private), how to write functional interfaces (Single Abstract Methods - SAM) and lambdas are based on rules. If you know the rules then you can eliminate wrong answers really really fast. Questions regarding the interfaces in java.util.function and the modular service provider pattern will take longer to analyse. You need to know the functional interfaces SAMs - particularly what parameters they take and what they return. You need to know the service provider pattern well so you can identify the module from minor clues. Again, if you do the preparation you'll be fine. Watch out for questions that look out of place such as a question on Threads. These are often subtly hiding a more relevant issue with the code such as a lambda issue or var misuse.
Finally, I took a lot of notes and created a lot of example code. It is available on my GitHub site.
