If you are not sure whether you have the necessary background to take this course, you can find out by answering the following questions:

1. Have you written a Java program with a main() method?
2. Have you written a class that extends another class or implements an interface?
3. Have you written a Java program that throws or catches an exception?
4. Have you written a Java program that makes use of multithreading?
5. Have you written a Java program that displays an application window?
6. Have you written a Java program that handles events?
7. Have you written a Java program that uses a layout manager?
8. Have you written a Java program that performs stream-based input and output?

If you have answered yes to all of the above questions, you are ready to take this course. If you have answered yes to five or more questions, you can probably take the course and fill in any gaps that you have. If you have answered yes to less than five questions, you probably should take a course that fills in any missing background knowledge.

You can take this course on Windows, Macintosh, or Unix platforms. However, Sun does not provide JDK 1.1 for the Macintosh. If you are using a Macintosh, you may be able to use the Mac OS Runtime for Java (MRJ) and the MRJ Software Development Kit (SDK) available from Apple.

If you already have an SCJP certification, all of the topics covered in the OCP 7 Upgrade exam are covered here as well. The contents of this course will help you cover all the bases. This site follows closely both the breadth and the depth of the real exams. For instance, after going through this course, you probably will not emerge as a regex guru, but if you study the material and do well on the Self Tests, you will have a basic understanding of regex, and you will do well on the exam. After completing this course, you should feel confident that you have thoroughly reviewed all of the objectives that Oracle has established for these exams.