OCP 1.6 or JAVA SE 7 programmer 1

Question

I am having a little bit of knowledge in java and want to study java and do an oracle certification test.

JAVA SE 7 programmer 1 and JAVA SE 7 programmer 2 examinations are available for beta test , which means vary soon we can do the actual examination.

Previously i wanted to do scjp (any equivalent) and to do scwcd as soon as possible.

but now i am confused whether to do 1.6 or 7 because , what is equal to SCJP in SE 7 ,oracle says JAVA SE 7 programmer 1 is equal to associate certificate but added some scjp questions in version 7 and it is a prerequersite to do JAVA SE 7 programmer 2 ,Oracle says JAVA SE 7 programmer 2 is a broaden version of SCJP.

Inorder to do the latest Java EE exam what is the exam i have to choose , what is the prerequersite for Oracles certified Web Component Developer ( JAVA SE 7 programmer 1 or JAVA SE 7 programmer 2 )other than SCJP (older versions )

Answer 1

For 1.6 the prerequisite is 1Z0-851: Java Standard Edition 6 Programmer Certified Professional Exam

http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=41&p_exam_id=1Z0_851

For 1.7 it seems there are some major changes. You will probably be able to match your exam when it's out. It can be moving fast according to the oracle strategy and their website is not really intuitive neither always up to date so it may sometimes be hard to find what you need.

Keep in mind that the exams aren't usually released just after the JDK. It can takes some time for the guys to make that exam. And if you want to prepare it seriously, you will have to wait for a book, which is probably not written yet...

Remember too that Java 1.8 will follow Java 1.7 very soon, so perhaps in would be a good idea to pass as soon as possible a Java 1.6 SCJP and then perhaps it 2 years upgrade to Java 1.8? During this time you'll have all the time you want to prepare other certifications, and remember that Java 1.6 wasn't updated for a long time so a lot of projects will probably stay in that version.

Answer 2

Basically there is no prerequisite is need for SCJP 5 or 6 but SCJP (OCPJP) 7 we need to take OCAJP 7 as a prerequisite exam.

Another think is, to take SCWCD, SCJP 6 is enough because the prior exam for SCWCD is any edition of SCJP.

some materials i refer you for your preparation

K&B's SCJP book (study Guide)
EPractize Labs Java Certification Mock Exam Simulator (Study Guide and Mock Exam Simulator)
Java.net (have so many useful articles)