Java 5 New Base Library Features

Advanced features of the new Language Features

• Explain how the method overload resolution works with Autoboxing and Varargs.
• Identify classes from the Base Library that are generified.
• Define the enhancements of java.lang.Class and java.lang.reflect.
• Describe the support for serialization of enumerated type instances.
• Know what bridge methods are and when they are used.

Performance, Lang and Util Packages, Miscellaneous

• Differentiate the use of StringBuilder and StringBuffer.
• Explain and use the new options for the Garbage Collector.
• Use Covariant Return Types.
• Know about the enhanced performance of javax.imageio
• Discuss the extended javadoc of Serializable, particularly, the role and usage of serialVersionUIDs.

Networking

• Describe the IPv6 support for Windows XP and Windows 2003.
• Explain the timeout feature for connection and read operations.
• Identify the new API which provides a means for Java applications, which includes RMI applications, to be launched via inetd.
• Create code that uses the new ping-like capability of InetAddress class.
• Describe and use the new CookieHandler API.
• Use the improved Proxy server configuration possibilities through the ProxySelector API.
• Develop code to use the new framework to access a file caching mechanism.
• Explain that there are guaranteed protocol handlers in URL class (http, https, file, jar and ftp).

Security

• Define the security enhancements, as described by Sun.
• Explain what's new and where to find more information.
• Find and use the JSSE Reference Guide and explain what's new in JSSE.
• Identify what's new in PKI.
• Explain the following features:
  • Signature Timestamp Support
  • SASL API
  • enhancements of Java GSS/Kerberos
  • enhancements of JCE

Not covered: In depth knowledge of all the security APIs

Internationalization

• Know that character handling is now based on version 4.0 of the Unicode standard.
• Use the new methods of the Character class to handle Unicode characters, like
  • isValidCodePoint(), isSupplementaryCodePoint(), isHighSurrogate(), isLowSurrogate(), isSurrogatePair(), toCodePoint(), codePointAt(), codePointBefore(), toChars(), codePointCount(), offsetByCodePoints(), isDefined()
• Explain the enhancements of the DecimalFormat class.
• Describe that vietnamese is now supported.

Improved Support for Environment Variables

• Define the new System.getenv() method.
• Explain the changes to System.getenv(String) method.

ProcessBuilder

• Write code that uses the new ProcessBuilder class.
• Differentiate between ProcessBuilder and Runtime.exec().

Formatter

• Describe the purpose of the new Formatter class.
• Develop code that uses format() and printf().
• Explain how and when to use the Formattable interface.

Scanner

• Create code that uses the Scanner class.
• Using the Scanner class with simple Regular Expressions.

Not covered: In depth knowledge about Regular Expressions, i.e. java.util.regex.

JavaBeansTM Component Architecture

• Identify the new class IndexedPropertyChangeEvent.
• Identify and use the new methods fireIndexedPropertyChange().
• Use the new method for creating a PropertyEditor.
• Describe and use the now public constructors for PropertyEditorSupport and use the new methods setSource() and getSource().

Collections Framework

• Create code that uses the new interfaces and their implementations (Queue, BlockingQueue, ConcurrentMap).
• Use the new List and Set implementations (CopyOnWriteArrayList and CopyOnWriteArraySet).
• Write code that makes appropriate use of the new methods of Arrays (deepEquals(), deepHashCode() and deepToString()).

Not covered: Things that are part of Java 5 New Language Feature Exam, e.g. Generics, Enhanced for loop, Autoboxing

Java API for XML Processing (JAXP)

• Identify which versions are used (JAXP 1.3, SAX 2.0.2, DOM Level 3, XML 1.1, ...).
• Use APIs which can tell you which parser you are using.
• Differentiate the new package names (com.sun.org.apache... vs org.apache...).
• Discuss that XPath is now part of J2SE 5.0
• Explain that the new XSLTC is the default transformation and not Xalan.
• Create code that uses Xalan as transformation engine and not XSLTC.
• Use the build-in validation processor for XML Schema.
• Describe the possibility of using another processor.
• Explain the XML Schema data types (like Gregorian Calendar dates and times).
• Identify and use the implementation for XInclude.

Not covered:

• Knowledge about how to handle XML or perform a XML transformation.
• All the features that are part of the XML exams.

Math & Bit Manipulation Operations

• Identify the ten new methods as described in Tech Tips: What's new in the Math class or look at Math api doc and search for "1.5".
  • convenience methods (signum(), hypot())
  • common logarithm method (log10())
  • method for calculating the cube root (cbrt())
  • methods to determine the precision of an answer (ulp())
  • hyperbolic trigonometric methods (sinh(), cosh(), tanh())
• Discuss and use the enhancements of BigDecimal as described in JSR 13: Decimal Arithmetic Enhancement.
• Use the new bit manipulation operations in the wrapper classes Integer and Long.
  • highestOneBit(), lowestOneBit(), numberOfLeadingZeros(), numberOfTrailingZeros(), bitCount(), rotateLeft(), rotateRight(), reverse(), signum(), reverseBytes()

Not covered: Special values of these methods and the meaning of the methods (you should be able to answer the questions without a degree in Mathematics ;-).

Concurrency Utilities A brief overview of this new package is here .

• Discuss the new packages java.util.concurrent, java.util.concurrent.atomic, and java.util.concurrent.locks.
• Describe the appropriate use of these packages.

Not covered: Detailed knowledge about the usage of the packages (this is covered in the exams Java SE Concurrency - Low-Level and Java SE Concurrency - High-Level ). Threads

• Explain the new method getId()
• Write code to query the execution state of a Thread (Thread.state, getState()).
• Discuss the new thread dump API (getStackTrace, getAllStackTraces).
• Explain and use the uncaughtExceptionHandler of Thread.

Monitoring and Management

• Discuss the new java.lang.management package and describe how this provides an interface for monitoring and managing the Java virtual machine.
• Describe the new java.util.logging.LoggingMXBean interface, in particular that this is the management interface for the logging facility.
• Explain why both JMX 1.2 and JMX Remote 1.0 are included in J2SE 5.0.
• Describe how to start a JMX agent for monitoring and managing remote or local Java VMs instrumentation or any application with JMX instrumentation (i.e. using java.lang.instrument).
• Explain that the SNMP agent publishes the standard MIB for the Java virtual machine instrumentation.