IT SPECIALIST EXAM OBJECTIVES

Java

Candidates for this exam are application developers working with Java 6 SE or later, secondary and immediate-post-secondary students of software development, or entry-level software developers. Candidates should have at least 150 hours of instruction or hands-on experience with Java, be familiar with its features and capabilities, and understand how to write, debug and maintain well-formed, well-documented Java code. To be successful on the test, the candidate is also expected to have the following prerequisite knowledge and skills:

• 8th grade reading skills
• Algebra II
• Basic computer operating system skills
• Command-line interface experience

1. Java Fundamentals

1.1 Describe the use of main in a Java application

• Signature of main, how to consume an instance of your own class, command-line arguments

1.2 Perform basic input and output using standard packages

• Print statements, import and use the Scanner class

1.3 Evaluate the scope of a variable

• Declare a variable within a block, class, or method

1.4 Comment and document programs

• Evaluate the syntax of Javadocs, write syntactically correct code comments

2. Data Types, Variables, and Expressions

2.1 Declare and use primitive data type variables

• Data types, including byte, char, int, double, short, long, float, Boolean; identify when precision is lost; initialization; how primitives differ from wrapper object types such as Integer and Boolean

2.2 Construct and evaluate code that manipulates strings

• String class and string literals, comparisons, concatenation, case, and length; String.format methods; string operators; the immutable nature of strings; initialization; null

2.3 Construct and evaluate code that creates, iterates, and manipulates arrays and array lists

• One- and two-dimensional arrays, including initialization, null, size, iterating elements, accessing elements; array lists, including adding and removing elements, traversing the list

2.4 Construct and evaluate code that performs parsing, casting, and conversion

• Cast between primitive data types, convert primitive types to equivalent object types, parse strings to numbers, convert primitive data types to strings

2.5 Construct and evaluate arithmetic expressions

• Arithmetic operators, assignment, compound assignment operators, operator precedence

3. Flow Control Implementation

3.1 Construct and evaluate code that uses branching statements

• if, else, else if, switch; single-line vs. block; nesting; logical and relational operators

3.2 Construct and evaluate code that uses loops

• while, for, for each, do while; break and continue; nesting; logical, relational, and unary operators

4. Object-Oriented Programming

4.1 Construct and evaluate class definitions

• Constructors, constructor overloading, one class per .java file, this keyword, basic inheritance and overriding

4.2 Declare, implement, and access data members in classes

• private, public, protected; instance data members; static data members; use static final to create constants; describe encapsulation

4.3 Declare, implement, and access methods

• private, public, protected; method parameters; return type; void; return value; instance methods; static methods; overloading

4.4 Instantiate and use class objects in programs

• Instantiation, initialization, null, access and modify data members, access methods, access and modify static members, import packages and classes

5. Code Compilation and Debugging

5.1 Troubleshoot syntax errors, logic errors, and runtime errors

• Print statements, javac command output, logic errors, console exceptions, stack trace evaluation

5.2 Implement exception handling

• try, catch, finally; Exception class; exception class types; display exception information