6/26/2002 -- Rick Bunzel, general manager of certification at Sun Microsystems, told CertCities.com yesterday that the company is instituting a new version policy for its Java certifications.

The policy will take effect later this summer when Sun releases a new version of its Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) exam. At that time, instead of retiring the older exam as has been done in the past, Sun will split the certification into two tracks:

• SCJP for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.4 (new exam)
• SCJP for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.2 (old exam)
  

Bunzel said the same policy will be applied to Sun's Certified Java Developer and Certified Java Architect titles when new exams are released for these certifications this fall. "We're listening to our audience," Bunzel commented. "Companies often standardize on a particular version for a period of time...We don't want to penalize those working on 1.2."

According to Bunzel, the older versions of a certification will remain available as long as there is enough candidate interest, just like with its Solaris certification tracks (Sun currently offers a 7 and 8 track, with a 9 track coming in September).

Objectives for the new SCJP 1.4 exam will be posted on the Sun Web site within the next few weeks.

For more information on Sun's certification program, click here. - B.N.