That's not at all my recollection.  I haven't taken the cert for a long
time (and I believe it was 1.3 when I did), but what I recall is this:

- The best source is the Java Language Specification
- There are very few API questions on the test; it's all language, and
the APIs that are tested are the truly core ones (stuff like Thread,
System, Object, etc.)
- The questions are sometimes difficult, but always straightforward and
well written.
- Preparation web sites tend to contain a lot of poor and/or trick
questions, but the actual test had none of that.

I therefore reached the conclusion that cert books and web sites I'd
seen were not very useful.  They help some with preparation, but waste a
lot of time on ridiculous questions like "how many objects are eligible
for garbage collection at line D?"

Basically, if you're the kind of person who just likes to "get stuff
done", or who dislikes reading a specification, or really lives by the
80/20 rule (that knowing the most common 20% of the specification will
be good enough for solving 80% of real-world problems), then you will
have problems with the cert.  If you really learn and know the language,
including at least one reading of the language spec, then you'll have no
problems at all.  IIRC, I finished with a percentage in the high 90s,
and something ludicrously low -- around 60% -- is required for a passing
score.