well i can read ASM fluently, also can code the majority of things you throw my way.
I'm not trying to start an argument - but ASM has pretty much nothing to do with Java. It's about as far away as you can get from it. And being able to code the majority of things that come your way doesn't necessarily mean you're an advanced Java / C++ programmer...
If you fully understand and can use generics and the pros / cons of reified generics vs. erased generics, have dealt with applets and know all the security rules behind what you can and can't do and ways round them when appropriate, have written your own annotations, understand the difference between retention policies on annotations and when to use them, know how and when to use reflection appropriately, understand the difference between a static inner class and a normal inner class and when you'd use them, understand the threading model, how and when to use the Thread / Runnable classes and when you should use the java.util.concurrent library instead, understand the intricacies of swing and awt and all the little titbits like how to make windows transparent, double buffering and so on, have coded your own events, understand what System.gc() does and when it does it, when you should and shouldn't call it and what all the different gc options you can specify to the VM do, know what a synthetic class is, know about all the manifest options you can specify on a jar file and what they do - you're part of the way there. I could go on!
Those are just a few fairly advanced things (some more than others) I pulled off the top of my head.
...and that's not including all the real world experience with commonly used libraries like the apache commons collection that proves invaluable if you're coding in a business environment.
I may be sounding a bit harsh here, but I've come across a lot of people coming out of college / secondary school / doing a few jobs on the side that think they're absolute experts in everything to do with Java. Realistically though it's because they've never been shown most of the features it has to offer!
