Platform Developer II is for developers who build and maintain serious Salesforce applications. Platform Developer I checks that your code works; Platform Developer II checks that it still works at scale, stays secure, integrates cleanly and can be maintained by the next person.
What to learn
Advanced Apex
Choosing between future methods, queueable, batch and scheduled Apex. Dynamic SOQL and Apex, writing selective queries on large data, and designing triggers that stay bulk-safe and avoid recursion.
Testing and security
Test data factories, mocking HTTP callouts, and testing asynchronous code. On security: enforcing sharing with with sharing, respecting object and field permissions (for example with WITH USER_MODE or Security.stripInaccessible), and preventing SOQL injection.
Integration
Platform events, calling external services, and Named Credentials so secrets never live in code. Know when a declarative option does the job before writing a callout.
Advanced Lightning Web Components
Wire adapters and Lightning Data Service, communication between components, and keeping components fast.
Architecture
Separation of concerns, trigger frameworks, and designing within governor limits from the start rather than fixing them later.
How to study it
- Refactor real code. Take a trigger you wrote for Platform Developer I and make it bulk-safe, testable and secure.
- Write the tests you usually skip. Callout mocks and async tests are where many developers are weakest.
- Explain your choices. For each design decision, say why the alternative would fail at scale.
Check the official guide
Salesforce sets the exam format, passing score and price, and updates the topics over time. Read the current exam guide on Trailhead before you book.
How Arkton helps
The Platform Developer II course has 17 lessons with hands-on labs and exam preparation, about 16 hours of material. It builds on Platform Developer I and leads naturally to Integration Architecture.