Whizlabs MCSD .NET 70-316 Certification Primer

Earning a Microsoft certification acknowledges your expertise in working with Microsoft products and technologies and sets you apart from the crowd as a development professional. Microsoft certification demonstrates that you have the ability to successfully implement Microsoft business solutions for your organization or client.

This article will provide a basic understanding of the scope of the certification and will also give details about the certification along with the useful resources to get started.

Introduction

With .NET, Microsoft is also espousing a vision, this time about how the Internet can make businesses more efficient and deliver services to consumers. The present enterprise setup's need to have n-tier architecture with diverse platforms and object models communicating with each other. The present applications are to be created such that those applications have to run in any platform (like Windows, Linux, Mac, Unix etc.) and which consist of components written in many programming languages and object models.

Many language vendors have tried to upgrade their languages, but there is a limit to which they have been successful since they have to maintain backward capability and face many other problems too. To solve the problem of the current programmers Microsoft has come with a very promising solution "The .NET Platform".

.NET provides a number of benefits that will make developers more productive, reduce the number of bugs, speed application development, and simplify deployment. IT managers are understandably wary, since .NET is a new technology that requires a moderately steep learning curve. For most organizations, however, the benefits will far outweigh the negatives; and with .NET, you'll see great productivity gains for future development projects.

.NET certification is the premier credential for professionals who design and develop leading-edge business solutions with Microsoft .NET development tools, technologies and platforms.

You might want to consider taking the MCSD 70-316 exam to:

• Gain valuable skills, knowledge and expertise

• Raise your income

• Increase your job opportunities

• Earn more respect from your peers

• Improve your job security

Earning a Microsoft certification acknowledges your expertise in working with Microsoft products and technologies and sets you apart from the crowd as a development professional. Microsoft certification demonstrates that you have the ability to successfully implement Microsoft business solutions for your organization or client.

This article will provide a basic understanding of the scope of the certification and will also give details about the certification along with the useful resources to get started.

What you need to know for MCSD 70-316?

As a competent developer, you should be proficient in creating Windows applications that have a smooth look and feel.

In the Exam 70-316, Microsoft tests your skills on developing Windows based applications with VS.NET/C# on seven objectives.

Exam Objectives Weightage of Questions

1. Creating User Services 15 %

2. Creating and Managing Components and .NET Assemblies 18%

3. Consuming and Manipulating Data 20%

4. Testing and Debugging 12%

5. Deploying a Windows-based Application 18%

6. Maintaining and Supporting a Windows-based Application 5%

7. Configuring and Securing a Windows-based Application 12%

For a detailed break up of topics covered in the MCSD .Net 70-316 exam, you can visit the Microsoft certification web page.

The above certification page will provide you with a bird’s eye view of the skills you should focus on. During the course of this article I’ll point you to resources where you can go and read up on the skills listed on this page. The Skills being measured section of the page has the break up of the seven objectives as to which skills will be measured in the exam.

Microsoft’s exam 70-316, “Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET”, is a core requirement for the MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer) for Microsoft .NET certification and is a core or elective requirement for the MCAD (Microsoft Certified Application Developer) for Microsoft .NET certification. It is designed for candidates who “work on a team in a medium or large development environment that uses Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, Enterprise Developer Edition.”

The MCSD 70-316 exam measures your ability to develop and implement Windows-based applications by using Windows Forms and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Candidates have at least one year of experience developing Windows-based applications. Candidates should have a working knowledge of Microsoft Visual C# .NET.

MCSD 70-316 Exam Specifics

All the questions are Multiple Choice Questions and the total number of questions in the exam ranges from 55 to 60. The time allotted is 150-175 minutes. This exam is moderately difficult and costs 125 USD. It may be taken from Pearson Vue or Thomson Prometric. Previously, Microsoft used to provide only Pass/Fail status for the MCSD 70-316 exam, but now 700 is the minimum score required. Microsoft has also incorporated a new style of question where you get a split-screen. The question is at the very top, drag-and-drop items on the bottom left and configuration screens on the bottom right. You will have plenty of time to answer the exam questions, so there is no need to rush. If you have spare time available, you can double check the questions and ensure that you have read them correctly and actually answered the question as intended.

What you need to do to pass MCSD 70-316 exam?

First, you should get involved in overview of .NET framework and also identify the tools and services provided by .NET framework. After getting familiar with the tool and services available, you need to get well versed with the windows forms. To get started on Windows forms you can read the article available on MSDN. It'll give you a good introduction to Windows Forms.

.NET is completely object oriented. It is likely that you will see a question or two on OOP concepts. You need to get a through understanding of OOP Concepts like Encapsulation, Polymorphism, Exceptional Handling etc. Interoperability is an important area to focus on while preparing for MCSD 70-316 exam. Active X controls of the pre .NET age are not directly supported by Winforms but they are completely re-usable using wrapper classes. You will be asked a question or two on the accessibility features of Windows for the physically challenged users.

After getting familiar with user services, you should get familiar with how to create and manage components. This involves dealing with how to create and manipulate .NET assemblies. In this regard satellite assemblies seem to be one of the favorites of Microsoft for MCSD 70-316 Exam. So you may get some questions related to satellite assemblies and not to mention, resource assemblies also.

When it comes to manipulating data in .NET, there are two sources of data you would widely be dealing with - XML & Relational Databases. You will be using ADO.NET to interact with relational databases. A good grasp on ADO.NET is very essential for clearing this paper. MSDN provides you an article that gives you a good overview of ADO.NET.

I will also recommend Professional ADO.NET from Wrox Publications as a good resource. Professional C# also has a very good section on ADO.NET.

Another objective checked in the 70-316 exam mainly concentrates on your familiarity with the Visual Studio .NET debugger. You need to have a clear understanding of the tools provided by Visual Studio .NET for debugging the application. Apart from Visual Studio .NET this section largely stresses upon Tracing. Tracing is a feature by which you can write logs to a particular location (could be a text file). You can change the level of tracing you want to perform in a live production environment.

One of the advantages of using Visual Studio .NET is the ease of deploying an application. There are many deployment options available in .NET and you must have a clear understanding of using these deployment options. You will get many scenario-based questions in which your understanding of deployment options will be checked.

There will be a few questions that stress more on optimizing code/deployment to increase performance.

Configuring a Windows application is also one of the areas that will be tested and you need to have an understanding about the configuration options available. MSDN provides an article that gives useful information about the configuration options.

Security is one of the key considerations of any application. Microsoft has taken a great initiative to give many options to secure the .NET application. You must ensure that you have a thorough understanding about the security policy and also about the tools available in .NET to secure the application.

Tips and Pitfalls for MCSD 70-316 Exam

Roadmaps to the skills development and career opportunities that the Microsoft .NET platform provides for developers and recommended learning pathways through Official Microsoft Learning Products and Microsoft Press books are available now. In addition to your hands-on experience working with the product, you may want to take advantage of the tools and training on the Get Started with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Development page to help you prepare.

Dos and Don’ts during the exam and while preparing for it

Dynamic control creation is important to know. Microsoft is focusing more on user-driven content than static content with .NET. Make sure you understand how to create .NET satellite assemblies and localized components. A portion of this has to do with what operating system name and version you have, but there are specific steps you can take to package and deploy your application properly. Focus your data studies on what works optimally with SQL Server.

Brush up on stored procedures if you're a little rusty. Understand the different types of SQL Server authentication as well as the different types of authentication offered by Windows operating systems. Sure you can pick out code errors when given examples. Specifically, know how to resolve looping errors, import errors, and general syntax errors.

Make sure you understand Windows Installer technology and how it relates to applications written in Visual Studio .NET. If you're not a developer who's focused on enterprise-based applications, you may not have a lot of exposure to localization and globalization of software. This is one area where Microsoft believes a certified developer should have a significant background.

Make sure you understand how security works in .NET. Understand which accounts have privileges to run which sections of code. Although it may be a little bit of work, study the .NET policy extensions and how they fit into the operating systems your company is running. We must not forget legacy environments.

Make sure you brush up on ActiveX controls from Visual Studio 6.0. Know how to instantiate the control and work with it in the new environment. It is especially important to understand how legacy components interact with the .NET development environment.

Learn how to use the DataSet object to generate XML and vice versa. You should know how to create schemas and validate the data, as well as create strongly typed datasets. Overall, you are expected to have a thorough understanding of XML as in .NET to succeed in MCSD 70-316 exam.

Conclusion

With Microsoft targeting all its future applications on .NET and companies adopting the Microsoft new initiative, it is quite obvious that .NET is going to pave its way for the future and will be Microsoft’s weapon for its future vision. .NET is a major leap of Microsoft with intranet in mind. Getting knowledge of .NET and eventually the MCSD .NET certification will certainly help you in maintaining consistency with the future releases of Microsoft.

Useful Resources

Books

Following good books are available at the time of writing this document, which are written specifically from MCP exam point of view.

• MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit: Developing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic.NET and Microsoft Visual C#.NET, Second Edition by Matthew A. Stoecker/Microsoft

• MCAD/MCSD Training Guide (70-316): Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Visual C# and Visual Studio .NET by Amit Kalani

• MCAD/MCSD EXAM (70-316) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, WITH HANDS ON LABS, Developping WINDOWS APPLICATIONS WITH Visual C# [eBook: Adobe Reader] by Mike Wright

Other than these, following are some good books on the subject:

• Programming C#, Third Edition by Jesse Liberty

• Windows Forms Programming in C# by Chris Sells

• Professional C#, Second Edition by Simon Robinson, K. Scott Allen, Ollie Cornes, Jay Glynn, Zach Greenvoss, Burton Harvey, Christian Nagel, Morgan Skinner, Karli Watson

• Microsoft Visual C# .NET Language Reference by Microsoft Corporation

• Inside C#, Second Edition by Tom Archer, Andrew Whitechapel

• C# and the .NET Platform, Second Edition by Andrew Troelsen

When you are ready to prepare for MCSD 70-316 exam, here's where you should start.

Instructor-led Courses for this exam include:

• Course 2389: Programming with Microsoft ADO .NET

• Course 2555: Developing Microsoft .NET Applications for Windows (Visual C# .NET)

Microsoft Online Resources

• TechNet: Designed for IT professionals, this site includes How-to’s, best practices, downloads, technical chats, and much more.

• MSDN: The Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) is a reference for developers, featuring code samples, technical articles, newsgroups, chats, and more.

• Training & Certification Newsgroups: A newsgroup exists for every Microsoft certification. By participating in the ongoing dialogue, you take advantage of a unique opportunity to exchange ideas with and ask questions of others, including more than 750 Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) worldwide.

Apart from that, there are other useful sites as follows:

• www.Gotdotnmet.com

• www.codeproject.com

• www.csharpcorner.com

• www.developer.com

• www.mcpmag.com

Of course - nothing can top the MSDN site for technical content - it is a very comprehensive resource - however, it’s a bit too comprehensive, as it caters to a larger set of developers than just the ones developing applications on C#/Windows.

Exam Simulators

Whizlabs, the market leader in IT Certification Exam Preparation, provides MCSD .NET 70-316 Exam Simulator. The simulator is quite useful and effective in fine-tuning your preparation within a limited timeframe.

Certification Forums

Certification forums are a very good resource to align you preparation with your peers. You can discuss any insight, problem, or issue with like-minded professionals and keep yourself updated all the time through the forum. Whizlabs MCSD .NET Certification Forum facilitates such a platform for you to succeed in the 70-316 exam and enhance your learning experience.

*First Published at Whizlabs’ site.

Whizlabs (www.whizlabs.com), an ISO Certified company, is a leading provider of IT skill assessment and certification exam preparation tools. Whizlabs' suite of offerings include "IT Certification Exam simulators and Instructor-led, Online Trainings" for various exams by Sun, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, BEA, Cisco, and other leading IT vendors and "IT skill Assessment Management Solution" for Corporations, Training Institutes, and Universities.

In its first 3 years of inception Whizlabs has helped 300,000 software professionals in realizing their dream of acquiring IT Certifications of their interest.

Whizlabs offerings have fuelled the career growth of IT professionals working in 321 Fortune 500 companies spread in 118 countries across the globe.

The author can be contacted at authors@whizlabs.com

MCSE Certification Tests

There are two main and compulsory courses available under the Microsoft certificate system engineer program.

The exams under MCSE on Microsoft 2000 are Exam 70-217, about Implementing and administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure, exam 70-216, implementing and administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 network infrastructure, exam 70-219, designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 directory Services Infrastructure, exam 70-221, designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure, and exam 70-220 for designing Security for a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network.

The subjects offered under the exam 70-216 are implementing, administering of files and folders, advanced files and folders management, hardware configuration and optimization, events and backup, recovery and installation. Other subjects such as implementing an active directory installation, replication and DNS, installation and configuration, and security and optimization come under exam 70-217. Directory services infrastructure and security are part of exam-70-219. IP routing, security addressing and naming services come under exam-70-216. Exam 70-220 verifies the candidate's knowledge about security design, communication, network services, PKI and security solution.

Exams for MCSE on Microsoft server 2003 are, exam 70-270, on installing, configuring, and administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional, exam 70-2902 verifies the knowledge of managing and maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 environment, Exam 70-2912, for Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure, Exam 70-293 for Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure, Exam 70-294 for Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 active directory Infrastructure, exam 70-298 has subjects such as Designing Security for a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network, exam 70-299, Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 network, exam 70-227 is on Installing, configuring, and administering Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000, Enterprise Edition, Exam 70-350, Implementing Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004.

MCSE Certification provides detailed information on MCSE Certification, MCSE Certification Training, Online MCSE Certification, MCSE Certification Exam and more. MCSE Certification is affiliated with MCSE Term Papers

How Does a MCSE Boot Camp Work?

One of the best methods of securing IT training, and preparing for your MCSE Certification examination is the boot camp. MCSE stands for Microsoft Certified System Engineer. The MSCE boot camp gives you the intensive training that you need to not only pass the examination, but also to handle the work afterwards. The boot camp concept takes its name from military basic training and although it does not resemble that in the discipline area, it certainly earns its name for its intensity.

A typical MCSE boot camp lasts around two weeks. The fee for the camp includes air transportation to the camp site, and lodging during the duration of the course. If air transportation and lodging are not needed, these expenses will be deducted from the cost. Meals are also included in these packages. Students will take up to seven certification examinations during the boot camp. The class room work will be directed toward preparation for each examination. Students will be working also on the actual hardware and software under the guidance of instructors who are experience in all Microsoft platforms. Most boot camps have 24/7 lab access available to the students.

There is a great deal of written material and computer training videos involved with the courses designed to prepare for the various Certification examinations. Many companies offer this material to students for home study. This is given as an alternative to the boot camp, and the advertising stresses the money savings for skipping the actual camp and doing the study and preparation at home. The costs of the boot camps are rather high, especially when they include transportation, lodging, and meals. Even though, in most cases, employers will pay for the cost of the camp, this is not always the case.

The Microsoft Certification boot camp has several benefits over home study and they justify the cost. Most camps offer success guarantees. If you fail an examination, the instructors are right there to correct any mistakes and identify the cause of failure. You will be prepared to retake the examination and get back on schedule. Since most boot camps have small classes and therefore a high instructor to student ratio, this individual attention is the key to successful completion of the Certification exams. Many of the camps have as high as 96% success rates, and many will allow credits to any student who does fail the complete the course. These credits may be used to retake the boot camp at a reduced rate at a later date.

Natalie Aranda writes about training and technology. One of the best methods of securing IT training, and preparing for your MCSE Certification examination is the boot camp. MCSE stands for Microsoft Certified System Engineer. The MSCE boot camp gives you the intensive training that you need to not only pass the examination, but also to handle the work afterwards. The Microsoft Certification boot camp has several benefits over home study and they justify the cost. Most camps offer success guarantees.

How To Prepare For MCSE Certification

It's widely known that jobs regarding Information Technology (IT) are a popular choice both among college students and people looking to switch careers, because of the availability of jobs in this field and the technology hype of today's age. However, many employers are looking for certain program certifications in the applicant's resume become looking further for an interview. One such certification is the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCF), which includes six different types of specific certification like technology specialist, professional, IT professional, systems administrator, database administrator, and engineer. One who is interested in getting certified for any of them must go through IT training first and then take a vigorous qualification test.

One of the most popular tests among the six is the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) test. Some call it the best known and most useful test, and various preparations are needed if you're interested in taking it. It's so vigorous that the company created a MCSE boot camp a few years ago, and now many more companies have followed suit and have their own intensive MCSE boot camps as well. You can find many of them as both online and in-person training, and the fee is around $4000-$6000 for two week courses. Many employers will cover the cost of this class if you stay with the company for a while after you improve yourself. If you want a less structured and less expensive method preparing for the MCSE test, computer training videos are another great way to do it. They usually cost less than $1000 for a set of CDs and books and you can watch them whenever you have the time. This way is perfect for anyone who already has a job and can not afford to take time off that job to train for another career.

The MCSE test itself is split into two types: Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Each of the two types requires different tests, and it's either 5 or 6 tests. Usually, the tests consist of multiple choice questions and solution building questions.

Regardless which method of preparing for the MCSE exam you choose, either the Microsoft certification boot camp or by videos, both have proven to be successful if the participants pay attention and study hard. It's important to choose by the amount you can afford to spend, how much free time you have to do it, and which method you generally prefer. After doing the research, better pick what the best way is for you and get started!

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. It's so vigorous that the company created a MCSE boot camp a few years ago, and now many more companies have followed suit and have their own intensive MCSE boot camps as well. Regardless which method of preparing for the MCSE exam you choose, either the Microsoft certification boot camp or by videos, both have proven to be successful if the participants pay attention and study hard.

What you MUST Do to Get a MCSE Certification

Being an MCSE, or Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, can bring in some good money and give you a greater range of jobs to be obtained. To obtain an MCSE certification, you need to be able to pass six core curriculum exams, an elected exam, and a design course exam. While most will go to university for an MCSE certification, they can be obtained through online courses and by studying online guides. Taking the exam and passing with at least an eighty five percent is needed to become a certified MCSE according to an MCSE who took the actual Microsoft courses.

MCSE study material ranges from books that can be ordered and sent to you to purchased and downloaded to your home computer. A thorough knowledge of Microsoft systems is key and you'll need to be able to know the inner workings of a computer system before you can think about taking an MCSE certification course.

Certain internet web sites contain examples of past exams as a way to prepare yourself and study for the MCSE certification exam. Whether you take the course online, through the Microsoft internet site or go to an accredited university for it, make sure that you go over the MCSE study materials thoroughly and study as hard as you can for the exam.

There are a wide range of locations of MCSE training centers. Some of these centers even have high end retreats to train you on the finer points of being an MCSE. For those who can afford it, one training center offers a forty day retreat in the Himalayan Mountains for just fewer than three thousand dollars.

This forty day, intense training session covers every single requirement needed in order to take the final MCSE certification exam and start your new career. If you can't afford to spend three thousand dollars on flying to the Himalayas, then a cheaper way to do it is to go through a rigorous online study schedule on your own. There are online advisers in case you need help or an explanation. Once you've completed the courses, you can earn up to one hundred dollars an hour.

Mark Kessler - his website MCSE 411 offers accelerated training information for MCSE Certification courses, MCSE Testing Centers, MCSE Boot Camps, MCSE Online training, MCSE study material, Links, Forums and Blogs

Microsoft Certification 101

In the current job market, Microsoft certifications represent one of the richest and varied spectrums of job roles and responsibilities, which are embraced by industry professionals worldwide, that earning a specific credential provides an objective validation of their ability to successfully perform critical IT functions in a wide range of companies and industries.

Microsoft certification is the top effective way to achieve goals in long-term IT careers, being at the same time a useful tool for companies to develop and retain valuable IT professionals.

The following certifications are aimed for network administrators, network engineers, systems administrators, IT engineers, information systems administrators, network technicians, technical support specialists and other IT professionals currently working in complex computing environment of medium-to-large organizations.

- MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) certification A Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer credential qualifies an IT professional to effectively plan, maintain, implement, and support information systems in diverse computing environments using both the Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and the Microsoft .NET integrated family of server products.

To qualify prerequisite is completion of network+ or documentation of equivalent experience for at least one year on Windows 2003, implementing and administering a network operating system

- MCAD (Microsoft Certified Application Developer) certification The Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) credential provides industry recognition to professional developers who build applications using Microsoft Visual Studio. An MCSD candidate should have experience equivalent to one or two years of deploying, building, and maintaining applications.

This certification is designed for individuals who intend to pursue the skills necessary to develop Windows-based applications using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, Microsoft ASP .NET, and for those interested in developing XML Web services-based solutions.

- MCSD (Microsoft Certified Software Developer) certification The Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for Microsoft .NET credential is the top-level certification for advanced developers requiring as prerequisite an MCSD for Microsoft .NET and two years of experience developing and maintaining solutions and applications.

This refers to the professional who designs and develops leading-edge enterprise solutions, using Microsoft development tools and technologies including also the Microsoft .NET, a certification to gain the knowledge, skills, and validation needed to be recognized as an expert with Microsoft products and technologies.

- MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Analyst) certification The Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) credential will provide you with skills to successfully manage, implement, and troubleshoot the needs of Microsoft Windows 2003–based operating environments.

This certification requires a prerequisite completion of network+ or documentation of equivalent experience.

- MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer) The Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) are technical and instructional experts in Microsoft technologies, products and solutions. They are in charge of Learning Solutions for partners who are required to use a Microsoft Certified Trainer when delivering training using Microsoft Business Solutions courses or official Microsoft Learning products.

Natalie Aranda writes about technology and learning. Certifications training often help pass certification exams. A MCSE certification qualifies an IT professional to effectively plan, maintain, implement, and support information systems in diverse computing environments using both the Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and the Microsoft .NET integrated family of server products.