MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-442): Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 (Self-Paced Training Kits) [Paperback]

Sara Morgan (Author), Tobias Thernstrom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2007 | Series: Self-Paced Training Kits

EXAM PREP GUIDE

Ace your preparation for the skills measured by MCITP Exam 70-442—and on the job. Work at your own pace through a series of lessons and reviews that fully cover each exam objective. Then, reinforce what you’ve learned by applying your knowledge to real-world case scenarios and practice exercises. This official Microsoft study guide is designed to help you make the most of your study time.

Maximize your performance on the exam by learning to:

• Create data access solutions, connections, and models
• Write database queries, specialized queries, and XQuery expressions
• Programmatically administer a SQL Server service
• Design code that validates user data and handles errors
• Choose appropriate transaction isolation levels and optimize locking
• Tune query and application performance

PRACTICE TESTS

Assess your skills with practice tests on CD. You can work through hundreds of questions using multiple testing modes to meet your specific learning needs. You get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers—including a customized learning path that describes how and where to focus your studies.

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [e-mail].

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Key Book Benefits:

-In-depth coverage of exam objectives and sub-objectives--plus instructive case studies and troubleshooting scenarios to enhance your performance on the job

-200+ practice and review questions

-Test engine that enables customized testing, pre-assessment and post-assessment, and automated scoring and feedback

-Complete objective-by-objective review section, plus a handy exam-mapping grid

-180-day evaluation version of SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition

-15 percent exam-discount voucher from Microsoft (limited time offer)

-Entire study guide in searchable eBook format

About the Author

Sara Morgan, MCSD, MCDBA, is a senior developer specializing in Web-based applications and the author of Building Intelligent .NET Applications: Agents, Data Mining, Rule-Based Systems, and Speech Processing.

Tobias Thernstrom is a senior database architect, trainer, and consultant.

GrandMasters is an IT consulting firm specializing in content development, exam development, and customized technical support.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 1 edition (April 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073562383X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735623835
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #791,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended exam preparation resource, October 9, 2007

By 

Matthew Bryde (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-442): Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 (Self-Paced Training Kits) (Paperback)

Having studied similar material by both Sybex and MS Press for other Microsoft's SQL 2005 exams, I found this particular book a good preparation guide for the 70-442 exam.

As you would expect, it covers the appropriate material and presents its material in an easy to follow and relevant manner. Having just sat the 070-442 exam today, I can strongly advise that just reading this book alone is not enough preparation. Having a thorough understanding of the different locking mechanisms, Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS) and transaction isolation levels, as well as using the supplementary material frequently quoted in this book (website articles, practice lessons and the companion CD included) are an essential must for anyone planning to sit the 070-442 exam.

The companion CD included contains practice questions, a PDF version of the book (great for searching), as well as excerpts from the other four MS Press Inside/Programming SQL books.

Having prepared by also studying other SQL material (namely the Inside-SQL series), I kept forgetting this was the official Microsoft exam guide - the style and format is less like a classroom/lab and more like an informative text with hands on examples. As a negative, the end of section review question are very light on, and the one scenario question at the end of each chapter is also extremely brief and not at all indicative of the exam. But that's precisely why you need the companion CD to fill the void.

Another negative - there were some exam questions on topics that never received a mention in this study guide: "Begin Transaction WITH MARK", and using "savepoints" as examples. That alone prevents me from awarding 5 stars.

Overall, this is an excellent resource, but supplemental study on the sections that emphasize "This is on the exam" is definitely required, as well as the areas mentioned above.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much More Than a Practice for the Test Book, May 29, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-442): Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 (Self-Paced Training Kits) (Paperback)

This book is the training manual for taking Microsofts 70-442 certification examination on SQL Server 2005. And like other training manuals, it gives an excellent introduction to the exam and provides the information that you'll need to pass the test. It includes sample tests, a time limited version of SQL Server 2005 to help with the examples, all the usual things.

This book, however, goes beyond the normal cram for an exam book in that it provides descriptions and explanations that go well beyond what will be asked on the test. This provides a basic understanding of SQL Server that goes well beyond what will be asked on the test.

For instance Appendix B runs for 70 pages and covers the internal architecture of the SQL Server product with special notes as to its operation on the new multi core CPUs, the use of CLR programming techniques (part of the .NET environment) and a lot more.

This is a book aimed at the expert. The SQL code examples are way above the trivial level. You may find that you'll need another book on SQL programming for the 2005 product to help explain what this book is covering fairly briefly.

5.0 out of 5 stars sql server training kit review, August 18, 2010

By 

John F. Eakins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-442): Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005 (Self-Paced Training Kits) (Paperback)

The training kits have a lot of valuable information in them that is hard to resist. Because they are made to teach a technology to a degree that you can pass a test, they sometimes have information that may be hard to find otherwise. This is why I find these training kits attractive.