MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-502): Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.5 Windows® Presentation Foundation (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: customizing the user interface, converting data, binding source, Binding Path, Windows Forms, Setter Property (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Announcing an all-new Self-Paced Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on 70-502, the required exam for the new Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Presentation Foundation.

This 2-in-1 kit includes the official Microsoft study guide, plus practice tests on CD to help assess your skills. It comes packed with the tools and features exam candidates want most including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and customizable testing options. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for the skills and expertise you can apply to the job.

Focusing on the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), this official study guide covers creating, configuring, and deploying WPF applications; integrating Windows Forms controls; adding multimedia content; using triggers and animation; binding to data sources; and configuring security settings.

Work at your own pace through the lessons and lab exercises. Then assess yourself using 300+ practice questions on the CD, featuring multiple, customizable testing options. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests, or focus on discrete objectives. You get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get an evaluation version of Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008 software and an exam discount voucher making this kit an exceptional value and a great career investment.

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 300+ practice and review questions Test engine that enables customized testing, pre-assessment and post-assessment, and automated scoring and feedback Handy exam-mapping grid Evaluation version of Visual Studio 2008 15 percent exam-discount voucher from Microsoft (limited-time offer) Entire study guide in searchable eBook format

About the Author

Matthew A. Stoecker is the author of the Microsoft Press® Self-Paced Training Kit supporting the MCTS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications certification. Matthew works on the Microsoft Visual Studio team.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 524 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; Har/Cdr edition (July 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735625662
• ISBN-13: 978-0735625662
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,499 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Certification, October 18, 2008

By	Mark Tabladillo "MarkTab.com" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book on 70-502 can help you toward the certification exam. It is excellent for its certification purpose, and in my opinion, moves someone toward intermediate programming ability with WPF and 70-502. By contrast, the book does not attempt or pretend to tackle complex installation or performance issues (for those important topics you can search the free MSDN documentation online, or also ask specific questions on the MSDN forums).

The purpose of this book is a hands-on start using the .NET 3.5 Windows Presentation Foundation technology. Whatever technical errors will be dynamically listed on the Microsoft website errata. You can ask questions on the free MSDN forums.

The pace of the book is moderated by specific chapter objectives, and each chapter is broken down into time sections for completion. I recommend working complete sections at a time (and don't start a new one if you don't have time to complete it). You can use the step-by-step exercises to gain some experience with the new technology.

Here is a book outline:
Chapter 1. WPF Application Fundamentals
Chapter 2. Events, Commands, and Settings
Chapter 3. Building the User Interface
Chapter 4. Adding and Managing Content
Chapter 5. Configuring Databinding
Chapter 6. Converting and Validating Data
Chapter 7. Styles and Animation
Chapter 8. Customizing the User Interface
Chapter 9. Resources, Documents and Localization
Chapter 10. Deployment

Anyone who has been using Visual Studio 2005 will have a quick transition to the similar interface in Visual Studio 2008 (required for .NET 3.5 technology). Also, experience with .NET 1.1 and 2.0 programming with Windows Forms is assumed to be the general foundation for moving into this new technology.

It does help to understand design patterns, and for example the concept behind the Facade pattern. A key part of the Windows Presentation Foundation is removing the application logic from the interface (now coded in XAML, Extensible Application Markup Language). Developers can apply this discipline to previous .NET versions and to all programming, and this version encourages and supports this healthy practice.

Going through the material, the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) has its own vocabulary, and a major reason for reading this book is less about learning how to program, and more about new terms. The exercises are structured, but only experience informed by design patterns provides a more stable foundation. I have programmed in many languages, and while nothing substitutes for experience, new technology by necessity requires new terms and terminology. For example, WPF adds "styles" and "animations" and it's important to know how Microsoft defines these terms so that you can effectively communicate with other developers. Again, a primary way to learn more (beyond this book) is to read .NET blogs, attend Microsoft conferences, and interact with other developers in the MSDN forums. It's important to know these terms to be able to communicate more effectively. Thus, this book functions as a program for your brain, mapping the .NET 3.5 basic-to-intermediate terminology to whatever previous experience you already have.

This book does not cover typical advanced production topics like versioning and working on development teams (for example). Microsoft wants its developers to not just read books but interact with a dynamic community. This book focuses on the fundamental specific lessons and objectives to get new developers hands-on experience and comprehensive (to the intermediate level) training. Microsoft developers and developer evangelists make themselves available to developers and they desire two-way communication and feedback about their products.

I will next list of the hardware and software requirements for running the exercises (from pages xxi and xxii):

Hardware Requirements
The following hardware is required to complete the practice exercises:
* A computer with 1.6-gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor
* A minimum of 384 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM)
* A minimum of 2.2 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space is required to install VS 2008. Additionally, 50 megabytes (MB) of available hard disk space is required to install the labs.
* A DVD-ROM drive
* A 1024*768 or higher resolution display with 256 colors or more
* A keyboard and Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device

Software Requirements:
The following software is required to complete the practice exercises:
* One of the following operating systems:
-- Windows Vista (any edition except Windows Vista Starter)
-- Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later (any edition except Windows XP Starter)
-- Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or later (any edition)
-- Windows Server 2003 R2 or later (any edition)
-- Windows Server 2008
* Microsoft Visual Studio (VS) 2008 (A 90-day evaluation edition of Visual Studio Professional Edition is included on a DVD that comes with this training kit)

I recommend obtaining at least Visual Studio 2008 Professional if you are serious about developing applications with this technology. Even without this book, you can currently (as of November 2008) obtain a free 30 day trial version from the Microsoft website. More advanced material is abundant in many developer blogs, and circulated through conferences. Active developers should plug into a real-time community through online forums, blogs, webcasts, and conferences.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Passed the exam, March 11, 2009

By	Mike (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

The live exam is painful (I used up the entire 3 hours). I used this book as my main study guide. I also went through the accompanying sample test several times. I would also recommend going through (at least skimming) the Pro WPF book (MacDonald) before actually taking the test. The Pro book covers some details not mentioned in this study guide. Note that the actual exam questions are much harder than the sample questions in this book and sample test engine.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent preparation guide, September 18, 2008

By	Michael J. Mcmahon Jr. (Reno, NV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The content of this preparation / training guide is quite sufficient to pass the MCTS 70-502 exam. The information is thorough enough that even persons with relatively little experience programming WPF applications will find the topics covered comprehensive, if a bit scattered. Despite this, it is definitely to one's advantage to have made one or two applications using WPF in order to get a good feel for the capabilities of the technology.

The content itself is a bit scattered and has many forward-references. This is, however, understandable given that WPF is a fairly holistic technology that can't be easily dissected. As such, two passes of the book are highly-recommended to ensure a solid understanding of the topics - examples presented in the beginning of the book will take on better meaning after a full pass of the book. The chapters tend to group content appropriately and in great depth. It is very easy to understand the workings of WPF, which is really what Microsoft Certification is all about - understanding, not memorizing.

As with most training materials, there were some mistakes, but these were limited to typos in the text - if you stick to the C# track, you will see almost no errors; the Visual Basic examples were more error-prone. The (few) chapter summary questions are simple, yet require the reader to have paid attention, providing good checks for later review.

In terms of learning gaps, there were some aspects of the test that were not covered in sufficient detail, but they can easily be corrected with some MSDN reading. For example, XPS document creation is not covered, though opening XPS documents is touched upon. By-and-large, everything is at least mentioned, though. The practice tests will accurately identify which areas you need to read-up on using MSDN.

Coming to the point of the practice tests, the engine was much improved over the 70-536 test software. Many of the questions are representative of questions on the exam and you will find several areas not covered on the book showing up as questions - these are the areas that merit additional reading. There was only one error in the test questions, but if you read the explanation, you'll find that you are probably correct.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent resource that, in the end, gave me an exceptional understanding of WPF and prepared me well for the exam.