The intent of this message is to assist you in preparing for the exam and to help you gain knowledge, so that in the end, you can not only pass the certification exam, but perform the actual ASP.Net development work, as well. To that end, we will make a number of suggestions regarding preparation for the exam; give you some good sources of further information in the objective areas; and help you to improve your knowledge of the subjects covered on the Microsoft 70-315 exam, Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Visual C# .Net and Visual Studio .Net. Specifically, we will devote some time to how you should budget and spend your training and study time; resources that you can use to assist in preparing for the exam; and a number of code examples that, if studied, will help you in your preparation.

There is no one way to decide how much time to spend studying for the exam, as each individual has different needs for study time. Also, those who have experience with classic ASP and HTML will have some advantage over people who have little web development experience, in that these people will, already know something of IIS, at a minimum. If you have the benefit of some training via a certified technical school, you will, again, have an advantage. If that is the case, you will still have need of study time, albeit not as much as would otherwise be needed. In my case, I took a training course, even though I had previous training and experience with classic ASP. Due to the training, I was able to pass the test with about 60 additional hours of study. Others from the class needed less time, while some needed more time. You should decide how much time to spend studying each of the 7 objective areas of the exam. I believe that if you start with a target of 100 hours of combined training and study time, in most cases you should be able to pass the test.

The 7 objectives of the exam are:

1. Creating User Services
2. Creating and Managing Components and .Net Assemblies
3. Consuming and Manipulating Data
4. Testing and Debugging
5. Deploying a Web Application
6. Maintaining and Supporting a Web Application
7. Configuring and Securing a Web Application

So, let's assume that you are strong in some objective areas, average in some and weak in others. You will need to spend more time studying your weakest objective areas. Such as the following:

Obviously, your two objective areas that need the most improvement are:

• Creating and Managing Components and .Net Assemblies and
• Consuming and Manipulating Data

So, you should spend more time studying each of these two objectives than you spend on each of the other two areas. Assuming that you have a total of 100 hours of training and study time, I would divide my time as follows:

Example:

1. Divide 100 hours by 7 = 14 hours per objective. This is the average number of hours that you can spend on each objective and still complete your studying in the amount of time you have available.
2. Then, decrease the time for the two objectives where you are strongest by 40% each. 14 – (14 X .4) = 8 hours per objective. This will give you additional time to spend studying the lower scored objectives. Actually in this case, you have gained about 12 hours (6 hours per objective) of extra time to study the two weakest objectives.
3. For the 3 objectives where you think you have an average knowledge of the subject, you should allow the full 14 hours per objective.
4. Then add the extra 6 hours per objective that you gained by reducing the time to spend in the strong objective areas, to the 14-hour average for the weakest objectives. (14 + 6 = 20)

So, now you have distributed your study time, as follows:

Structuring your study time ensures that you cover all the objectives, at least at a top level. You should concentrate your study time, working on the weakest areas first, then save some of the time allotted for these objectives to review them before taking the real exam. After you budget your time, then monitor the time spent on each objective by keeping a simple log of your study time. This will keep you on-track and avoid spending too much time in the areas where you are already adequate.

Make arrangements to spend your study time in a quiet, comfortable environment where you will be free of interruptions. Your computer should be available, so you can work with Visual Studio .Net, to get hands-on experience with the various objectives, create solutions, Web Applications, etc. Remember that just reading the study material will not help as much as actually completing the training, step by step, including writing the actual code segments.

Remember, too, that you are choosing to enhance your career. The additional time that you spend studying for this exam will benefit you by making it easier to pass the exam, but in addition, it will help you perform web application development better, faster. Additional study time spent will pay great dividends in the future.

Requirements

For a list of requirements for the MCAD Certification, you can visit the Microsoft training site at: http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcad/requirements.asp . If the hyperlink doesn't work, copy and paste it into your web browser.

You will find the exact requirements for the 70-315 exam at http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-315.asp . If the hyperlink doesn't work, copy and paste it into your web browser. You should check here to be sure you are covering all the different objectives included in the test.

Microsoft Training

Should you need instructor led training, you will want to choose from the courses below:
(Press CTRL + click to follow the link)

1. Course 2310 : Developing Microsoft ASP.NET Web Applications Using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
2. Course 2389 : Programming with Microsoft ADO.NET
3. Course 2640 : Upgrading Web Development Skills from ASP to Microsoft ASP.NET

Personally, I took a Practical Skills Course, which covered both the 2310 material and the 2389 material, plus a number of other skills, including ADO.Net, Visual C#.Net, XML Web Services, .Net Remoting, UML, XML, etc. Although the course was not aimed specifically towards passing the 70-315 exam, a lot of the material covered was on the test.

Books and Training Kits
Then I studied the se two books to obtain the certification:

1. MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit, Developing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic.Net and Microsoft Visual C#.Net published by Microsoft Press.
2. MCAD/MCSD Training Guide, Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Visual C#.Net and Visual Studio.Net from Que Corporation.

If you decide to use either of these two books, or both, you should take the Whizlabs Diagnostic exam, then decide what your weakest areas are. Then study those objectives in either or both of these books. The combination of the two books covers everything needed, in great depth.

Other books that I used for specific areas of interest are:

• Software Requirements, Second Edition, Karl E. Wiegers, Microsoft Press
• • This is a general best practices book that covers general how to determine and define the requirements of the Web Application.
  • Covers all objectives, in general.
• Writing Secure Code , Second Edition, Michael Howard & David LeBlanc, Microsoft Press
• • This book goes into great detail about how to develop security into your code. Excellent book. The first 4 chapters are a must read for any .Net developer.
  • Covers most test objectives in general.
• Building Web Solutions with ASP.Net and ADO.Net , Dino Esposito, Microsoft Press
• • This book teaches you how to develop an ASP.Net web application. Good book, fast read. You should work his examples.
  • Covers User Services, Consuming and Manipulating Data.
• Professional ASP.Net Security, WROX
• • This book goes into great detail about how to configure security on an ASP.Net web site.
  • Covers Configuring and Securing a Web Application
• Fast Track ASP.Net, WROX
• • The Fast Track series of books cut through a lot of the basics and get right to the actual development examples. The book has only 8 chapters that are chock full of the basics of ASP.Net development.
  • Covers all objectives of the test.
• Fast Track ADO.Net, WROX
• • I probably learned more from this book than all the others about how to do the data stuff on a web application. Again, it only has 8 chapters that cover XML, connections to databases, data sets, etc. Excellent book.
  • Covers Consuming and Manipulating Data.
• Designing Microsoft ASP.Net Applications , Douglas J. Reilly, Microsoft Press
• • This book is more of a textbook that goes into a lot of detail about designing web applications. Due to my nature, impatient, I found this book to be better for reference in many different areas. Although it is very thorough, it is quite long.
  • Covers most of the objectives, including User Services, Consuming and Manipulating Data, and Configuring and Securing a Web Application.
• C# Class Design Handbook, Apress
• • This is a very good book for people switching from Visual Basic 6.0 to C#. It is of great help in the basics of OOP, while it is, also, very practical. Excellent book of basic class design.
  • Does not cover any specific objective, but teaches you how to create classes which are used in all objectives.
• C# Design Patterns A Tutorial, James W. Cooper, Addison Wesley
• • Teaches you how to use the 23 basic design patterns in C# code. Before this book, I didn't know you could use classes to the extent that is now possible. Your whole web site can be designed using OOP and this book lays out the basic design patterns you can use. Excellent, excellent, wow!
• .Net Patterns, Christian Thilmany, Addison Wesley
• • This book goes into much greater detail about using design patterns in your development projects. Excellent book.
• ASP.Net Setup and Configuration , James Avery, Microsoft Press
• • Use this book to configure security for your web applications and you will not go wrong. Very good book that concentrates exclusively on setup and configuration of ASP.Net web applications.
• Building Secure Microsoft ASP.Net Applications , Microsoft Press
• • This book guides you step by step in setting up security on an ASP.Net web application. Very comprehensive, step-by-step guide to configuring security.
  • It will definitely satisfy all the points in the objective, Configuring and Securing a Web Application.
• Debugging ASP.Net, New Riders
• • Excellent instruction on debugging.

You may purchase the books mentioned, here from the following booksellers:

• www.amazon.com
• www.bookpool.com
• www.softpro.com
• www.microsoft.com/mspress/

Online Magazines and Products
In addition to the books, above, I suggest that you subscribe to one or more of the following publications:

asp.NetPro – http://www.aspnetpro.com – This magazine dedicated, as its name indicates, specifically to ASP.Net development. In addition, it has an accompanying web site with a wealth of tutorials, as well as tips and tricks for ASP.Net development.

Visual Studio Magazine – http://www.visualstudiomagazine.com – is the most mature of the available publications and as such is probably better known. Every issue includes numerous articles on various subjects and parts of Microsoft .Net. The various authors, who write for the magazine, contribute code examples that you can download for free. I cannot tell you how much it helps to examine the code developed by many others to learn new techniques.

This is a very good, popular magazine, which is proven out by its longevity.

Code - Component Developer Magazine – http://www.code-magazine.com is a relatively new developer-oriented magazine with many code segments for .Net. There are articles in the magazine related to most objectives. In addition, you get different views regarding problem solving, see how others view the same problems you face in your work.

Web Sites
The least expensive and most important resource that you can use is Microsoft's MSDN web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com . Every objective on the exam is covered in great detail on this site. Just use the hyperlink to go to the web site and then use the search feature to look up any item that you might have a question about. Guaranteed, you will find more information about the subject than you ever thought possible.

I found that in most cases, I could find information on any part of ASP.Net, easily. However, due to the volume of data, it often took some time to sift through the information to really understand the subject well.

Overall, this is the best source of information to use in studying for the exam.

GotDotNet – http://www.gotdotnet.com – This web site has been developed by Microsoft developers and others to promote Microsoft .Net. It is an excellent source of just about everything concerning .Net technology. There are tutorials, code downloads, and articles on about anything you might want to know about .Net, and examples, examples, and samples, samples and more samples. The code samples and examples have been written by Microsoft or other contributors for free download.

ASP.Net – http://www.asp.net – is another Microsoft site which has untold volumes of data about ASP.Net. There are tutorials, examples, etc. on just about everything in the way of development, here. It is probably the most organized of all the sites. This is an excellent source of information for all objectives on the test, plus a lot more.

In addition, the site includes links to forums where you can ask questions of other developers and Microsoft employs a number of moderators and experts who will offer assistance to developers on the site.

4 Guys From Rolla - http://aspnet.4guysfromrolla.com/ is a commercial site that offers tutorials on classic ASP, ASP.Net and other web technologies. It is an excellent source of examples and samples, too. The site is very well done and has a wealth of information.

In closing, I have to say that I hope you find as much pleasure on you trip to success with ASP.Net as I have found so far. The first step is taking the initiative to study for your exam. The more time and effort you put into this part, the easier you will find the exam to be. Lastly, the effort you put into research and study for the test will benefit you in your career, as well.

Thank you for your interest and good luck for your exam.

The author of this article, James “Jim” Davis, is a .Net and Data Warehouse consultant working with a large retail company in Denver , Colorado , USA . With more than 10 years of IT/IS experience, he has developed several classic ASP web sites and is an early adopter of .Net technology. A member of the Denver Microsoft Visual Studio SIG, Jim has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and has taken numerous Microsoft Certified programming courses. In addition, he holds the following Microsoft Certifications – MCSD, MCAD.Net, MCSD.Net, MCDBA – SQL Server 2000.

If you should have any questions or wish to have a further explanation, of a subject covered here, you may contact Jim at .