RTM’d today: MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-516): Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4

627390.inddWe’re very happy to announce that MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-516): Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4, by Glenn Johnson (ISBN: 9780735627390, 672 pages) has released to the printer. This book can help you prepare for Exam 70-516: TS: Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4.

Work at your own pace through a series of lessons and reviews that fully cover each exam objective. Then, reinforce and apply what you’ve learned through real-world case scenarios and practice exercises. While there is no substitution for on-the-job experience, preparation through study and hands-on practice can help you prepare for the exam. We recommend that you round out your exam preparation plan by using a combination of available study materials and courses.

The book will be available to purchase in June. For now, here is the Table of Contents as well as an excerpt from the book’s Introduction.

 

Contents

Chapter 1 ADO.NET Disconnected Classes
Lesson 1: Working with the DataTable and DataSet Classes
Lesson 2: Serialization, Specialized Types, and Data Binding

Chapter 2 ADO.NET Connected Classes
Lesson 1: Connecting to the Data Store
Lesson 2: Reading and Writing Data
Lesson 3: Working with Transactions

Chapter 3 Introducing LINQ
Lesson 1: Understanding LINQ
Lesson 2: Using LINQ Queries 

Chapter 4 LINQ to SQL
Lesson 1: What Is LINQ to SQL?
Lesson 2: Executing Queries Using LINQ to SQL.
Lesson 3: Submitting Changes to the Database

Chapter 5 LINQ to XML
Lesson 1: Working with the XmlDocument and XmlReader Classes
Lesson 2: Querying with LINQ to XML
Lesson 3: Transforming XML Using LINQ to XML

Chapter 6 ADO.NET Entity Framework
Lesson 1: What Is the ADO.NET Entity Framework?
Lesson 2: Querying and Updating with the Entity Framework

Chapter 7 WCF Data Services
Lesson 1: What Is WCF Data Services?
Lesson 2: Consuming WCF Data Services

Chapter 8 Developing Reliable Applications
Lesson 1: Monitoring and Collecting Performance Data
Lesson 2: Handling Exceptions
Lesson 3: Protecting Your Data
Lesson 4: Synchronizing Data

Chapter 9 Deploying Your Application
Lesson 1: Deploying Your Application

 

 

Introduction

This training kit is designed for developers who write or support applications that access
data written in C# or Visual Basic using Visual Studio 2010 and the Microsoft .NET
Framework 4.0 and who also plan to take the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
(MCTS) exam 70-516. Before you begin using this kit, you must have a solid foundation-level
understanding of Microsoft C# or Microsoft Visual Basic and be familiar with Visual Studio
2010.

The material covered in this training kit and on exam 70-516 relates to the data access
technologies in ADO.NET 4.0 with Visual Studio 2010. The topics in this training kit cover what
you need to know for the exam as described on the Skills Measured tab for the exam, which is
available at https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-516&locale=en-us#tab2.

By using this training kit, you will learn how to do the following:
■ Work with the ADO.NET disconnected classes
■ Work with the ADO.NET connection classes
■ Write and execute LINQ queries
■ Implement LINQ to SQL classes
■ Implement LINQ to XML in your applications
■ Implement the ADO.NET Entity Framework in your applications
■ Create and Implement WCF Data Service applications
■ Monitor and Collect ADO.NET performance data
■ Synchronize offline data
■ Deploy Data Access applications

Refer to the objective mapping page in the front of this book to see where in the book
each exam objective is covered.

System Requirements

The following are the minimum system requirements your computer needs to meet to
complete the practice exercises in this book and to run the companion CD. To minimize
the time and expense of configuring a physical computer for this training kit, it’s recommended,
but not required, that you use a virtualized environment, which will allow you to
work in a sandboxed environment. This will let you make changes without worrying about
your day-to-day environment. Virtualization software is available from Microsoft (Virtual PC,
Virtual Server, and Hyper-V) and other suppliers such as VMware (VMware Workstation) and
Oracle (VirtualBox).

 

Hardware Requirements

Your computer should meet the following minimum hardware requirements:
■ 2.0 GB of RAM (more is recommended)
■ 80 GB of available hard disk space
■ DVD-ROM drive
■ Internet connectivity

 

Software Requirements

The following software is required to complete the practice exercises:
■ Windows 7. You can download an Evaluation Edition of Windows 7 at the Microsoft
Download Center at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495.
■ SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition is recommended because some labs and sample
code use this edition for permanently mounted databases. An Evaluation Edition is
available from https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/bb851668.aspx.
■ SQL Server 2008 Express Edition is recommended because some labs and sample code
use this edition for User Instance mounted databases. A full release is available from
https://www.microsoft.com/express/Database.

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■ Visual Studio 2010. You can download an evaluation edition from https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/default.
Although the labs and code samples were generated using Visual Studio 2010 Premium Edition,
you can use the Express Edition of Visual Studio for many of the labs, which is available from https://www.microsoft.com/express.

Code Samples

The code samples are provided in Visual C# and Visual Basic. You will find a folder for each
chapter that contains CS (C#) and VB (Visual Basic) code. In these folders, you will find the
sample code solution and a folder for each lesson that contains the practice code. The
Practice Code folder contains Begin and Completed folders, so you can choose to start at the
beginning and work through the practice or you can run the completed solution.

 

Using the CD

A companion CD is included with this training kit. The companion CD contains the following:
■ Practice tests You can reinforce your understanding of the topics covered in this
training kit by using electronic practice tests that you customize to meet your needs.
You can run a practice test that is generated from the pool of Lesson Review questions
in this book. Alternatively, you can practice for the 70-516 certification exam by using
tests created from a pool of over 200 realistic exam questions, which give you many
practice exams to ensure that you are prepared.
■ Code Samples All of the Visual Basic and C# code you see in the book you will also
find on the CD.
■ An eBook An electronic version (eBook) of this book is included for when you do not
want to carry the printed book with you.
Companion Content for Digital Book Readers: If you bought a digital edition of this book, you can
enjoy select content from the print edition’s companion CD.
Visit https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?Linkid=216910 to get your downloadable content. This content
is always up-to-date and available to all readers.

 

Lesson Review Options

When you start a lesson review, the Custom Mode dialog box appears so that you can configure your test.
You can click OK to accept the defaults, or you can customize the number of
questions you want, how the practice test software works, which exam objectives you want
the questions to relate to, and whether you want your lesson review to be timed. If you are
retaking a test, you can select whether you want to see all the questions again or only the
questions you missed or did not answer.
After you click OK, your lesson review starts. The following list explains the main options
you have for taking the test:
■ To take the test, answer the questions and use the Next and Previous buttons to move
from question to question.
■ After you answer an individual question, if you want to see which answers are correct—
along with an explanation of each correct answer—click Explanation.
■ If you prefer to wait until the end of the test to see how you did, answer all the questions
and then click Score Test. You will see a summary of the exam objectives you
chose and the percentage of questions you got right overall and per objective. You can
print a copy of your test, review your answers, or retake the test.

 

Practice Test Options

When you start a practice test, you choose whether to take the test in Certification Mode,
Study Mode, or Custom Mode:
■ Certification Mode Closely resembles the experience of taking a certification exam.
The test has a set number of questions. It is timed, and you cannot pause and restart
the timer.
■ Study Mode Creates an untimed test during which you can review the correct answers
and the explanations after you answer each question.
■ Custom Mode Gives you full control over the test options so that you can customize
them as you like.

Preparing for the Exam

Microsoft certification exams are a great way to build your resume and let the world know
about your level of expertise. Certification exams validate your on-the-job experience
and product knowledge. While there is no substitution for on-the-job experience, preparation
through study and hands-on practice can help you prepare for the exam. We recommend
that you round out your exam preparation plan by using a combination of available study
materials and courses. For example, you might use the Training kit and another study guide
for your “at home” preparation, and take a Microsoft Official Curriculum course for the classroom
experience. Choose the combination that you think works best for you.

Note that this Training Kit is based on publicly available information about the exam and
the author’s experience. To safeguard the integrity of the exam, authors do not have access to
the live exam.

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