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| MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation | 
 enlarge | Authors: Tony Northrup, Shawn Wildermuth, Bill Ryan
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Category: Book
List Price: $69.99
Buy New: $39.95
You Save: $30.04 (43%)
New (29) Used (16) from $37.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 15972
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1088
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.5 x 2.1
ISBN: 0735622779
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780735622777
ASIN: 0735622779
Publication Date: June 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All orders ship same business day via standard shipping (USPS Media Mail) if received by 1 PM CST.
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Product Description
In response to reader feedback, we have incorporated major changes into the second printing of MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation. Announcing an all-new MCTS Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on Exam 70-536, a core exam for the new Microsoft Technology Specialist and Professional Developer certifications. This kit packs the tools and features that 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 a robust testing suite. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and expertise that you can apply to the job. Focusing on the .NET Framework version 2.0, this official study guide covers topics such as .NET Framework fundamentals, I/O, graphics, collections, serialization, application domains and services, application and user security, threading, instrumentation, reflection, and installing and configuring applications. Ace your exam preparation and ramp up quickly on the .NET Framework by working at your own pace through the lessons, hands-on exercises, and practice tests. The flexible, best-of-class test engine on CD features 300 practice questions and pre-assessment and post-assessment capabilities. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests, or focus on discrete objectives or chapters, and get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers--including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get a 90-day evaluation version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and a 15 percent exam discount voucher--making this kit an exceptional value and a great career investment
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| Customer Reviews: Read 73 more reviews...
 This Book + Transcender = 1 Easy Exam June 17, 2007
39 out of 40 found this review helpful
The following are my pointers about the book and exam. I hope they'll help calm someone's nerves, because I was a nervous wreck before my exam yesterday.
First, about me:
> I studied in earnest for three weeks, using only the book and accompanying practice exams until the last three days
> I used Transcender during the last three days, and never scored above 60% on the full practice exam
> I am relatively new to .NET (four months exp. writing production-level apps), but not new to software development (working with Java for over four years)
> I passed the exam yesterday, on the first attempt, with a score of 859
With that said...
1. To anyone sadistic enough to take a Java cert exam (like my moronic self), the MCTS is a cakewalk. Unlike the ferocious Java exams which try to bait you into picking the wrong answers, 70-536 seems to do the exact opposite. I'll elaborate on this in point 2.
2. Remember taking the SATs and being given the advice to first eliminate clearly wrong answers before analyzing the ones that might be right? Do that on this exam, and you'll immediately cut your answer choices in half on nearly every question. For the vast majority of the questions, Microsoft practically GIVES you the answer - almost like they're trying to sell you on how intuitive their framework is. These questions are multiple choice, with one answer choice being cartoonishly incorrect, another answer being kind-of-correct but clearly too convoluted, then two or more other answers that are extremely similar, except for some minor detail.
3. You do not need to go into the MSDN and know every object mentioned in the book like Adam knew his wife. You should, however, be very familiar with the methods and signatures of Stream objects, Serializer objects (XMLSerializer, especially), AppDomain, and Culture/Region Info. As for the rest, just pay close attention to the methods and objects used in the book's examples.
4. The Transcender exam is WAAAAAAAAAAAY HARDER than the actual 70-536.
5. The MeasureUp exam that comes with the book is slightly easier than the actual 70-536.
6. On my particular exam, there were no questions whose material hadn't been covered by the book. Be careful, though, because from the Transcender exams it seems the book's authors left out at whole lot about interoperability.
Seriously folks, this exam isn't that bad if you're a seasoned software pro and familiar with OOP. Get a solid grasp of the stuff in the book (the labs really help), use Transcender for some details that the book misses, take the exam, and pass that sucker.
Good luck!
I passed the exam using this book January 2, 2007
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
I used this book as my primary resource for the exam, backed up with a transcender for additional practice tests. I passed the exam on the first attempt. Based on that, I'll rate it as 4 stars (more like 3.5).
Yes there are errors - so make sure to get the errata. Do the practice tests on the CD (several times!). I can't imagine not using this book, given that it's the only one at present. If you look at the exam topics on the MS web-site, you could spend weeks or months on MSDN chasing down the relevant information. This book brings it together in one place, and avoids you spending loads of time on irrelevant topics. I think the book covers just enough to get you through the exam - provided you know the content very well. This is not an easy exam.
As for a general .NET book, the various chapters provide a useful introduction to each topic, but don't go into that much depth - just enough for the exam. Part of the issue is the exam covers a very wide range of topics, so it's difficult to go into much more depth without making the book 2,000 pages long.
At the end of the day, it got me through the exam, which is ultimately what matters.
 SECOND EDITION - STILL ERRORS!!!!! March 8, 2007
29 out of 31 found this review helpful
Simply unbelievable. For those of you who have not heard, the "first edition" of this book had a ridiculous number of errors in it. In fact, I originally had a copy of it from my work, and I had to print off the errata (list of corrections and fixes) and it was OVER 60 PAGES. Yeah, it was really fun trying to read the book on one side of my desk, and having a 60+ page document on the other side trying to find all the errors and bad code examples.....so anyway, I bought the "second edition" from Amazon. While it looks like the 60+ pages of errors that were found in the "first edition" were all corrected, there ARE STILL MORE OBVIOUS ERRORS IN THE BOOK. I cannot express in words how amazing this is to me. Did ANYONE with a technical background actually proof-read this book the first time? If not, shouldn't someone have done it before printing a second edition that was made because ONLY because there were 60+ PAGES OF ERRORS in the first edition? This to me is inexcusable. And how Microsoft could put their stamp on this book is baffling.
Anyway, other than the errors, the book is fine.....it just makes it hard to read this book for an exam, because can you really trust the content 100%? I say no. And, to top it all off, this (to my knowledge) is the only book out there for the 70-536 Exam. Good luck.
Corrected Version February 26, 2007
25 out of 28 found this review helpful
Despite the harsh reviews, including one from one of my co-workers, I went with this book for 70-536 preparation simply because there isn't anything else out there. I was waiting on Amit Kalani to come out with his highly anticipated book, but I'm starting to wonder if that will ever see the light of day.
In any case, it seems that this book has had corrections made to it since the earlier reviews. I've noticed that more recent printings have a slightly darker cover and that the errata listed at Microsoft's website has been corrected in the book. I could find no mention of a 2nd printing on the inside cover or anything else to suggest a reprint. This doesn't make up for the missing content but does at least make me feel a little better in that I don't have to constantly reference the 33 printed pages of errata while reading.
 Lazy Editing September 26, 2006
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
This book skims over several subjects because it's trying to cover too much material. Chapter 6 and 7 on Graphics and Threading (respectively) both suffer from this. Large fonts and long lists of methods and properties leave little room for actual knowledge sharing. The order in which they cover the subjects leaves a lot to be desired as well. Just look at the fact that chapter 6 is Graphics and chapter 7 is Threading.
Anyway, the content tries to cover all that is required and probably prepares you for the test as well as possible (I haven't taken an exam yet). So, i was thinking 3 stars.
But then I arrived at chapter 9 - Installing and Configuring Applications. My guess is that Mr.s Northrup and Wildermuth had around 13 or 14 chapters done and were coming down to the wire when they asked Bill Ryan if he wouldn't mind contributing a chapter or two. Then he turned in what he had and they ran spell checker on it. That must be it, because there are errors on every page! Paragraphs copied from other chapters, review questions that have nothing to do with the section just read, and a lab in section two that has nothing to do with the Installer class discussed in section 2. If you look at a code example on page 489, you'll see what I mean. Not only does the code not work, but it's faulty in it's design. He mentions that the class implements IEnumerable, and then tries to use a counter to move through the list (but fails to increment the counter). That's retarded. Since I'm still in the beginner stages of all of this, these mistakes can set me back a while when I stare and try to figure out what he's doing.
Anyway, one star. The editors should go back to school somewhere. Rosemary Caperton and Sandi Resnick are pointed out specifically as proof-readers, and Jim Fuchs and David Robinson as technical editors. If I was any of them I'd ask for my name to be removed in subsequent editions.
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