70-305 Question

Hello,

I am preparing for exam 70-305. I passed 70-306 a few years ago and was
wondering if the test format has changed since then. I know they were
talking about adding simulation type questions. Has anyone taken 70-305
recently? If so, did you have regular multiple choice questions or
simulation type questions.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

October 10, 2005

Simulations are only on 290 & 291 right now... They are only adding those
to the IT Pro exams, and not the developer exams yet.... They probably will
have some simulations on all new exams (such as these new certifications
being discussed), although that is just my opinion....

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP

 

Joseph,

Thanks for the information! I thought the new exams were supposed to be
released already? Any news on that front?
--
Nick Wegner
MCP

 

October 10, 2005

Nope, no new information besides the one article MCPMag.com did a few
months ago.... I believe (with only a faint recollection) that the first new
exams will come out this Nov/December....

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP

 

Is 70-305 based on .NET 1.1? I just want to make sure I'm studying the right
material. Do you have any general pointers or suggestions for taking this
exam? Thanks in advance for your input!

 

October 11, 2005

Yep, all of the current dev exams for MCSD are on 1.1 of .Net. Before
taking the exam, I would review the objectives at
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-305.asp to make sure you know the
material. If you own MSPress's training kit for the exam, you can find this
same objective list at the very beginning of the book and it also lists
where in the book the objectives are gone over. I don't think there is more
for me to say besides what are listed as the objectives. Hope this helps!

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP

 

Joseph,

What are your thoughts on becoming an MCAD with 1.1? In your opinion should
I wait until the new exams are released or continue my plan to finsh off my
MCAD? I've passed 70-306 and have been studying for 70-305 for about a month.
I've been developing web apps for over 3 years using asp.net. I figure I
can pass 70-305 in a couple of weeks and then finish off the MCAD Cert. with
the web service/remoting/window services exam.

What do you think?

Thanks,

 

October 14, 2005

I would definitely go ahead with the MCAD on 1.1. Employers like to see
previous certification versions, as it shows in depth experience with the
product. It sounds as if 70-305 will be very easy for you, and then you will
only have 1 exam left. I would definitely go ahead, as the XML knowledge you
will gain from 310 is invaluable. In my applications, I have almost
completely (actually *completely*) moved to xml stores and they are
incredibly fast. Hope this helps!!!
--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP

 

Thanks for the input, I am gonna finish it off! 70-305 shouldn't be that
bad. I just need to brush up on the things I do not do everyday (deployment,
working with legacy code...). 310 will be much harder but more rewarding I
believe.

When you say xml stores, are you talking about datasets, or actually storing
xml in the sql server tables, or something else entirely??? We have some
very high transaction rates around here and could use all the speed we can
get. It seems like SQL server is always the bottle neck... I know a little
bit of XML, but for all practical purposes I am a beginner when talking XML.
It is the weak point in my armor

Thanks a million. What kind of work do you do? Are you an application
programmer, DBA... Just curious...

 

October 14, 2005

XML stores as in xml in a regular file.... I used to use datasets & xsd
schemas to read the xml from the files (using the .ReadXml method), but I
found it took a LONG TIME? If I actually use an XMLReader (or
Xpathdocuments) and loop through elements, I find it is extremely fast. I
don't know why Datasets take sooo long in comparison to a little looping
code (I also create a class which contains the properties/elements in the
XML so I can populate them easily while looping... like C.Blogname C.BlogID)
I actually don't have much experience with storing XML in SQL.... although
it probably has more overhead then reading from a file and also since you
typically might load it into a dataset afterward anyways... which would be
like loading the dataset from the file... very slow.

I mostly just do some consulting... not as much coding but more
testing/reviewing/feedback/etc ... But I love coding more than any of
those!

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP

 

Interesting...

We strictly use datareaders when getting data if we can. We have also found
that datasets are very slow. We try not to use them at all! It's a catch
22. MS tests you on datasets and adapters but I don't use them much because
of the speed issue. Sometimes it seems like I have to study things that
don't make a lot of sense.

oh, well....

In regards to your using files as your data stores. Is it practical to use
this method when dealing with millions of records of data?? I can't see how
you could read, write an search for data effiecently without using sql
server. Just to clarify, I'm not dogging your methods hear, I'm just trying
to understand how you manage a lot of data..

Thanks,

NW

 

October 16, 2005

Sorry for the delayed response... I forgot about this thread.

No, I don't think it is practical to use xml files with millions of records.
I have only very small amounts of data at any one time, but I'm always
amazed at how even that small amount can have a visible difference of
several seconds... where as the xmlreaders make it about .5 seconds. I
haven't experimented with XML in SQL much, but I wasn't as thrilled with the
results as I am with files. I'm hoping for better XML support in SQL 05.

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional -- DPM

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP

 

Thanks for the clarification. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't
overlooking something that could have a huge impact on app performance. I
think I am going to study for two more weeks then take 70-305. Thanks for
your input. Did you just get voted MVP??? If so congrats!! What's DPM?
How do you become MVP?

 

October 18, 2005

Yep! DPM = System Center Data Protection Manager... DPM is an
enterprise level data backup solution and Microsoft's latest addition to the
System Center family! Find the top 10 benefits at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/dpm/evaluation/topten.mspx --
DPM's main web site is http://www.microsoft.com/dpm

One of the greatest benefits of DPM is the ability for end users to recovery
their own files in a minute or less!!! Also, you can reduce the amount of
work lost in an accident to 1 hour. If you have questions, be sure to visit
the DPM NG either through the link on DPM's web site or at
microsoft.public.dataprotectionmanager -- I also have articles about it on
my blog: http://71.39.42.23/


About the MVP: Basically you need to help other consumers with their
problems.... MSFT really watches the product's newsgroup when making
judgments. Betas are really nice too, as the product group has a chance to
know you better. The very most important part though, is participating in
the MSFT newsgroups.

--
Joseph Bittman
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional -- DPM

Web Site: http://71.39.42.23/
Static IP