Software Development, Mathematics and Other Writings

17 Responses to “70-536: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation”

1. nmoerbeek says:

   October 30, 2006 at 5:31 pm

   Greetings

   I was wondering what you thought was the most difficult subjects on the test where. If you were going to spend more time preparing, where would you have focused more effort.

   Did you write alot of sample apps to prepare, did you find this to be a good way for preparing for the exam?

   What was your overall score?
2. Brett Romero says:

   October 30, 2006 at 9:05 pm

   Hi,

   It was surprising to see how many questions were about cultures. The first part of my test was on cultures. It’s a big topic. Know why they are important, different ways of newing them up, regions, everything you can read about cultures. .NET configuration was difficult – security, assemblies, cache and all aspects of configuring.

   Security was intimidating at first because it’s such a large topic. There are two parts – imperative and declaritive. Know the concepts and when to use one over the other. Know the code for both.

   I didn’t write sample apps but I will start doing more of the hands on practices from the MS study kit books. Not all of them but those areas that the concepts still aren’t clear. You will learn many new neat features by studying for exams. I started using them at my workplace. This gives you great hands on time and solidifies the concepts.

   Sorry, I don’t like to give out my scores – for MS exams or grades. Good luck!
3. Harish says:

   November 28, 2006 at 3:58 am

   Hi..
   Thanks for giving good info on 70-536..

   What i would like to know is that —> Does this exam contain both VB and C# Questions….Bcoz i just started learning C# and i don’t know anything abt VB..
   I just got this doubt because if u see Self Test Software Web site,they had given the practice exams as 70-536CSHP and 70-536VB

   Also how many questions does the exam consists of???

   Please reply me..Awaiting yourr valuable reply

   Thanks..
4. Brett Romero says:

   December 11, 2006 at 12:51 am

   Hi Harish. Sorry for the delay. With recent changes to my blog, I missed your post.

   The exam I took seemed to be mostly C#. If there are any VB.NET questions, it shouldn’t give you a problem. The syntax doesn’t vary by much.

   The exam has 45 questions. You get two hours.

   One last thing, there are many questions available for each exam given. This means you and I can have completely different experiences. The key is being fully prepared.
5. Harish says:

   December 11, 2006 at 5:47 am

   Hi Brett ,

   Thank you so much for your valuable reply. I just started preparing for this exam. I will definitely take(ask) your opinion if i have any doubts regarding this.

   Thanks once again..

   Harish
6. Brett Romero says:

   December 11, 2006 at 7:58 am

   You’re welcome Harish. Here’s a little more clarification on your question about choosing exam language:

   “Code Languages
   When the exam begins, you can choose the programming language in which the code segments will appear. The available code languages for this exam are:

   Microsoft Visual Basic 2005
   Microsoft Visual C# 2005″

   This is listed on any of the Microsoft exam pages. For example: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-528.asp. Needing to know any VB.NET won’t be an issue for you.

   Good luck!
7. Mike says:

   May 9, 2007 at 2:18 am

   Brett, Thanks for all this very useful information. I was wondering about books. I bought the 3 books covering the web developer MCPD as a complete set. Do you think there is any need to supplement the book on 70-536 with one of the books in your list above?

   I take your comments on the usefulness of MSDN, but if you had to choose between Balena, Liberty or Michaelis as a supplement to help pass the 70-536 exam then which would it be?
8. Brett Romero says:

   May 9, 2007 at 9:49 am

   Hi Mike,

   For any of the certs, the more you know the better. It only helps in connected dots that would have not been connected otherwise.

   In reference to the books you mention, I believe these two would do well towards a better asp.net understanding:

   Balena:
   ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming: Problem – Design – Solution
   47 reviews
   4.5 stars

   Liberty:
   Programming ASP.NET, 3rd Edition
   4 stars
   81 reviews

   They both have good ratings and lots of reviews. As for ‘Essential C# 2.0′ by Michaelis, I’m sure it will add useful knowledge but for the web exam, I believe the above two will do nicely, along with the MS Training Kit book I’ve linked to. It’s basically read, read, read and be hands on with your learning.

   Good luck!
   Brett Romero
9. Yeojin Yoon says:

   May 11, 2007 at 8:45 pm

   Hi there,
   I am preparing 70-536 exam.
   Are there any questions on the exam that I have to code for answer?

   You said there are 45 questions. What type of questions are they?
10. Brett Romero says:

    May 11, 2007 at 11:24 pm

    Hi Yeojin,

    You don’t have to write any code but you will need to understand what the code is doing. The questions don’t involve complicated code but if you aren’t familiar with the topic, you greatly decrease chances of getting the question correct. Also, there are a number of questions that don’t involve any code.

    Questions will be coming from any of the topics listed in Microsoft’s study guide (see my MSDN study guide for this test). I can’t say where questions for your particular test will come from since each person gets a different test. Sometimes you can get questions from the same area. For example, I had three questions on cultures. I thought that was a lot for one area. You may get questions from unique topics so that there aren’t any coming from the same area. Study each topic listed in the MS study guide. Then take practice tests. The practice test will be a good gauge of your knowledge. I always try to get over 95% consistently before taking the exam.

    Good luck!
    Brett Romero
11. Yeojin Yoon says:

    May 12, 2007 at 3:56 pm

    Thanks for your kind and detailed answer! Brett.
12. Lami... says:

    May 31, 2007 at 8:01 am

    can one take the 70-528 exam before the 70-536?
    if so it is advisable?
13. Brett Romero says:

    May 31, 2007 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Lami,

    You can take the 70-528 exam before the 70-536. There are only prerequisites to getting certifications but not exams. If you feel more comfortable with topics outlined for the 70-528 exam than for the 70-536 exam, take the 70-528 while it is fresh in your head. You’ll need the foundation exam at some point to earn a certification.
14. Wayne says:

    June 2, 2007 at 3:05 pm

    does the mcts study kit include both c# and vb.net?im only interested in c#.want to buy the kit but are afraid that the code might be vb.net.on the review no one is specifying which code the kit is in
15. Brett Romero says:

    June 2, 2007 at 6:32 pm

    Hi Wayne,

    The examples are done in both C# and VB.NET. You won’t get stuck with any VB.NET only examples.
16. reks says:

    June 6, 2007 at 12:54 pm

    Hi Brett,

    I’m a beginner and I’ve just started my preparation for the 70-536 exam .Can u tell me which book to start with before i actually purchase the MCTS toolkit.

    Is Prentice Hall ,how to program visual c# 2005 a good book to start with????

    please help me

    thanks
    reks
17. Brett Romero says:

    June 6, 2007 at 5:11 pm

    Hi reks,

    Is this the book you are referring to: http://www.amazon.com/Visual-2005-How-Program-2nd/dp/0131525239. It doesn’t have that high a rating but then again that’s only a guideline. I like the study kit books but they get low ratings. I’d suggest starting with the study kit book or at least my MSDN study guide for 70-536. This gives you more of a formal structure geared toward studying for the exam. I don’t think it is to much for a beginner to start with. You’ll have direction and goals while you are learning. Always research in depth (MSDN) any topics you aren’t familiar with. If you just want to start with an overview of C# or have no C# experience, perhaps the book you mentioned is good.