VISUAL STUDIO 2010 EXAMS STUDY GUIDE:

70-511 TS: Windows Applications Development with Microsoft® .NET Framework 4  [VS4.1-VS4.5]
70-515 TS: Web Applications Development with Microsoft® .NET Framework 4  [VS4.6-VS4.11]
70-513 TS: Windows Communication Foundation Development with Microsoft® .NET Framework 4  [VS4.12-VS4.17]
70-516 TS: Accessing Data with Microsoft® .NET Framework 4  [VS4.18-VS4.22]
70-518 Pro: Designing and Developing Windows® Applications using Microsoft .NET Framework 4  [VS4.23-VS4.27]

70-519 Pro: Designing and Developing Web Applications using Microsoft® .NET Framework 4  [VS4.28-VS4.32]

70-521: Upgrade:  Transition your MCPD .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Developer Skills to MCPD .NET 4 Windows Applications Developer  [VS4.1-VS4.5, VS4.12-VS4.27]

70-523: Upgrade:  Transition your MCPD .NET Framework 3.5 Web Developer Skills to MCPD .NET Framework 4 Web Developer  [VS4.6-VS4.22, VS4.28-VS4.32]

70-506 TS: Silverlight 4, Development

70-583 Pro: Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications

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70-511 TS: Windows Applications Development with Microsoft® .NET Framework 4

Skills being measured:

VS4.1. Building a User Interface by Using Basic Techniques (23%) [~17 questions] [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.1.1. Choose the most appropriate control class. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.1.1.1. evaluating design requirements and then selecting the most appropriate control based on those requirements; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.1.1.2. recognizing when none of the standard controls meet requirements; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.1.3. item controls, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - An ItemsControl is a type of Control that can contain multiple items, such as strings, objects, or other elements. Some examples of classes that inherit from this class are ListBox, Menu, and StatusBar. VS4.1.1.4. menu controls, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Menus are used to group related actions or to provide contextual assistance: ContextMenu, Menu, ToolBar.

VS4.1.1.5. content controls [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The ContentControl can contain any type of common language runtime object (such as a string or a DateTime object) or a UIElement object (such as a Rectangle or a Panel). This enables you to add rich content to controls such as Button and CheckBox. Some examples of classes that inherit from this class are Label, Button, and ToolTip.

This objective does not include: designing a custom control

VS4.1.2. Implement screen layout by using nested control hierarchies. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.1.2.1. using panel-derived controls, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - WPF includes a group of elements that derive from Panel. These Panel elements enable many complex layouts. For example, stacking elements can easily be achieved by using the StackPanel element, while more complex and free flowing layouts are possible by using a Canvas.

The following table summarizes the available layout Panel elements.

For applications that require a layout that is not possible by using any of the predefined Panel elements, custom layout behaviors can be achieved by inheriting from Panel and overriding the MeasureOverride and ArrangeOverride methods. For an example, see Custom Radial Panel Sample.

VS4.1.2.2. attaching properties [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - One purpose of an attached property is to allow different child elements to specify unique values for a property that is actually defined in a parent element. A specific application of this scenario is having child elements inform the parent element of how they are to be presented in the user interface (UI).

This objective does not include: items controls, control customization

VS4.1.3. Create and apply styles and theming. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.1.3.1. application-level styles, [Exam 70-511 only] - Resources defined by the Application object.

VS4.1.3.2. overriding styles, [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.3.3. style inheritance, [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.3.4. Generic.xaml, [Exam 70-511 only] - Theme-level dictionaries are stored in a subfolder named Themes. The files in the Themes folder correspond to themes. For example, you might have Aero.NormalColor.xaml, Luna.NormalColor.xaml, Royale.NormalColor.xaml, and so on. You can also have a file named generic.xaml. When the system looks for a resource at the themes level, it first looks for it in the theme-specific file and then looks for it in generic.xaml.

VS4.1.3.5. theming attributes [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective does not include: data-grid view style sharing

VS4.1.4. Manage reusable resources. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.1.4.1. fonts, [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.4.2. styles, [Exam 70-511 only] - You can think of a Style as a convenient way to apply a set of property values to more than one element.

VS4.1.4.3. data sources, [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.4.4. images, [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.4.5. resource dictionaries, [Exam 70-511 only] - A typical Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application might have multiple user interface (UI) resources that are applied throughout the application. Collectively, this set of resources can be considered the theme for the application. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides support for packaging user interface (UI) resources as a theme by using a resource dictionary that is encapsulated as the ResourceDictionary class.

VS4.1.4.5. resource-only DLLs [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.5. Implement an animation in WPF. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.1.5.1. creating a storyboard; [Exam 70-511 only] - A Storyboard can be used to animate dependency properties of animatable classes (for more information about what makes a class animatable, see the Animation Overview). However, because storyboarding is a framework-level feature, the object must belong to the NameScope of a FrameworkElement or a FrameworkContentElement.

VS4.1.5.2. controlling timelines; [Exam 70-511 only] - A timeline represents a segment of time. It provides properties that enable you to specify the length of that segment, when it should start, how many times it will repeat, how fast time progresses in that segment, and more.  Classes that inherit from the timeline class provide additional functionality, such as animation and media playback. The following are examples of some of the different types of specialized timelines available.

·         Animations: An AnimationTimeline is a type of timeline that produces output values. When you associate an animation with a property, the animation updates the property's value as it plays, thereby "animating" it. For an introduction to animations, see Animation Overview. For information about the different ways to apply animations, see the Property Animation Techniques Overview.

·         MediaTimelines: A MediaTimeline is a type of timeline that controls the playback of a media file.

·         ParallelTimelines: A ParallelTimeline is a type of timeline that groups other timelines.

·         Storyboards: A Storyboard is a special type of ParallelTimeline that provides object and property targeting information for the timelines it contains. For more information about Storyboard objects, see the Storyboards Overview.

For more information about using timelines, see the Animation Overview. For an introduction to the timing features of timelines, see the Timing Behaviors Overview.

VS4.1.5.3. controlling the behavior when the animation completes; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.5.4. double, color, and point animations; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.1.5.5. starting an animation from code and from XAML [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective does not include: direct rendering updates, implementing key frame animations

VS4.2. Enhancing a User Interface by Using Advanced Techniques (21%) [~15 questions] [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.2.1. Manage routed events in WPF. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - A routed event is a type of event that can invoke handlers on multiple listeners in an element tree, rather than just on the object that raised the event. A routed event is a CLR event that is backed by an instance of the RoutedEvent class and is processed by the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) event system.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.1.1. tunneling vs. bubbling events, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Routed events use one of three routing strategies:

·         Bubbling: Event handlers on the event source are invoked. The routed event then routes to successive parent elements until reaching the element tree root. Most routed events use the bubbling routing strategy. Bubbling routed events are generally used to report input or state changes from distinct controls or other UI elements.

·         Direct: Only the source element itself is given the opportunity to invoke handlers in response. This is analogous to the "routing" that Windows Forms uses for events. However, unlike a standard CLR event, direct routed events support class handling (class handling is explained in an upcoming section) and can be used by EventSetter and EventTrigger.

·         Tunneling: Initially, event handlers at the element tree root are invoked. The routed event then travels a route through successive child elements along the route, towards the node element that is the routed event source (the element that raised the routed event). Tunneling routed events are often used or handled as part of the compositing for a control, such that events from composite parts can be deliberately suppressed or replaced by events that are specific to the complete control. Input events provided in WPF often come implemented as a tunneling/bubbling pair. Tunneling events are also sometimes referred to as Preview events, because of a naming convention that is used for the pairs.

VS4.2.1.2. handling and cancelling events [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - To add an event handler in XAML, you simply add the event name to an element as an attribute and set the attribute value as the name of the event handler that implements an appropriate delegate.

This objective does not include: simple event handling; creating custom events

VS4.2.2. Configure WPF commanding. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Commands have several purposes. The first purpose is to separate the semantics and the object that invokes a command from the logic that executes the command. This allows for multiple and disparate sources to invoke the same command logic, and it allows the command logic to be customized for different targets. For example, the editing operations Copy, Cut, and Paste, which are found in many applications, can be invoked by using different user actions if they are implemented by using commands. An application might allow a user to cut selected objects or text by either clicking a button, choosing an item in a menu, or using a key combination, such as CTRL+X. By using commands, you can bind each type of user action to the same logic.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.2.1. defining WPF commands based on RoutedCommand; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The simplest way to use a command in WPF is to use a predefined RoutedCommand from one of the command library classes; use a control that has native support for handling the command; and use a control that has native support for invoking a command. The Paste command is one of the predefined commands in the ApplicationCommands class. The TextBox control has built in logic for handling the Paste command. And the MenuItem class has native support for invoking commands.

VS4.2.2.2. associating commands to controls; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Commands in WPF are created by implementing the ICommand interface. ICommand exposes two methods, Execute, and CanExecute, and an event, CanExecuteChanged. Execute performs the actions that are associated with the command. CanExecute determines whether the command can execute on the current command target. CanExecuteChanged is raised if the command manager that centralizes the commanding operations detects a change in the command source that might invalidate a command that has been raised but not yet executed by the command binding. The WPF implementation of ICommand is the RoutedCommand class and is the focus of this overview.

VS4.2.2.3. handling commands; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The routed command model in WPF can be broken up into four main concepts: the command, the command source, the command target, and the command binding: * The command is the action to be executed.  * The command source is the object which invokes the command.  * The command target is the object that the command is being executed on.   * The command binding is the object which maps the command logic to the command.

VS4.2.2.4. command bindings; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - A CommandBinding associates a command with the event handlers that implement the command.

VS4.2.2.5. input gestures [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Implementations of InputGesture in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) are KeyGesture and MouseGesture.  An input gesture can be associated with a command so that when the gesture is performed the command is invoked. For more information, see InputBinding and the Commanding Overview.

This objective does not include: creating custom commands by implementing ICommand

VS4.2.3. Modify the visual interface at run time. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.3.1. adding/removing controls at run time; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.2.3.2. manipulating the visual tree; [Exam 70-511 only] - The visual tree contains all visual elements used in an application's user interface. Since a visual element contains persisted drawing information, you can think of the visual tree as a scene graph, containing all the rendering information needed to compose the output to the display device. This tree is the accumulation of all visual elements created directly by the application, whether in code or in markup. The visual tree also contains all visual elements created by the template expansion of elements such as controls and data objects.

VS4.2.3.3. control life cycle; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.2.3.4. generating a template dynamically [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective does not include: instantiating forms and simple modification of control properties at runtime

VS4.2.4. Implement user-defined controls. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.4.1. deciding whether to use a user/composite, extended, or custom control; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.2.4.2. creating a user/composite control; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.2.4.3. extending from an existing control [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective does not include: creating a custom control by inheriting directly from the Control class and writing code

VS4.2.5. Create and display graphics. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.5.1. creating and displaying graphics by using geometric transformation; brushes; [Exam 70-511 only] - A SolidColorBrush paints an area with a solid Color. A LinearGradientBrush paints an area with a linear gradient.  A RadialGradientBrush paints an area with a radial gradient. An ImageBrush paints an area with a ImageSource. A DrawingBrush paints an area with a Drawing. A Drawing can contain shapes, images, text, and media. A VisualBrush paints an area with a Visual object. Examples of Visual objects include Button, Page, and MediaElement.

VS4.2.5.2. drawing shapes; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.2.5.3. clipping; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.2.5.4. double buffering; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.2.5.5. overriding Render (WPF) and OnPaint (WinForms); [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.2.5.6. differentiating between retained and non-retained graphics [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective does not include: creating and displaying three-dimensional graphics; hit testing; creating images

VS4.2.6. Add multimedia content to an application in WPF. [Exam 70-511 only] - The multimedia features in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) enable you to integrate audio and video into your applications to enhance the user experience.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.6.1. media player vs. media element; [Exam 70-511 only] - The MediaElement and MediaPlayer classes are used to present audio or video content. These classes can be controlled interactively or by a clock. These classes can use on the Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 control for media playback. Which class you use, depends on the scenario.

VS4.2.6.2. adding a sound player; [Exam 70-511 only] - Media is loaded by setting a MediaTimeline object's Source property, creating the clock from the timeline, and assigning the clock to the media object. Media is also loaded this way when a MediaTimeline inside a Storyboard targets a MediaElement.

VS4.2.6.3. images [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective does not include: buffering

VS4.2.7. Create and apply control templates in WPF. [Exam 70-511 only] - In WPF, the ControlTemplate of a control defines the appearance of the control. You can change the structure and appearance of a control by defining a new ControlTemplate for the control. In many cases, this gives you enough flexibility so that you do not have to write your own custom controls.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.2.7.1. template binding [Exam 70-511 only] - A TemplateBinding is an optimized form of a Binding for template scenarios, analogous to a Binding constructed with {Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}}.

This objective does not include: styling and theming; data templating

VS4.2.8. Create data, event, and property triggers in WPF. [Exam 70-511 only] - A trigger sets properties or starts actions, such as an animation, when a property value changes or when an event is raised. Style, ControlTemplate, and DataTemplate all have a Triggers property that can contain a set of triggers.  A Trigger that sets property values or starts actions based on the value of a property is called a property trigger. Note that the Trigger class also has the EnterActions and ExitActions properties that enable a trigger to perform actions.

VS4.3. Managing Data at the User Interface Layer (23%) [~17 questions] [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.1. Implement data binding. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Data binding is the process that establishes a connection between the application UI and business logic. If the binding has the correct settings and the data provides the proper notifications, then, when the data changes its value, the elements that are bound to the data reflect changes automatically. Data binding can also mean that if an outer representation of the data in an element changes, then the underlying data can be automatically updated to reflect the change. For example, if the user edits the value in a TextBox element, the underlying data value is automatically updated to reflect that change.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.1.1. binding options, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Each binding usually has four components: binding target, target property, binding source, and a path to the source value to use.

VS4.3.1.2. static and dynamic resources, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.1.3. element bindings, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.1.4. setting the correct binding mode and update mode; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.1.5. binding to nullable values [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective does not include: binding to a specific data source

VS4.3.2. Implement value converters in WPF. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.2.1. implementing custom value converters, [Exam 70-511 only] - If you want to associate a value converter with a binding, create a class that implements the IValueConverter interface and then implement the Convert and ConvertBack methods.

VS4.3.2.2. implementing multivalue converters [Exam 70-511 only] - MultiBinding allows you to bind a binding target property to a list of source properties and then apply logic to produce a value with the given inputs. To associate a converter with a MultiBinding, create a class that implements the IMultiValueConverter interface, and then implement the Convert and ConvertBack methods.

VS4.3.3. Implement data validation. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The WPF data binding model allows you to associate ValidationRules with your Binding object.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.3.1. handling validation and providing user feedback via the error provider (WinForms) or data templates (WPF), [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - ErrorProvider presents a simple mechanism for indicating to the end user that a control on a form has an error associated with it. If an error description string is specified for the control, an icon appears next to the control. The icon flashes in the manner specified by BlinkStyle, at the rate specified by BlinkRate. When the mouse hovers over the icon, a ToolTip appears showing the error description string.  Typically, you use ErrorProvider in association with data-bound controls. When using ErrorProvider with data-bound controls, you must specify the ContainerControl, either in the constructor or by setting the ContainerControl property.

VS4.3.3.2. IDataErrorInfo, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - A DataErrorValidationRule object checks for errors that are raised by objects that implement the IDataErrorInfo interface.

VS4.3.3.3. validation control, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.3.4. form validation and control validation [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.4. Implement and consume change notification interfaces. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.4.1. implementing INotifyPropertyChanged; [Exam 70-511 only] - To implement INotifyPropertyChanged you need to declare the PropertyChanged event and create the OnPropertyChanged method. Then for each property you want change notifications for, you call OnPropertyChanged whenever the property is updated.

VS4.3.4.2. using INotifyCollectionChanged (ObservableCollection) [Exam 70-511 only] - You can enumerate over any collection that implements the IEnumerable interface. However, to set up dynamic bindings so that insertions or deletions in the collection update the UI automatically, the collection must implement the INotifyCollectionChanged interface. This interface exposes the CollectionChanged event that must be raised whenever the underlying collection changes.

VS4.3.5. Prepare collections of data for display. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.5.1. filtering, sorting, and grouping data; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Once your ItemsControl is bound to a data collection, you may want to sort, filter, or group the data. To do that, you use collection views, which are classes that implement the ICollectionView interface.

VS4.3.5.2. LINQ; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.5.3. CollectionView (WPF), [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - You should not create objects of this class in your code. To create a collection view for a collection that only implements IEnumerable, create a CollectionViewSource object, add your collection to the Source property, and get the collection view from the View property.

VS4.3.5.4. BindingSource object (WinForms) [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Encapsulates the data source for a form. The BindingSource component serves many purposes. First, it simplifies binding controls on a form to data by providing currency management, change notification, and other services between Windows Forms controls and data sources. This is accomplished by attaching the BindingSource component to your data source using the DataSource property. For complex binding scenarios you can optionally set the DataMember property to a specific column or list in the data source. You then bind controls to the BindingSource. All further interaction with the data is accomplished with calls to the BindingSource component.

VS4.3.6. Bind to hierarchical data. [Exam 70-511 only] - The HierarchicalDataTemplate class is designed to be used with HeaderedItemsControl types to display such data.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.6.1. TreeView; [Exam 70-511 only] - Displays a hierarchical collection of labeled items, each represented by a TreeNode.

VS4.3.6.2. MenuControl [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.3.7. Implement data-bound controls. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.7.1. using the DataGridView (WinForms) or DataGrid (WPF) control to display and update the data contained in a data source, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.7.2. implementing complex data binding to integrate data from multiple sources; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.7.3. ItemsControl-derived controls (WPF) [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.3.8. Create a data template in WPF. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.3.8.1. implementing a data template selector; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.3.8.2. using templates with ItemsControl [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.4. Enhancing the Functionality and Usability of a Solution (17%) [~13 questions] [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.4.1. Integrate WinForms and WPF within an application. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.4.1.1. using ElementHosts within WinForms and ControlHosts within WPF; [Exam 70-511 only] – ElementHosts is a Windows Forms control that can be used to host a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) element. WindowsFormsHost is an element that allows you to host a Windows Forms control on a WPF page. “ControlHosts” cannot be found either on MSDN, Bing, or Google.

VS4.4.1.2. using the PropertyMap property [Exam 70-511 only] - Use the PropertyMap property to assign custom mappings between an ElementHost control and its hosted WPF element.

VS4.4.2. Implement asynchronous processes and threading. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Applications that perform many tasks simultaneously, yet remain responsive to user interaction, often require a design that uses multiple threads. The System.Threading namespace provides all the tools necessary to create high-performance multithreaded applications, but using these tools effectively requires significant experience with multithreaded software engineering. For relatively simple multithreaded applications, the BackgroundWorker component provides a straightforward solution. For more sophisticated asynchronous applications, consider implementing a class that adheres to the Event-based Asynchronous Pattern.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.4.2.1. implementing asynchronous programming patterns; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - If you are writing a class with some operations that may incur noticeable delays, consider giving it asynchronous functionality by implementing Event-based Asynchronous Pattern Overview.

The Event-based Asynchronous Pattern provides a standardized way to package a class that has asynchronous features. If implemented with helper classes like AsyncOperationManager, your class will work correctly under any application model, including ASP.NET, Console applications, and Windows Forms applications.

VS4.4.2.2. marshalling between threads; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.4.2.3. freezing UI elements; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - A Freezable is a special type of object that has two states: unfrozen and frozen. When unfrozen, a Freezable appears to behave like any other object. When frozen, a Freezable can no longer be modified. A Freezable provides a Changed event to notify observers of any modifications to the object. Freezing a Freezable can improve its performance, because it no longer needs to spend resources on change notifications. A frozen Freezable can also be shared across threads, while an unfrozen Freezable cannot. Once frozen, a Freezable can never be modified or unfrozen; however, you can create an unfrozen clone using the Clone or CloneCurrentValue method.

VS4.4.2.4. using timers; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Timers are lightweight objects that enable you to specify a delegate to be called at a specified time. A thread in the thread pool performs the wait operation. Using the Timer class is straightforward. You create a Timer, passing a TimerCallback delegate to the callback method, an object representing state that will be passed to the callback, an initial raise time, and a time representing the period between callback invocations. To cancel a pending timer, call the Timer.Dispose function.

VS4.4.2.5. Task Parallel Library; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The Task Parallel Library (TPL) is a set of public types and APIs in the System.Threading and System.Threading.Tasks namespaces in the .NET Framework version 4.

VS4.4.2.6. parallel LINQ; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Parallel LINQ (PLINQ) is a parallel implementation of LINQ to Objects. PLINQ implements the full set of LINQ standard query operators as extension methods for the T:System.Linq namespace and has additional operators for parallel operations.

VS4.4.2.7. using the dispatcher; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The UI thread queues work items inside an object called a Dispatcher. The Dispatcher selects work items on a priority basis and runs each one to completion.  Every UI thread must have at least one Dispatcher, and each Dispatcher can execute work items in exactly one thread.

VS4.4.2.8. BackgroundWorker component [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The BackgroundWorker component enables your form or control to run an operation asynchronously.

VS4.4.3. Incorporate globalization and localization features. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.4.3.1. loading resources by locale; [Exam 70-511 only] - When you develop a WPF application, the build process for localization is as follows:

·         The developer creates and globalizes the WPF application. In the project file the developer sets <UICulture>en-US</UICulture> so that when the application is compiled, a language-neutral main assembly is generated. This assembly has a satellite .resources.dll file that contains all the localizable resources. Optionally, you can keep the source language in the main assembly because our localization APIs support extraction from the main assembly.

·         When the file is compiled into the build, the XAML is converted to the BAML form of XAML. The culturally neutral MyDialog.exe and the culturally dependent (English) MyDialog.resources.dll files are released to the English-speaking customer.

VS4.4.3.2. marking localizable elements; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.4.3.3. using culture settings in validators and converters; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.4.3.4. using language properties and rendering direction properties; [Exam 70-511 only] - The basic property that defines the content flow direction in a WPF application is FlowDirection. This property can be set to one of two enumeration values, LeftToRight or RightToLeft. The property is available to all WPF elements that inherit from FrameworkElement.

VS4.4.3.5. working with resource files for localization; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.4.3.6. determining installed locales; [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.4.3.7. regional settings [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.4.4. Implement drag and drop operations within and across applications. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective does not include: Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)

VS4.4.5. Implement security features of an application. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.4.5.1. configuring Software Restriction Policy (SRP); [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.4.5.2. full trust and partially trusted security; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.4.5.3. interoperability with legacy CAS policy; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Code access security helps limit the access that code has to protected resources and operations.

VS4.4.5.4. User Account Control (UAC) [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.4.6. Manage user and application settings. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The Application Settings feature of Windows Forms makes it easy to create, store, and maintain custom application and user preferences on the client computer.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.4.6.1. creating application settings; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Using Visual Studio, you can create new application settings and bind them to properties on your form or your form's controls, so that these settings are loaded and saved automatically at run time.

VS4.4.6.2. creating user settings; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - You can change a user setting by assigning a new value to the setting's property on the My.Settings object.

VS4.4.6.3. loading and saving settings [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Application settings allow you to store and retrieve property settings and other information for your application dynamically. There are two types of application settings, based on scope: user-scoped and application-scoped settings.

This objective does not include: persisting to database

VS4.4.7. Implement dependency properties. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides a set of services that can be used to extend the functionality of a common language runtime (CLR) property. Collectively, these services are typically referred to as the WPF property system. A property that is backed by the WPF property system is known as a dependency property. 

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.4.7.1. enabling data binding and animation, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - A dependency property can reference a value through data binding. Data binding works through a specific markup extension syntax in XAML, or the Binding object in code. With data binding, the final property value determination is deferred until run time, at which time the value is obtained from a data source.  Dependency properties can be animated. When an animation is applied and is running, the animated value operates at a higher precedence than any value (such as a local value) that the property otherwise has.

VS4.4.7.2. property metadata, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) property system includes a metadata reporting system that goes beyond what can be reported about a property through reflection or general common language runtime (CLR) characteristics. Metadata for a dependency property can also be assigned uniquely by the class that defines a dependency property, can be changed when the dependency property is added to a different class, and can be specifically overridden by all derived classes that inherit the dependency property from the defining base class.

VS4.4.7.3. property change callbacks [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Validation callbacks can be assigned to a dependency property when you first register it. The validation callback is not part of property metadata; it is a direct input of the Register method. Therefore, once a validation callback is created for a dependency property, it cannot be overridden by a new implementation.

VS4.5. Stabilizing and Releasing a Solution (17%) [~13 questions] [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.1. Implement a WPF test strategy. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.5.1.1. automation peer, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.1.2. UI automation, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.1.3. IntelliTrace [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.2. Debug XAML by using the WPF Visualizer. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.5.2.1. accessing the Visualizer, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.2.2. drilling down into the visual tree, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.2.3. viewing and changing properties [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective does not include: setting a breakpoint and stepping through code

VS4.5.3. Debug WPF issues by using PresentationTraceSources. [Exam 70-511 only] - Debug tracing is only available when a WPF application is running in full trust mode.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.5.3.1. animation, [Exam 70-511 only] - PresentationTraceSources.AnimationSource Property gets an animation trace source.

VS4.5.3.2. data binding, [Exam 70-511 only] - PresentationTraceSources.DataBindingSource Property gets a data-binding trace source.

VS4.5.3.3. dependency properties [Exam 70-511 only] - PresentationTraceSources.DependencyPropertySource Property gets a dependency property trace source.

VS4.5.4. Configure a ClickOnce deployment. [Exam 70-511 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.5.4.1. configuring the installation of a WinForms, WPF, or XBAP application by using ClickOnce technology; [Exam 70-511 only] - XAML browser applications (XBAPs) combines features of both Web applications and rich-client applications. Like Web applications, XBAPs can be deployed to a Web server and started from Internet Explorer or Firefox.

VS4.5.4.2. choosing appropriate settings to manage upgrades [Exam 70-511 only] -

VS4.5.5. Create and configure a Windows Installer project. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.5.5.1. configuring a setup project to add icons during setup, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.5.2. setting deployment project properties, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.5.3. configuring conditional installation based on operating system versions, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.5.4. setting appropriate Launch Conditions based on the .NET Framework version, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.5.5. adding custom actions to a setup project, [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.5.6. adding error-handling code to a setup project [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

VS4.5.6. Configure deployment security settings. [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] -

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.5.6.1. configuring and integrating UAC by using ClickOnce deployments; [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - UAC is a new access control technology in Windows Vista that causes all users to run with limited privileges. For more information, see the User Account Control documentation.

VS4.5.6.2. setting appropriate security permissions to deploy the application [Exam 70-511 and 70-521 only] - Applications that are deployed using ClickOnce technology run in a "sandbox," with a limited set of permissions based on a security zone. The following table lists the default permissions based on the deployment location:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

70-515 TS: Web Applications Development with Microsoft® .NET Framework 4

Skills being measured:

VS4.6. Developing Web Forms Pages (19%) [~14 questions] [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -

VS4.6.1. Configure Web Forms pages. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.6.1.1. page directives such as ViewState, request validation, event validation, MasterPageFile; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] – @Page defines page-specific (.aspx file) attributes used by the ASP.NET page parser and compiler.

VS4.6.1.1.1. ViewState, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - A server control's view state is the accumulation of all its property values. In order to preserve these values across HTTP requests, ASP.NET server controls use this property, which is an instance of the StateBag class, to store the property values. The values are then passed as a variable to an HTML hidden input element when subsequent requests are processed.

VS4.6.1.1.2. request validation, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Request validation detects potentially malicious client input and throws this exception to abort processing of the request. A request abort can indicate an attempt to compromise the security of your application, such as a cross-site scripting attack. It is strongly recommended that your application explicitly check all input regarding request aborts. However, you can disable request validation by setting the validateRequest attribute in the @ Page directive to false.

VS4.6.1.1.3. event validation, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - The EnableEventValidation attribute indicates whether event validation should be performed. The default value is true. A Web application can optionally disable event validation to revert to .NET Framework version 1.0 behavior.   The base control checks this attribute to determine whether it should validate events. A derived control does not inherit this base control attribute, and so it is exempt from event validation by default. You still instruct ASP.NET to perform event validation on the derived control by adding the EnableEventValidation attribute to the derived control itself and setting it to true.

VS4.6.1.1.4. MasterPageFile; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - The MasterPageFile property is the name of the master page file associated with this page. The MasterPageFile property can be set only in the PreInit event; attempting to set the MasterPageFile property after the PreInit event will throw an InvalidOperationException exception.

VS4.6.1.2. ClientIDMode; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Specifies the algorithm to use to generate ClientID values for controls. The default value is Predictable. The default value for controls is Inherit. Therefore, the default algorithm for controls in a page is determined by the ClientID setting of the page. A different default value can be set in the pages element of the Web.config file. For more information about the algorithms, see the ClientIDMode class.

VS4.6.1.3. using web.config; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - The Web.config file is the primary configuration file for any web service.  ASP.NET configuration data is stored in XML text files, each named Web.config. Web.config files can appear in multiple directories in ASP.NET applications. Each Web.config file applies configuration settings to its own directory and to all the child directories below it. Settings in child directories can optionally override or modify settings that are specified in parent directories. The root of the ASP.NET configuration hierarchy is the systemroot\Microsoft.NET\Framework\versionNumber\CONFIG\Web.config file, which includes settings that apply to all ASP.NET applications that run a specific version of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Because each ASP.NET application inherits default configuration settings from the root Web.config file, you only need to create Web.config files for settings that override the default settings.

VS4.6.1.4. setting the html doctype [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Specifies the Document Type Definition (DTD) to which the document conforms.

This objective does not include: referencing a master page; adding a title to a Web form

VS4.6.2. Implement master pages and themes. [Exam 70-515 only] - A theme is a collection of property settings that allow you to define the look of pages and controls, and then apply the look consistently across pages in a Web application, across an entire Web application, or across all Web applications on a server.
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.6.2.1. creating and applying themes; [Exam 70-515 only] - A theme is a collection of property settings that allow you to define the look of pages and controls, and then apply the look consistently across pages in a Web application, across an entire Web application, or across all Web applications on a server.  You can apply themes to a page, a Web site, or globally. Setting a theme at the Web site level applies styles and skins to all the pages and controls in the site unless you override a theme for an individual page. Setting a theme at the page level applies styles and skins to that page and all its controls.   By default, themes override local control settings. Alternatively, you can set a theme as a style sheet theme, so that the theme applies only to control settings that are not explicitly set on the control.

VS4.6.2.2. adding multiple content placeholders; [Exam 70-515 only] - The master page defines how the pages in your site look. It can contain any combination of static text and controls. A master page also contains one or more content placeholders that designate where dynamic content will appear when pages are displayed.

VS4.6.2.3. nested master pages; [Exam 70-515 only] - Master pages can be nested, with one master page referencing another as its master. Nested master pages allow you to create componentized master pages. For example, a large site might contain an overall master page that defines the look of the site. Different site content partners can then define their own child master pages that reference the site master and that in turn define the look for that partner's content.

VS4.6.2.4. control skins; [Exam 70-515 only] - A skin file has the file name extension .skin and contains property settings for individual controls such as Button, Label, TextBox, or Calendar controls. Control skin settings are like the control markup itself, but contain only the properties you want to set as part of the theme.

VS4.6.2.5. passing messages between master pages; [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.6.2.6. switching between themes at runtime; [Exam 70-515 only] - In addition to specifying theme and skin preferences in page declarations and configuration files, you can apply themes programmatically. You can set both page themes and style sheet themes programmatically; however, the procedure for applying each type of theme is different.

VS4.6.2.7. loading themes at run time; [Exam 70-515 only] – To apply a page theme programmatically, in a handler for the page's PreInit method, set the page's Theme property.  To apply a style sheet theme programmatically, in the page's code, override the StyleSheetTheme property and in the get accessor, return the name of the style sheet theme.

VS4.6.2.8. applying a validation schema [Exam 70-515 only] - The Visual Studio HTML editor can check the markup in your page and indicate when elements, attributes, or values are not valid. The editor determines what is valid based on the currently selected browser schema. For example, if you have set the browser to Internet Explorer 6, the editor compares the markup in your page against a schema that defines what Internet Explorer 6 considers valid HTML. For more information, see Markup Validation in Visual Web Developer.
This objective does not include: creating a master page; basic content pages

VS4.6.3. Implement globalization. [Exam 70-515 only] - A globalized application supports localized user interfaces and regional data for all users.
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.6.3.1. resource files, [Exam 70-515 only] - A resource file is an XML file that contains the strings that you want to translate into different languages or paths to images. The resource file contains key/value pairs. Each pair is an individual resource. Key names are not case sensitive. For example, a resource file might contain a resource with the key Button1 and the value Submit. You create a separate resource file for each language (for example, English and French) or for a language and culture (for example English [U.K.], English [U.S.]). Each localized resource file has the same key/value pairs; the only difference is that a localized resource file can contain fewer resources than the default resource file. The built-in language fallback process then handles loading the neutral or default resource.  Resource files in ASP.NET have an .resx extension. At run time, the .resx file is compiled into an assembly, which is sometimes referred to as a satellite assembly. Because the .resx files are compiled dynamically, like ASP.NET Web pages, you do not have to create the resource assemblies. The compilation condenses several similar-language resource files into the same assembly.

VS4.6.3.2. browser files, [Exam 70-515 only] - Browser definition files contain definitions for individual browsers. At run time, ASP.NET uses the information in the request header to determine what type of browser has made the request. Then ASP.NET uses .browser files to determine the capabilities of the browser. ASP.NET control adapters can use this information to adapt the behavior of an ASP.NET Web server control depending on the type of device. For example, a server control might generate different HTML for a graphical browser such as Internet Explorer than it would for a mobile device.

VS4.6.3.3. CurrentCulture, [Exam 70-515 only] - The CurrentCulture property represents current culture information on a per-thread basis. This information determines the default formats for dates, times, currency, and numbers; the sorting order of text; string comparisons; and casing. The setting made through this property is not a language setting. The property defines only data related to the standard settings for a geographical region. Therefore, your application can only set CurrentCulture to a specific culture or to the InvariantCulture. The application can use the CurrentThread property to set CurrentCulture.

VS4.6.3.4. currentUICulture, [Exam 70-515 only] - The CurrentUICulture property represents current user interface culture on a per-thread basis. This property is used by the ResourceManager class to look up culture-specific resources at run time. Your application can use a neutral or specific culture, or the InvariantCulture to set the CurrentUICulture property. The application can use the CurrentThread property to set CurrentCulture.

VS4.6.3.5. ASP:Localize [Exam 70-515 only] – The Localize class reserves a location on a Web page in which to display localized static text: <asp:Localize />

VS4.6.4. Handle page life cycle events. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] – Page Events are as follows:

    PreInit - Raised after the start stage is complete and before the initialization stage begins.

    Init - Raised after all controls have been initialized and any skin settings have been applied. The Init event of individual controls occurs before the Init event of the page.

    InitComplete - Raised at the end of the page's initialization stage.

    PreLoad - Raised after the page loads view state for itself and all controls, and after it processes postback data that is included with the Request instance.

    Load - The Page object calls the OnLoad method on the Page object, and then recursively does the same for each child control until the page and all controls are loaded. The Load event of individual controls occurs after the Load event of the page.

    Control events - Use these events to handle specific control events, such as a Button control's Click event or a TextBox control's TextChanged event.

    LoadComplete - Raised at the end of the event-handling stage.

    PreRender - Raised after the Page object has created all controls that are required in order to render the page, including child controls of composite controls. (To do this, the Page object calls EnsureChildControls for each control and for the page.)

    PreRenderComplete - Raised after each data bound control whose DataSourceID property is set calls its DataBind method.

    SaveStateComplete - Raised after view state and control state have been saved for the page and for all controls. Any changes to the page or controls at this point affect rendering, but the changes will not be retrieved on the next postback.

    Render - This is not an event; instead, at this stage of processing, the Page object calls this method on each control. All ASP.NET Web server controls have a Render method that writes out the control's markup to send to the browser.

    Unload - Raised for each control and then for the page.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.6.4.1. IsPostback, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - True if the page is being loaded in response to a client postback; otherwise, false.

VS4.6.4.2. IsValid, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - True if page validation succeeded; otherwise, false.

VS4.6.4.3. dynamically creating controls, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - In order to programmatically add a control to a page, there must be a container for the new control. For example, if you are creating table rows, the container is the table. If there is no obvious control to act as container, you can use a PlaceHolder or Panel Web server control.   In some instances, you might want to create both static text and controls. To create static text, you can use either a Literal or a Label Web server control. You can then add these controls to the container as you would any other control. For information about view state in controls created at run time, see Dynamic Web Server Controls and View State.

VS4.6.4.4. control availability within the page life cycle, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - During page initialization, controls on the page are available and each control's UniqueID property is set. A master page and themes are also applied to the page if applicable. If the current request is a postback, the postback data has not yet been loaded and control property values have not been restored to the values from view state.

VS4.6.4.5. accessing control values on postback, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - During a cross-page postback, the contents of the source page's controls are posted to the target page, and the browser executes an HTTP POST operation (not a GET operation). However, in the target page, the IsPostBack property is false immediately after a cross-page post. Although the behavior is that of a POST, the cross-posting is not a postback to the target page. Therefore, IsPostBack is set to false and the target page can go through its first-time code.

VS4.6.4.6. overriding page events [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - When you create a class that inherits from the Page class, in addition to handling events raised by the page, you can override methods from the page's base class. For example, you can override the page's InitializeCulture method to dynamically set culture information. Note that when an event handler is created using the Page_event syntax, the base implementation is implicitly called and therefore you do not need to call it in your method. For example, the base page class's OnLoad method is always called, whether you create a Page_Load method or not. However, if you override the page OnLoad method with the override keyword (Overrides in Visual Basic), you must explicitly call the base method. For example, if you override the OnLoad method on the page, you must call base.Load (MyBase.Load in Visual Basic) in order for the base implementation to be run.

VS4.6.5. Implement caching. [Exam 70-515 only] - One of the most important factors in building high-performance, scalable Web applications is the ability to store items, whether data objects, pages, or parts of a page, in memory the initial time they are requested. You can cache, or store, these items on the Web server or other software in the request stream, such as the proxy server or browser.
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.6.5.1. data caching; [Exam 70-515 only] - You can place items in the Cache and later retrieve them using simple key/value pairs. For examples of how to do this, see How to: Add Items to the Cache and How to: Retrieve Values of Cached Items.

VS4.6.5.2. page output caching; [Exam 70-515 only] - The page output cache stores the contents of a processed ASP.NET page in memory.

VS4.6.5.3. control output caching; [Exam 70-515 only] - In control caching, also known as fragment caching, you can cache parts of the page output by creating user controls to contain the cached content and then marking the user controls as cacheable. This allows specific content within a page to be cached, while the overall page is recreated each time. For example, if you create a page that displays largely dynamic content, such as stock information, but also has sections that are static, such as weekly summaries, you can create the static sections in user controls and configure the user controls to be cached.  Once you identify the portions of the page that you want to cache and create the user controls that contain each of those portions, you must determine the caching policies for the user controls. You can set these policies declaratively using the @ OutputCache directive, or by using the PartialCachingAttribute class in the code for the user control.

VS4.6.5.4. cache dependencies; [Exam 70-515 only] - You can configure an item's lifetime in the cache to be dependent on other application elements such as files or databases. When the element that a cache item depends on changes, ASP.NET removes the item from the cache. For example, if your Web site displays a report that the application creates from an XML file, you can place the report in the cache and configure it to have a dependency on the XML file. When the XML file changes, ASP.NET removes the report from the cache. When your code requests the report, the code first determines whether the report is in the cache, and if not, your code can re-create it. Therefore, an up-to-date version of the report is always available.

VS4.6.5.5. setting cache lifetimes; [Exam 70-515 only] - You can do this declaratively (by including an @ OutputCache directive in the ASP.NET page (.aspx file) whose response you want to cache -- Set the Duration attribute to a positive numeric value, and set the VaryByParam attribute to a value) or programmatically (In the page's code, set the expiration policy for the page on the Cache property of the Response object).

VS4.6.5.6. substitution control [Exam 70-515 only] - The ASP.NET Substitution control specifies a section of a cached page that is created dynamically rather than cached. You place a Substitution control at the location on the page where you want the dynamic content to appear.  At run time, the Substitution control calls a method that you specify with the MethodName property. The method must return a string, which then replaces the content of the Substitution control. The method must be a static method on the containing Page or UserControl control.  Using the substitution control causes client-side cacheability to be changed to server cacheability, so that the page will not be cached on the client. This ensures that future requests to the page call the method again to generate dynamic content.

This objective does not include: distributed caching (Velocity)

VS4.6.6. Manage state. [Exam 70-515 only] - A new instance of the Web page class is created each time the page is posted to the server. In traditional Web programming, this would typically mean that all information associated with the page and the controls on the page would be lost with each round trip. For example, if a user enters information into a text box, that information would be lost in the round trip from the browser or client device to the server.  To overcome this inherent limitation of traditional Web programming, ASP.NET includes several options that help you preserve data on both a per-page basis and an application-wide basis.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.6.6.1. server-side technologies, for example, session and application; [Exam 70-515 only] - ASP.NET session state enables you to store and retrieve values for a user as the user navigates ASP.NET pages in a Web application. HTTP is a stateless protocol. This means that a Web server treats each HTTP request for a page as an independent request. The server retains no knowledge of variable values that were used during previous requests. ASP.NET session state identifies requests from the same browser during a limited time window as a session, and provides a way to persist variable values for the duration of that session. By default, ASP.NET session state is enabled for all ASP.NET applications.  Application state is a data repository available to all classes in an ASP.NET application. Application state is stored in memory on the server and is faster than storing and retrieving information in a database. Unlike session state, which is specific to a single user session, application state applies to all users and sessions. Therefore, application state is a useful place to store small amounts of often-used data that does not change from one user to another.

VS4.6.6.2. client-side technologies, for example, cookies and ViewState; [Exam 70-515 only] - A cookie is a small bit of text that accompanies requests and pages as they go between the Web server and browser. The cookie contains information the Web application can read whenever the user visits the site.  View state is the method that the ASP.NET page framework uses to preserve page and control values between round trips. When the HTML markup for the page is rendered, the current state of the page and values that must be retained during postback are serialized into base64-encoded strings. This information is then put into the view state hidden field or fields.

VS4.6.6.3. configuring session state (in proc, state server, Microsoft SQL Server; cookieless); [Exam 70-515 only] - ASP.NET session state supports several different storage options for session data. Each option is identified by a value in the SessionStateMode enumeration. The following list describes the available session state modes:

·         InProc mode, which stores session state in memory on the Web server. This is the default.

·         StateServer mode, which stores session state in a separate process called the ASP.NET state service. This ensures that session state is preserved if the Web application is restarted and also makes session state available to multiple Web servers in a Web farm.

·         SQLServer mode stores session state in a SQL Server database. This ensures that session state is preserved if the Web application is restarted and also makes session state available to multiple Web servers in a Web farm.

·         Custom mode, which enables you to specify a custom storage provider.

·         Off mode, which disables session state.

You can specify which mode you want ASP.NET session state to use by assigning a SessionStateMode enumeration values to the mode attribute of the sessionState element in your application's Web.config file. Modes other than InProc and Off require additional parameters, such as connection-string values as discussed later in this topic. You can view the currently selected session state by accessing the value of the HttpSessionState.Mode property.

VS4.6.6.4. session state compression; [Exam 70-515 only] – compressionEnabled attribute specifies whether compression is applied to the session-state data. The default is false.

VS4.6.6.5. persisting data by using ViewState; [Exam 70-515 only] - A server control's view state is the accumulation of all its property values.  In order to preserve these values across HTTP requests, ASP.NET server controls use the ViewState property, which is an instance of the StateBag class, to store the property values. The values are then passed as a variable to an HTML hidden input element when subsequent requests are processed. For more information about saving server control view state, see ASP.NET State Management Overview. You can access view state information by using the page's ViewState property, which exposes a dictionary object. You can use this dictionary to store custom values. A typical use is to store the value of custom properties that you define in the page.  Because view state is sent as a hidden field, you can make changes to view state until the page's PreRenderComplete event. After the page is rendered to the browser, changes to view state will not be saved.

VS4.6.6.6. compressing ViewState; [Exam 70-515 only] - Another approach to reducing the bloat imposed by view state is to compress the serialized view state stream in the SavePageStateToPersistenceMedium() method, and then decompress it back to its original form in the LoadPageStateFromPersistenceMedium() method.

VS4.6.6.7. moving ViewState [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.7. Developing and Using Web Forms Controls (18%) [~14 questions] [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -

VS4.7.1. Validate user input. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - You can add input validation to ASP.NET Web pages using validation controls. Validation controls provide an easy-to-use mechanism for all common types of standard validation—for example, testing for valid dates or values within a range—plus ways to provide custom-written validation. In addition, validation controls allow you to customize how error information is displayed to the user.
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.7.1.1. client side, server side, and via AJAX; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - If the user is working with a browser that supports dynamic HTML (DHTML), ASP.NET validation controls can perform validation using client script. Because the controls can provide immediate feedback without a round trip to the server, the user experience with the page is enhanced.

VS4.7.1.2. custom validation controls; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - You can customize the validation process in the following ways:

·         You can specify the format, text, and location of error messages. In addition, you can specify whether the error messages appear individually or as a summary.

·         You can create custom validation using CustomValidator control. The control calls your logic but otherwise functions like other validation controls in setting error state, displaying error messages, and so on. This provides an easy way to create custom validation logic while still using in the validation framework of the page.

·         For client-side validation, you can intercept the validation call and substitute or add your own validation logic.

VS4.7.1.3. regex validation; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - The RegularExpressionValidator control checks whether the value of an input control matches a pattern defined by a regular expression. This type of validation allows you to check for predictable sequences of characters, such as those in e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and postal codes.

VS4.7.1.4. validation groups; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Validation groups allow you to organize validation controls on a page as a set. Each validation group can perform validation independently from other validation groups on the page.  You create a validation group by setting the ValidationGroup property to the same name (a string) for all the controls you want to group. You can assign any name to a validation group, but you must use the same name for all members of the group.

VS4.7.1.5. datatype check; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - You can validate a user's entry in an ASP.NET Web page against a specific data type to be sure that what the user has entered is a number, or a date, and so on. For example, if you want to collect birth date information on a user registration page, you can use a CompareValidator control to make sure that the date is in a recognized format before it is submitted.

VS4.7.1.6. jQuery validation [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - You can also add client-side validation to check user input before the page is submitted by writing a function in ECMAScript (JavaScript) that duplicates the logic of the server-side method.
This objective does not include: RangeValidator and RequiredValidator

VS4.7.2. Create page layout. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.7.2.1. AssociatedControlID; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Use the AssociatedControlID property to associate a Label control with another server control on a Web form. When a Label control is associated with another server control, its attributes can be used to extend the functionality of the associated control. You can use the Label control as a caption for another control, or you can set the tab index or hot key for an associated control.  When the AssociatedControlID property is set, the Label control renders as an HTML label element, with the for attribute set to the ID property of the associated control. You can set other attributes of the label element using the Label properties. For example, you can use the Text and AccessKey properties to provide the caption and hot key for an associated control.

VS4.7.2.2. Web parts; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - ASP.NET Web Parts controls are an integrated set of controls for creating Web sites that enable end users to modify the content, appearance, and behavior of Web pages directly in a browser.

VS4.7.2.3. navigation controls; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - ASP.NET Web server controls that appear on the Navigation tab of the Visual Web Developer Toolbox include Menu Web Server Control, SiteMapPath Web Server Control, and TreeView Control. You can use these controls to create menus and other navigation aids on ASP.NET Web pages.

VS4.7.2.4. FileUpload controls [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - The FileUpload class displays a text box control and a browse button that enable users to select a file on the client and upload it to the Web server. The user specifies the file to upload by entering the full path of the file on the local computer (for example, C:\MyFiles\TestFile.txt) in the text box of the control. Alternately, the user can select the file by clicking the Browse button, and then locating it in the Choose File dialog box.

This objective does not include:  label; placeholder, panel controls; CSS, HTML, referencing CSS files, inlining

VS4.7.3. Implement user controls. [Exam 70-515 only] - In addition to using Web server controls in your ASP.NET Web pages, you can create your own custom, reusable controls using the same techniques you use for creating ASP.NET Web pages. These controls are called user controls.  A user control is a kind of composite control that works much like an ASP.NET Web page—you can add existing Web server controls and markup to a user control, and define properties and methods for the control. You can then embed them in ASP.NET Web pages, where they act as a unit.

This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.7.3.1. registering a control; [Exam 70-515 only] - To use a user control, you include it in an ASP.NET Web page, by creating an @ Register directive that includes a TagPrefix attribute, which associates a prefix with the user control (This prefix will be included in opening tag of the user control element), a TagName attribute, which associates a name with the user control (This name will be included in the opening tag of the user control element) and a Src attribute, which defines the virtual path to the user control file that you are including. When a request arrives for a page and that page contains a user control, the user control goes through all of the processing stages that any ASP.NET server control performs.

VS4.7.3.2. adding a user control; [Exam 70-515 only] - You add a user control to a page by registering it on the host page. When you register it, you specify the .ascx file that contains the user control, a tag prefix, and a tag name that you will use to declare the user control on the page.

VS4.7.3.3. referencing a user control; [Exam 70-515 only] - In Visual Web Developer, open the Web page to which you want to add the ASP.NET user control.  Switch to Design view.  Select your custom user control file in Solution Explorer, and drag it onto the page.

VS4.7.3.4. dynamically loading a user control; [Exam 70-515 only] - Just as you can programmatically create an instance of any server control on an ASP.NET Web page, you can do the same with a user control.  In the user control, be sure that the @ Control directive contains a ClassName attribute that assigns a class to the user control.  In the page where you want to work with the user control, create a reference to the user control with the @ Reference directive.  Create an instance variable for the user control, using the control's class name. The class will be part of the ASP namespace.

When you load a control into a container control, the container raises all of the added control's events until it has caught up to the current event. However, the added control does not catch up with postback data processing. For an added control to participate in postback data processing, including validation, the control must be added in the Init event rather than in the Load event.

VS4.7.3.5. custom event; [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.7.3.6. custom properties; [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.7.3.7. setting toolbox visibility [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.7.4. Implement server controls. [Exam 70-515 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.7.4.1. composite controls, [Exam 70-515 only] - A composite control uses child controls to create a user interface (UI) and to perform other logic. Since a composite control relies on child controls for its functionality, it is significantly easier to develop a composite control than to implement all of the control's functionality yourself.

VS4.7.4.2. INamingContainer, [Exam 70-515 only] - Identifies a container control that creates a new ID namespace within a Page object's control hierarchy. This is a marker interface only.

VS4.7.4.3. adding a server control to the toolbox, [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.7.4.4. global assembly cache, [Exam 70-515 only] - You can reference a control in the GAC by assigning an identifying string to the assembly attribute. The string specifies the required details about the control, including its fully qualified type name, its version, its public key token, and its culture.

VS4.7.4.5. creating a custom control event, [Exam 70-515 only] - When you are editing an ASP.NET Web page in Visual Studio, you can create server event handlers for controls and for the page in a variety of ways. Some of the ways depend on which programming language you are working in. You can create handlers by using the facilities in Visual Web Developer, or you can create them declaratively or in code.

VS4.7.4.6. globally registering from web.config; [Exam 70-515 only] - The controls element defines a collection of register directives and the namespaces where the tag prefixes reside. This element corresponds to the @ Register directive on an ASP.NET page. The @ Register directive lets you specify the tag prefix for a user control.

Tag prefixes associate a namespace in ASP.NET to the assemblies and namespaces that must be included for COM and user controls to work correctly. The following information is useful when configuring the controls element:

·         If applied to a user control, you must define the tagPrefix, tagName, and source attributes of the add child element.

·         If applied to a custom control, you must define the tagPrefix, namespace, and assembly attributes of the add child element. The assembly attribute is not required, if the control is in the application code directory.

You can use the same tagPrefix value to map to multiple assemblies or namespaces.

VS4.7.4.7. TypeConverters [Exam 70-515 only] - ASP.NET uses type converters at run time to serialize and deserialize objects stored in control state and in view state.

This objective does not include: postback data handler, custom databound controls, templated control

VS4.7.5. Manipulate user interface controls from code-behind. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.7.5.1. HTML encoding to avoid cross-site scripting, navigating through and manipulating the control hierarchy; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Most scripting exploits occur when users can get executable code (or script) into your application. By default, ASP.NET provides request validation, which raises an error if a form post contains any HTML.

You can help protect against script exploits in the following ways:

·         Perform parameter validation on form variables, query-string variables, and cookie values. This validation should include two types of verification: verification that the variables can be converted to the expected type (for example, convert to an integer, convert to date-time, and so on), and verification of expected ranges or formatting. For example, a form post variable that is intended to be an integer should be checked with the Int32.TryParse method to verify the variable really is an integer. Furthermore, the resulting integer should be checked to verify the value falls within an expected range of values.

·         Apply HTML encoding to string output when writing values back out to the response. This helps ensure that any user-supplied string input will be rendered as static text in the browsers instead of executable script code or interpreted HTML elements.

VS4.7.5.2. FindControl; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Searches the current naming container for a server control with the specified id parameter.

VS4.7.5.3. controlRenderingCompatibilityVersion; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Gets or sets a value that specifies the ASP.NET version that any rendered HTML will be compatible with.

VS4.7.5.4. URL encoding; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - URL encoding ensures that all browsers will correctly transmit text in URL strings. Characters such as a question mark (?), ampersand (&), slash mark (/), and spaces might be truncated or corrupted by some browsers. As a result, these characters must be encoded in <a> tags or in query strings where the strings can be re-sent by a browser in a request string.

VS4.7.5.5. RenderOuterTable [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -  Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the control encloses rendered HTML in a table element in order to apply inline styles.

This objective does not include: Visibility, Text, Enabled properties

VS4.8. Implementing Client-Side Scripting and AJAX (16%) [~12 questions] [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - ASP.NET provides two approaches for including client capabilities. The first approach is to use the Ajax features of ASP.NET. Microsoft Ajax includes library script files that contain client script functions that bring many of the advantages of object-oriented programming and of the ASP.NET model to client scripting. Microsoft Ajax also provides server-based support that includes Web server controls that can automatically render client script that is required for Microsoft Ajax functionality.

The second approach is to create client script and integrate it yourself into ASP.NET Web pages. This approach is useful if you have only small pieces of client script or if you want to integrate existing client script into your application. This approach is used by many ASP.NET Web server controls (for example, the ASP.NET validation controls) to add client functionality.

VS4.8.1. Add dynamic features to a page by using JavaScript. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.8.1.1. referencing client ID; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - You can reference controls by ID in client script.

VS4.8.1.2. Script Manager; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - The ScriptManager control manages client script for AJAX-enabled ASP.NET Web pages. By default, the ScriptManager control registers the script for the Microsoft Ajax Library with the page. This enables client script to use the type system extensions and to support features such as partial-page rendering and Web-service calls.

VS4.8.1.3. Script combining; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - In an ASP.NET AJAX application, the client behavior of controls is defined by using JavaScript files. Typically, a single JavaScript file defines the client behavior for a single control. If a Web page contains several controls, the browser must download several JavaScript files. The time it takes to download a single file is minimal. However, when a Web page contains many controls, the time that is required to download multiple files can affect the perceived performance of the page.  A solution is to combine multiple JavaScript files into a single file, referred to as a composite script. This reduces the number of browser requests. The result is faster download times for the user and less load on the Web server.  ASP.NET AJAX enables you to combine multiple JavaScript files into a single composite script by using composite script references in the ScriptManager control or ScriptManagerProxy control. If scripts involve dependencies, such as scripts that call functions in other scripts, you must manage the scripts so that they are registered in the appropriate order.  If the browser supports script compression, a composite script will be automatically compressed before it is sent to the browser. The only exception is Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, to which ASP.NET always sends the scripts uncompressed.

VS4.8.1.4. Page.clientscript.registerclientscriptblock; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Registers the client script with the Page object.

VS4.8.1.5. Page.clientscript.registerclientscriptinclude; [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Registers the client script include with the Page object.

VS4.8.1.6. sys.require (scriptloader) [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -

This objective does not include: interacting with the server; referencing JavaScript files; inlining JavaScript

VS4.8.2. Alter a page dynamically by manipulating the DOM. [Exam 70-515 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.8.2.1. using jQuery, adding, modifying, or removing page elements, adding effects, jQuery selectors [Exam 70-515 only] -
This objective does not include: AJAX

VS4.8.3. Handle JavaScript events. [Exam 70-515 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.8.3.1. DOM events, [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.8.3.2. custom events, [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.8.3.3. handling events by using jQuery [Exam 70-515 only] -

VS4.8.4. Implement ASP.NET AJAX. [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -
This objective may include but is not limited to:

VS4.8.4.1. client-side templating, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -

VS4.8.4.2. creating a script service, [Exam 70-515 only] - Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express let you create ASP.NET custom Web services (.asmx files) that you can access from client script.

VS4.8.4.3. extenders (ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit), [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] - Microsoft Ajax extender controls enhance the client capabilities of standard ASP.NET Web server controls. You can target standard Web server controls such as TextBox controls, Button controls, and Panel controls by using one or more extender controls to provide a richer user experience in the browser. For example, to let users confirm before they submit a form to the server, you can use an extender control that adds client functionality to a Button control.

VS4.8.4.4. interacting with the server, [Exam 70-515 and 70-523 only] -