Microsoft Learning:

Exam 70-552:

UPGRADE: MCAD Skills to MCPD Windows Developer by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework

Published:May 26, 2006
Language(s):English, French, German, Japanese
Audience(s):Developers
Technology:Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
Type:Proctored Exam

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Preparing for an Exam
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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
Audience Profile
Candidates for this exam work on a team in a medium-sized or large development environment that uses Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer or Visual Studio 2005. Candidates should have at least two years of experience developing Windows-based applications by using the Microsoft .NET Framework. Candidates should have a working knowledge of Visual Studio 2005.
Candidates should have at least three to four years of on-the-job experience dedicated to Windows-based application development and should have worked in the following phases of the application life cycle:
  • Technical envisioning and planning
  • Design and development
  • Stabilizing and releasing
Credit Toward CertificationWhen you pass Exam 70-552: UPGRADE: MCAD Skills to MCPD Windows Developer by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework, you complete the requirements for the following certification(s):
Note This preparation guide is subject to change at any time without prior notice and at the sole discretion of Microsoft. Microsoft exams might include adaptive testing technology and simulation items. Microsoft does not identify the format in which exams are presented. Please use this preparation guide to prepare for the exam, regardless of its format.
Skills Being MeasuredThis exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below.The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam.The higher the percentage, the more questions you are likely to see on that content area on the exam.

The information after “This objective may include but is not limited to” is intended to further define or scope the objective by describing the types of skills and topics that may be tested for the objective. However, it is not an exhaustive list of skills and topics that could be included on the exam for a given skill area. You may be tested on other skills and topics related to the objective that are not explicitly listed here.
Developing applications that use system types and collections
  • Manage data in a .NET Framework application by using .NET Framework 2.0 system types. (Refer System namespace)
    • Value types
    • Reference types
    • Attributes
    • Generic types
    • Exception classes
    • Boxing and UnBoxing
    • TypeForwardedToAttributes class
  • Manage a group of associated data in a .NET Framework application by using collections. (Refer System.Collections namespace)
    • ArrayList class
    • Collection interfaces
    • Iterators
    • Hashtable class
    • CollectionBase class and ReadOnlyCollectionBase class
    • DictionaryBase class and DictionaryEntry class
    • Comparer class
    • Queue class
    • SortedList class
    • BitArray class
    • Stack class
  • Improve type safety and application performance in a .NET Framework application by using generic collections. (Refer System.Collections.Generic namespace)
    • Collection.Generic interfaces
    • Generic Dictionary
    • Generic Comparer class and Generic EqualityComparer class
    • Generic KeyValuePair structure
    • Generic List class, Generic List.Enumerator structure, and Generic SortedList class
    • Generic Queue class and Generic Queue.Enumerator structure
    • Generic SortedDictionary class
    • Generic LinkedList
    • Generic Stack class and Generic Stack.Enumerator structure
  • Implement .NET Framework interfaces to cause components to comply with standard contracts. (Refer System namespace)
    • IComparable interface
    • IDisposable interface
    • IConvertible interface
    • ICloneable interface
    • INullableValue interface
    • IEquatable interface
    • IFormattable interface
Embedding configuration, diagnostic, management, and installation features into a .NET Framework application
  • Embed configuration management functionality into a .NET Framework application. (Refer System.Configuration namespace)
    • Configuration class and ConfigurationManager class
    • ConfigurationSettings class, ConfigurationElement class, ConfigurationElementCollection class, and ConfigurationElementProperty class
    • Implement IConfigurationSectionHandler interface
    • ConfigurationSection class, ConfigurationSectionCollection class, ConfigurationSectionGroup class, and ConfigurationSectionGroupCollection class
    • Implement ISettingsProviderService interface
    • Implement IApplicationSettingsProvider interface
    • ConfigurationValidationBase class
    • Implement IConfigurationSystem interface
  • Debug and trace a .NET Framework application by using the System.Diagnostics namespace.
    • Debug class and Debugger class
    • Trace class, CorrelationManager class, TraceListener class, TraceSource class, TraceSwitch class, XmlWriterTraceListener class, DelimitedListTraceListener class, and EventlogTraceListener class
    • Debugger attributes
Implementing serialization and input/output functionality in a .NET Framework application
  • Serialize or deserialize an object or an object graph by using runtime serialization techniques. (Refer System.Runtime.Serialization namespace)
    • Serialization interfaces
    • Serialization attributes
    • SerializationEntry structure and SerializationInfo class
    • ObjectManager class
    • Formatter class, FormatterConverter class, and FormatterServices class
    • StreamingContext structure
  • Control the serialization of an object into XML format by using the System.Xml.Serialization namespace.
    • Serialize and deserialize objects into XML format by using the XmlSerializer class.
    • Control serialization by using serialization attributes.
    • Implement XML Serialization interfaces to provide custom formatting for XML serialization.
    • Delegates and event handlers provided by the System.Xml.Serialization namespace
  • Access files and folders by using the File System classes. (Refer System.IO namespace)
    • File class and FileInfo class
    • Directory class and DirectoryInfo class
    • DriveInfo class and DriveType enumeration
    • FileSystemInfo class and FileSystemWatcher class
    • Path class
    • ErrorEventArgs class and ErrorEventHandler delegate
    • RenamedEventArgs class and RenamedEventHandler delegate
  • Compress or decompress stream information in a .NET Framework application (refer System.IO.Compression namespace), and improve the security of application data by using isolated storage. (Refer System.IO.IsolatedStorage namespace)
    • IsolatedStorageFile class
    • IsolatedStorageFileStream class
    • DeflateStream class
    • GZipStream class
Improving the security of .NET Framework applications by using the .NET Framework 2.0 security features
  • Implement access control by using the System.Security.AccessControl classes.
    • DirectorySecurity class, FileSecurity class, FileSystemSecurity class, and RegistrySecurity class
    • AccessRule class
    • AuthorizationRule class and AuthorizationRuleCollection class
    • CommonAce class, CommonAcl class, CompoundAce class, GeneralAce class, and GeneralAcl class
    • AuditRule class
    • MutexSecurity class, ObjectSecurity class, and SemaphoreSecurity class
  • Implement a custom authentication scheme by using the System.Security.Authentication classes. (Refer System.Security.Authentication namespace)
    • Authentication algorithms and SSL protocols
  • Encrypt, decrypt, and hash data by using the System.Security.Cryptography classes. (Refer System.Security.Cryptography namespace)
    • DES class and DESCryptoServiceProvider class
    • HashAlgorithm class
    • DSA class and DSACryptoServiceProvider class
    • SHA1 class and SHA1CryptoServiceProvider class
    • TripleDES and TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider class
    • MD5 class and MD5CryptoServiceProvider class
    • RSA class and RSACryptoServiceProvider class
    • RandomNumberGenerator class
    • CryptoStream class
    • CryptoConfig class
    • RC2 class and RC2CryptoServiceProvider class
    • AssymetricAlgorithm class
    • ProtectedData class and ProtectedMemory class
    • RijndaelManaged class and RijndaelManagedTransform class
    • CspParameters class
    • CryptoAPITransform class
    • Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC)
  • Control permissions for resources by using the System.Security.Permission classes. (Refer System.Security.Permission namespace)
    • SecurityPermission class
    • PrincipalPermission class
    • FileIOPermission class
    • StrongNameIdentityPermission class
    • UIPermission class
    • UrlIdentityPermission class
    • PublisherIdentityPermission class
    • GacIdentityPermission class
    • FileDialogPermission class
    • DataProtectionPermission class
    • EnvironmentPermission class
    • IUnrestrictedPermission interface
    • RegistryPermission class
    • IsolatedStorageFilePermission class
    • KeyContainerPermission class
    • ReflectionPermission class
    • StorePermission class
    • SiteIdentityPermission class
  • Control code privileges by using System.Security.Policy classes. (Refer System.Security.Policy namespace)
    • ApplicationSecurityInfo class and ApplicationSecurityManager class
    • ApplicationTrust class and ApplicationTrustCollection class
    • Evidence class and PermissionRequestEvidence class
    • CodeGroup class, FileCodeGroup class, FirstMatchCodeGroup class, NetCodeGroup class, and UnionCodeGroup class
    • Condition classes
    • PolicyLevel class and PolicyStatement class
    • IApplicationTrustManager interface, IMembershipCondition interface, and IIdentityPermissionFactory interface
  • Access and modify identity information by using the System.Security.Principal classes. (Refer System.Security.Principal namespace)
    • GenericIdentity class and GenericPrincipal class
    • WindowsIdentity class and WindowsPrincipal class
    • NTAccount class and SecurityIdentifier class
    • IIdentity interface and IPrincipal interface
    • WindowsImpersonationContext class
    • IdentityReference class and IdentityReferenceCollection class
Implementing interoperability, reflection, and mailing functionality in a .NET Framework application
  • Send electronic mail to a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server for delivery from a .NET Framework application. (Refer System.Net.Mail namespace)
    • MailMessage class
    • MailAddress class and MailAddressCollection class
    • SmtpClient class, SmtpPermission class, and SmtpPermissionAttribute class
    • Attachment class, AttachmentBase class, and AttachmentCollection class
    • SmtpException class, SmtpFailedReceipientException class, and SmtpFailedReceipientsException class
    • SendCompletedEventHandler delegate
    • LinkedResource class and LinkedResourceCollection class
    • AlternateView class and AlternateViewCollection class
Implementing globalization, drawing, and text manipulation functionality in a .NET Framework application
  • Enhance the user interface of a .NET Framework application by using the System.Drawing namespace.
    • Enhance the user interface of a .NET Framework application by using brushes, pens, colors, and fonts.
    • Enhance the user interface of a .NET Framework application by using graphics, images, bitmaps, and icons.
    • Enhance the user interface of a .NET Framework application by using shapes and sizes.
Creating a UI for a Windows Forms Application by Using Standard Controls
  • Manage control layout on a Windows Form.
    • Group and arrange controls by using the Panel control, GroupBox control, TabControl control, FlowLayoutPanel control, and TableLayoutPanel control.
    • Use the SplitContainer control to create dynamic container areas.
  • Add and configure a Windows Forms control.
    • Use the integrated development environment (IDE) to add a control to a Windows Form or other container control of a project at design time.
    • Add controls to a Windows Form at run time.
    • Configure controls on a Windows Form at design time to optimize the UI.
    • Modify control properties.
    • Configure controls on a Windows Form at run time to ensure that the UI complies with best practices.
    • Create and configure command controls on a Windows Form.
    • Create and configure text edit controls on a Windows Form.
    • Create and configure text display controls on a Windows Form.
    • Use the LinkLabel control to add Web-style links to Windows Forms applications.
    • Provide a list of options on a Windows Form by using a ListBox control, a ComboBox control, or a CheckedListBox control.
    • Configure the layout and functionality of a Windows Form to display a list of items.
    • Implement value-setting controls on a Windows Form.
    • Configure a WebBrowser control.
    • Add and configure date-setting controls on a Windows Form.
    • Display images by using Windows Forms controls.
    • Configure the NotifyIcon component.
    • Create access keys for Windows Forms controls.
  • Create and configure menus.
    • Create and configure a MenuStrip component on a Windows Form.
    • Change the displayed menu structure programmatically.
    • Create and configure the ContextMenuStrip component on a Windows Form.
Integrating Data in a Windows Forms Application
  • Implement data-bound controls.
    • Use the DataGridView control to display and update the tabular data contained in a data source.
    • Use a simple data-bound control to display a single data element on a Windows Form.
    • Implement complex data binding to integrate data from multiple sources.
    • Navigate forward and backward through records in a DataSet in Windows Forms.
    • Define a data source by using a DataConnector component.
    • Create data forms by using the Data Form Wizard.
  • Manage connections and transactions.
    • Configure a connection to a database by using the Connection Wizard.
    • Configure a connection to a database by using Server Explorer.
    • Configure a connection to a database by using the Connection class.
    • Connect to a database by using specific database Connection objects.
    • Enumerate through instances of Microsoft SQL Server.
    • Open an ADO.NET connection to a database.
    • Close an ADO.NET connection to a database by using the Close method of the Connection object.
    • Protect access to data source connection details.
    • Create a connection designed for reuse in a connection pool.
    • Control a connection pool by configuring ConnectionString values based on database type.
    • Use the Connection events to detect database information.
    • Handle exceptions when connecting to a database.
    • Perform transactions by using the Transaction object.
  • Read, write, and validate XML by using the XmlReader class and the XmlWriter class.
    • Read XML data by using the XmlReader class.
    • Read all XML element and attribute content.
    • Read specific element and attribute content.
    • Read XML data by using the XmlTextReader class.
    • Read node trees by using the XmlNodeReader class.
    • Validate XML data by using the XmlValidatingReader class.
    • Write XML data by using the XmlWriter class.
Enhancing Usability
  • Create, configure, and customize user assistance controls and components.
    • Configure the PropertyGrid component.
    • Configure the ProgressBar control to indicate progress graphically.
    • Display status information by using the StatusStrip control.
    • Configure the ToolTip component.
    • Configure the ErrorProvider component.
    • Configure the HelpProvider component.
    • Play system sounds and audio files by using the SoundPlayer.
    • Configure the Timer component to raise an event at regular intervals.
    • Enable scrolling by using the HScrollBar and VScrollBar controls.
Implementing Asynchronous Programming Techniques to Improve the User Experience
  • Manage a background process by using the BackgroundWorker component.
    • Run a background process by using the BackgroundWorker component.
    • Announce the completion of a background process by using the BackgroundWorker component.
    • Cancel a background process by using the BackgroundWorker component.
    • Report the progress of a background process by using the BackgroundWorker component.
    • Request the status of a background process by using the BackgroundWorker component.
Configuring and Deploying Applications
  • Configure the installation of a Windows Forms application by using ClickOnce technology.
    • Install a Windows Forms application on a client computer by using ClickOnce deployment.
    • Install a Windows Forms application from a server by using ClickOnce deployment.
    • Configure the required permissions of an application by using ClickOnce deployment.
Envisioning and Designing an Application
  • Evaluate the technical feasibility of an application design concept.
    • Evaluate the proof of concept.
    • Recommend the best technologies for the features and goals of the application.
    • Weigh implementation considerations.
    • Investigate existing solutions for similar business problems.
  • Create a proof-of-concept prototype.
    • Evaluate the risks associated with the proposed technology or implementation.
    • Validate that the proposed technology can be used in the application.
    • Demonstrate to stakeholders that the proposed solution will address their needs.
  • Evaluate the technical specifications for an application to ensure that the business requirements are met.
    • Translate the functional specification into developer terminology, such as pseudo code and UML diagrams.
    • Suggest component type and layer.
  • Evaluate the logical design of an application.
    • Evaluate the logical design for performance.
    • Evaluate the logical design for maintainability.
    • Evaluate the logical design for extensibility.
    • Evaluate the logical design for scalability.
    • Evaluate the logical design for security.
    • Evaluate the logical design against use cases.
    • Evaluate the logical design for recoverability.
    • Evaluate the logical design for data integrity.
  • Evaluate the physical design of an application. Considerations include the design of the project structure, the number of files, the number of assemblies, and the location of these resources on the server.
    • Evaluate how the physical location of files affects the extensibility of the application.
    • Evaluate the physical design for scalability.
    • Evaluate the physical design for security.
    • Evaluate the physical design for recoverability.
    • Evaluate the physical design for data integrity.
    • Evaluate the physical design for performance.
    • Evaluate the physical design for maintainability.
Designing and Developing a User Interface
  • Choose an appropriate layout for the visual interface.
    • Decide the content flow within the application.
    • Evaluate user navigation needs.
    • Identify the goal of the UI.
    • Ensure the congruency and consistency of the user experience throughout the application.
    • Choose techniques to control the layout.
  • Evaluate a strategy for implementing a common layout throughout the UI.
    • Suggest an applicable UI standard based on the application specification. Considerations include MDI, SDI, control grouping, and so on.
  • Choose an appropriate control based on design specifications.
    • Evaluate the type of data that must be captured or displayed.
    • Evaluate available controls. Considerations include standard .NET Framework controls and custom, internally developed, and third-party controls.
    • Evaluate the manner in which available controls are implemented in previous and ongoing projects or applications.
    • Evaluate the user demographic.
    • Evaluate the user environment.
  • Choose an appropriate data validation method at the UI layer.
    • Choose a validation method based on the data type provided.
    • Decide how to report the feedback. Considerations include callbacks, exceptions, and writing to an event log.
    • Identify the source of invalid data.
    • Identify the cause of an invalid entry.
    • Evaluate whether invalid data can be prevented.
    • Evaluate whether an exception must be thrown.
    • Evaluate whether an exception must be logged.
    • Evaluate whether visual feedback, such as a message box or color, is required.
  • Choose appropriate user assistance and application status feedback techniques.
    • Choose an appropriate application status feedback technique to support accessibility.
    • Design an application status feedback mechanism.
    • Design a user assistance mechanism.
    • Choose an appropriate application status feedback technique based on available control types.
Designing and Developing a Component
  • Establish the required characteristics of a component.
    • Decide when to create a single component or multiple components.
    • Decide in which tier of the application a component should be located.
    • Decide which type of object to build.
  • Create the high-level design of a component.
    • Evaluate tradeoff decisions. Considerations include security vs. performance, performance vs. maintainability, and so on.
    • Establish the life cycle of a component.
    • Decide whether to use established design patterns for the component.
    • Decide whether to create a prototype for the component.
    • Document the design of a component by using pseudo code, class diagrams, sequence diagrams, activity diagrams, and state diagrams.
  • Develop the public API of a component.
    • Decide the types of clients that can consume a component.
    • Establish the required component interfaces.
    • Decide whether to require constructor input.
  • Develop the features of a component.
    • Decide whether existing functionality can be implemented or inherited.
    • Decide how to handle unmanaged and managed resources.
    • Decide which extensibility features are required.
    • Decide whether a component must be multithreaded.
    • Decide which functions to implement in the base class, abstract class, or sealed class.
  • Develop an exception handling mechanism.
    • Decide when it is appropriate to raise an exception.
    • Decide how a component will handle exceptions. Considerations include catching and throwing a new exception; catching, wrapping, and throwing the wrapped exception; catching and terminating, and so on.
  • Develop the data access and data handling features of a component.
    • Analyze data relationships.
    • Analyze the data handling requirements of a component.
  • Develop a component to include profiling requirements.
    • Identify potential issues, such as resource leaks and performance gaps, by profiling a component.
    • Decide when to stop profiling on a component.
    • Decide whether to redesign a component after analyzing the profiling results.
Designing and Developing an Application Framework
  • Consume a reusable software component.
    • Identify a reusable software component from available components to meet the requirements.
    • Identify whether the reusable software component needs to be extended.
    • Identify whether the reusable software component needs to be wrapped.
    • Identify whether any existing functionality needs to be hidden.
    • Test the identified component based on the requirements.
  • Choose an appropriate exception handling mechanism.
    • Evaluate the current exception handling mechanism.
    • Design a new exception handling technique.
  • Choose an appropriate implementation approach for the application design logic.
    • Choose an appropriate data storage mechanism.
    • Choose an appropriate data flow structure.
    • Choose an appropriate decision flow structure.
  • Choose an appropriate event logging method for the application.
    • Decide whether to log data. Considerations include policies, security, requirements, and debugging.
    • Choose a storage mechanism for logged events. For example, database, flat file, event log, or XML file.
    • Choose a system-wide event logging method. For example, centralized logging, distributed logging, and so on.
    • Decide logging levels based upon severity and priority.
  • Evaluate the application configuration architecture.
    • Decide which configuration attributes to store.
    • Choose the physical storage location for the configuration attributes.
    • Decide in which format to store the configuration attributes.
Testing and Stabilizing an Application
  • Perform a code review.
  • Evaluate the testing strategy.
    • Create the unit testing strategy.
    • Evaluate the integration testing strategy.
    • Evaluate the stress testing strategy.
    • Evaluate the performance testing strategy.
    • Evaluate the test environment specification.
  • Design a unit test.
    • Describe the testing scenarios.
    • Decide coverage requirements.
    • Evaluate when to use boundary condition testing.
    • Decide the type of assertion tests to conduct.
  • Perform integration testing.
    • Determine if the component works as intended in the target environment.
    • Identify component interactions and dependencies.
    • Verify results.
  • Resolve a bug.
    • Investigate a reported bug.
    • Reproduce a bug.
    • Evaluate the impact of the bug and the associated cost and timeline for fixing the bug.
    • Fix a bug.
Deploying and Supporting an Application
  • Evaluate the performance of an application based on the performance analysis strategy.
    • Identify performance spikes.
    • Analyze performance trends.
    • Track logon times.
  • Analyze the data received when monitoring an application.
    • Monitor and analyze resource usage.
    • Monitor and analyze security aspects.
    • Track bugs that result from customer activity.
  • Evaluate the deployment plan.
    • Identify component-level deployment dependencies.
    • Identify scripting requirements for deployment. Considerations include database scripting.
    • Evaluate available deployment methods.
  • Validate the production configuration environment.
    • Verify networking settings.
    • Verify the deployment environment.
Preparation Tools and ResourcesTo help you prepare for this exam, Microsoft Learning recommends that you have hands-on experience with the product and that you use the following training resources. These training resources do not necessarily cover all of the topics listed in the "Skills Measured" tab.
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Microsoft E-Learning There is no Microsoft E-Learning training currently available.
Microsoft Press Books There are no Microsoft Press books currently available.
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