Customer Reviews

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-511): Windows Application Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Book/CD Package

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book to help me prepare for the certification. It says on the back: "Ace your preparation for the skills measured by the MCTS Exam 50-511" - That is somewhat misleading.

All in all I am very disappointed with the book, for the following reasons:

- Content (very important!) - The book does not cover all the areas you need for the exam. I would expect a book that calls itself an exam prep guide to include references to all the topics in the exam, even if it is just a mention of something you should go away and look into yourself. Yet large areas were missed out of the book. Not a single reference to LINQ or PLINQ, and the aspects of Security were very much glossed over (you will get in-depth, full-on questions about security in the exam believe me). Again, even if the book just told you what areas research so that you knew, but nothing like that.

- Style - The book just doesn't flow right. Also, little things like there are several areas where a code sample is used to make a point, then the very next paragraph on the same page reproduces the same sample to make a slightly different point (maybe with a few words in bold, but without it being necessary on a 4 line code sample). Some samples are used when really, they are not needed. This is also mirrored unfortunately where samples are needed, but not supplied. I certainly had the feeling at times as though the book was trying to meet a minimum page count! Some chapters are not logically organised, and you feel the book changing gears (up and down) quite a lot when read cover to cover.

- Target audience - Who is this book really for? It says it is an exam prep, spends two thirds of the book using MessageBox.Show() in the examples, then decides (at this point) to explain how to use MessageBox.Show()!! Again, either an example of padding, or just poor understanding of the target audience. Even if you didn't know what this did when you bought the book, you certainly grasped it way before they explained it! It seems they over explain the simple bits and gloss over the complex parts.

- Errors - The book does contain a lot of typographical errors. Some are clearly cut and paste errors (like in the sample printed questions where you have 4 subtly different code samples, they all contain the same error!), letters missed out, spaces missing between types and variables in code samples (easy to work out, but will throw you for a second). It is as if the book was proof read by a non technical person, as a good percentage are code errors.

- Book vs Online resources - I found myself delving into the MSDN stuff quite a lot when going through this book, and I have to say it seems as though there are times when the MSDN and book content seem as though they were written by the same person. Not in a good way, but in a way where you can't help wonder if maybe the author read / researched those sections online and rehashed them for the book? I know there are only so many ways to explain things, but after reading the book and comparing a lot of it to online resources, its just a nagging feeling.

I feel this book is more suited to be an introduction to WPF and general application development, certainly not an exam prep. There are a few good points though, for example you do get an electronic copy of the book on CD to use on your laptop or whatever when you are out and about, and the CD includes some sample questions (about 200 I think?) using the MeasureUp engine. The questions themselves are provided by Microsoft, so if you wanted to purchase any MeasureUp exam questions, there isn't that many the same (again, there are only so many ways to ask a question, so there will be some similar). If your budget stretches, I highly recommend this option.

I have other Microsoft press books, but be warned, better not to use as exam prep guides.

This book is an excellent learning tool, the 12 chapters are broken down into manageable lessons with a summary and some simple multiple choice questions at the end of each lesson. It's a good way to divide the book content and you rarely ever feel that you are slogging through an insurmountable pile of text book boredom. I felt that the content which was in the book was directly relevant to the exam however there were some areas missing from the book that are in the exam syllabus. It took me two attempts to pass this exam. The first time, I read the book twice and answered all the practice tests comfortably but only scored 65% in the exam. The second time I prepared for the exam I read the book for a third time and read the bits of MSDN which were missing from the book. I passed with 81%. So, while the book is excellent you MUST check the syllabus for the exam (it's on the 70-511 website) and read the bits of MSDN which are missing. For example, I would suggest reading everything on MSDN to do with security (3 hours+), deployment (1 hour+), documents (20 minutes) and timers (20 minutes). Of course, the exam questions vary with each sitting but security and deployment are heavily featured in the exam.

The practice questions which come with the book are ok but there are only a few and you soon learn to answer them in your sleep. Better than nothing though.

If the book contained all the content required for the exam and the CD had more questions I would happily give it 5 stars. The inclusion of the pdf ebook is great since you can stick it on your tablet or whatever.

You need this book for the exam - it's soooo much easier than reading MSDN. Good luck!

The book is adequate to get you started, however it probably isn't the best out in the market. The tutorials, although well structured are sometimes contradictory. The main culprit is using a principle before it has been explained. An obvious example is it using the asterisk for length, width but not describing what it is until 3 pages later.

Also be warned this is not Windows Forms development, this is WPF development and I think the title should illustrate this better.

In the end it is probably adequate to prepare you for the exam but if I had to buy another book I would search elsewhere as for the price, it is a bit underwhelming

i actually liked the book, the way it describes subjects, goes through them, lists examples and solutions. however, the sole purpose of buying the book was to take the exam and this is where it falls down: as interesting as it is, it got me nowhere near a pass in the exam, not the first time, not the second.

i could answer all 200 training questions in my sleep with plenty of spare time plus practical experience. the exam (i took it twice in 2010/11) had two parts: one similarly to the training questions, the other modelled as a project, with multiple choice questions worked into it. overall, i found the exam long and time just about right, unless of course the project-style part throws you off the first time. the nasty bit though, microsoft do not tell you how the score system is structured, i.e. how many points are available for which question and choice, whether a wrong choice can incur negative points, which questions count towards which overall section and so on; all questions are taken 'blindly'. when you then get the score, microsoft will not tell you where you actually made or lost points, what the right or wrong answers are and for what reason. what you do get is some overall summary, such as score total '40%': 'building a user interface 50%'; 'working with events and commands 30%' and so on, but you'll never even know your score out of the total score and you have to remember and judge for yourself which section each question belongs to. (after the second try, i tried 'reverse' engineer my score and came to approximately 700 points overall, although it still was inconclusive as to whether the 40% were for a pass (70%) or the total (100%).)

i think there's a huge lot to be learned from how you've done at an exam, even if you score no points at all, and the way i make sense of it is that microsoft has licensed (i.e. paying) partners who have access to more exam information and 'sell' this knowledge on to customers (this is my personal guess). my suggestion therefore is that once you've got the experience, let your employer fund you a 3- or 5-day training course and save yourself a lot of time and hustle.

Whether you plan to prepare for the 70-511 exam or not, this book is a great quick reference to the subjects covered by the .NET 4.0 framework.

Not too shallow but not too deep either, it's a perfect book to have a good knowledge and impression of the 4.0 Framework.

And if you plan to take the 70-511 exam, it is the book to buy. You won't regret it.