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Title: MCSD Architectures Exam Cram (Exam: 70-100) by Donald R. Brandt ISBN: 1-57610-378-1 Publisher: The Coriolis Group Pub. Date: 13 September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (40 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Single most important Resource
Comment: I used a number of materials in preparing for the 70-100 exam, and found this to be the single most important book. The only thing this really lacked was practice on the "scenario-based" questions in the test, specifically the data-flow diagrams. But there was no other single book that came as close as this one to a complete working knowlege necessary for the test. Rather than buying multiple study guides, I would recommend purchasing this book and a practice test from either transcender or measureup.
Either way, if you don't have experience at defining requirements, nothing will help you.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent small book, but you'll need Transcender
Comment: EXAM vs. BOOK: Looking over other reviews, you'll see wildly divergent opinions about this book. The problem is that this particular exam (70-100) is structured in a way that is unique among Microsoft's exams. Aside from the required knowledge, the mechanics of the exam process are counter-intuitive, confusing and require practice to master.
First, let me say that passing 70-100 requires a knowledge base that is too broad to be contained in a single book (or even 3 or 4 books). If you go into this exam with several years of software experience, and AFTER having passed the other exams needed for MCSD, then much of the background is already covered. To be more specific, SQL Server 7 Design (70-029), is superb preparation for the IMPORTANT entity and data modeling aspects of 70-100. Since you have to learn it for 70-100, you might as well do 70-029 first. (70-029 is one of the most marketable of the electives.)
Beyond that, the candidate is expected to be adept at sifting through a haystack of scenario verbiage in order to identify process flow, data flow, and the underlying "business" problem, as opposed to the technologic problem, with which we are all more familiar. This is where a book dedicated to solution architectures is useful.
Brandt provides us with a readable survey of approaches to projects (including Microsoft's way of truth), development models, the array of project deliverables, including context diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, data flow diagrams, case-use scenarios, and the physical manifestations of these. You need to know this, as well as tier models and user interface standards.
Although the multiple choice questions throughout the book are not what you are likely to see on the exam, they are helpful in clarifying your understanding of topics you will definitely see on the exam. If you can sail through the big exam at the end of the book, then you have a good foundation. But you'll need more to pass the real test.
WEAKNESSES: The material on data normalization are only adequate as a review if you've already learned the concepts elsewhere (do 70-029 first!). Practical applications of performance, availability, security, scalability, maintainability, and extensibility are not covered in sufficient depth. These shortcomings are acceptable if Brandt is not your only reference. I would strongly recommend Cornish, et al. as a primary book. The two books cover the material from different perspectives, and mutually fill in the gaps.
EXAM MECHANICS: Build-a-tree questions usually force you to create a hierarchical answer for non-hierarchical objects -- a horrible metaphor! The drag-and-connect questions are intentionally sneaky, and unintentionally difficult to set properly without practice. (The blocks that must be shuffled around will toggle unpredictably, causing intended connections to be misdirected. Even when properly connected, the results are extremely difficult to read.) In the drag-and-drop reorder list questions, dragging will occasionally drag an object not highlighted, and will occasionally drop onto non-highlighted objects. One remedy (unlikely) is for Microsoft to recognize that these testing tools are not ready for prime time, and fix them. The other remedy, and the only realistic one I know of, is to download the free Transcender demo. I bought the Transcender product (SolutionCert) and was only able to pass the third Transcender test, after failing the first two -- and I've been doing this stuff for 22 years!
CONCLUSION: Brandt is an excellent choice for a small book. Consider getting a large book, and at least download the Transcender demo to see what you're up against.
Rating: 5
Summary: Use This Book & Transcenders
Comment: I used this book and Transcenders, studied a total of 5 days and took the exam and passed on my first try! I took it on July 22, 2003. Other reviews for this book led me away from using any other book. I found it to be easy to read, especially if you've passed at least one other MCSD exam. The book presents important information and insight as to the testing methods of Microsoft for this test. Although this information is helpful to read, you'll still want to run through some exam simulation software in addition to this reading. Reading alone cannot prepare you for the types of interaction you'll face in the exam environment... so get Transcenders too.
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Title: MCSD VB6 Distributed Exam Cram (Exam: 70-175) by Michael Lane Thomas, Dan Fox ISBN: 1576103757 Publisher: The Coriolis Group Pub. Date: 24 February, 1999 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: MCSD in a Nutshell: The Visual Basic Exams (VBS Exams 70-175 and 70-176) by James MCSD Foxall ISBN: 1565927524 Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates Pub. Date: 01 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: MCSD Visual Basic 6 Desktop Exam Cram (Exam: 70-176) by Michael D. MacDonald ISBN: 1576103765 Publisher: The Coriolis Group Pub. Date: 05 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: MCSD Architectures Exam Prep (Exam: 70-100) by Keith Morneau ISBN: 1576104133 Publisher: The Coriolis Group Pub. Date: 14 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $44.99 |
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Title: Analyzing Requirements and Defining Solutions Architecture: MCSD Training Kit (exam 70-100) by Microsoft Corporation ISBN: 0735608547 Publisher: Microsoft Press Pub. Date: 15 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $69.99 |
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