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...Home ... Editorial ... Exam Reviews ..Exam Review Article Monday: January 6, 2014



Component Complexities: Microsoft Exam #70-320
Proving your expertise with XML and server components will get you through this Web services exam for .NET developers.


by Chris Golubski

8/14/2002 --
Exam Spotlight

Exam  70-320: Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework
Vendor Microsoft
Status Beta in June; live version expected in September.
Reviewer's Rating "Passing this exam demands in-depth understanding of the .NET Framework and the technologies that go along with Web services."
Exam Details $125 U.S. When live, will be available at Prometric and Vue testing centers worldwide.
Who Should Take This Exam? Those seeking core credit for Microsoft's MCSD and MCAD titles.
What Classes Prepare You? 2557: Developing Component-Based Applications Using Microsoft .NET Enterprise Services
2663: Programming with XML in the Microsoft .NET Framework
Self-paced: Developing XML Web Services and Server Components
Objectives Click here
At its essence, a Web service is a component that resides on a Web server, which provides access to some kind of data. It can be invoked from virtually anywhere, whether from a computer in the next cubicle or one that's halfway around the world. In and of itself, that's a powerful concept. But the better news is that it doesn't require extensive proprietary technology to implement.

When invoked, a Web service acts as any other object would, so developers won't have to treat it differently. What is different, however, is that a Web service returns XML data to the calling component. XML is rapidly becoming the standard for data interchange between platforms and disparate systems. By returning XML from a method call, a Web service can be invoked from virtually any platform. This allows for great flexibility in development.

To prove yourself an expert in .NET, you have to conquer Microsoft's Web services. Whether you're pursuing the Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) or Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), you need to pass a components exam. Microsoft will offer two, one specializing in C# (70-320) and the other in Visual Basic (70-310). The version of the exam I'm evaluating here demands in-depth understanding of the .NET Framework and the technologies that go along with Web services.

Service, Please!
Obviously, the integral part of understanding Web services is creating them. All Web services must inherit from the Webservice class in the System.Web.services namespace. Also, each method that will be available to be invoked by a client must be prefixed with the [WebMethod] attribute. If you don't do this, the method will be internal only and can't be called from the external client.

Once you have the basics down, you need to learn SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). SOAP allows us to serialize XML data on an HTTP connection. You see, back in the proprietary COM and DCOM days, distributing an application over the Internet wasn't feasible due to security issues. Most companies weren't willing to open the TCP ports on the firewall that were necessary for such applications to exist. So, necessity being the mother of invention, SOAP was created.

SOAP allows a request to be sent via an XML stream through TCP port 80 (HTTP), a port that's probably already open on a great number of company firewalls for Web traffic. This allows us to have the ideal distributed application. When a client invokes a Web service, a SOAP request (called an envelope) is sent to the Web service. The Web service then performs its magic and spits out a response.

Make sure you understand that SOAP headers are unencrypted by default. You can extend the SoapHeader class to send customized information to a Web service, however. For example, if you want to have a fee-based Web service to provide a credit report, you could add a SOAP header to provide authentication information. Make sure you know how this information must be passed to the service. Also, know how to use the appropriate encryption technologies to secure a SOAP message.

Tip: Learn all you can about the SoapHeader object and how it can be extended.

COM Calamities
There are times in our lives when we wish the old technologies would just disappear. But alas, they usually linger for quite some time and introduce a completely new world of headaches when it comes time to integrate the old with the new. This is the case for .NET and COM. Sometimes we want COM components to be visible to .NET assemblies and vice versa, so we need to know how to implement these types of solutions when necessary.

Serviced components are objects that reside in COM+ services. These objects support transactions and object pooling. Writing components in Visual Studio 6.0 for use in COM+ services was easy. With .NET, it's a little more harrowing. Make certain you know all about the System.EnterpriseServices namespace and which objects are important.

Much like Web services, serviced components have attributes that are placed before methods, as well. Take some time to learn the [COMVisible] and [AutoCommit] attributes and when to use them. If you're a Visual Studio 6.0 developer, your knowledge of Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) will serve you well here. Thoroughly review the ContextUtil class, as well as its properties and methods.

Finally, a good once-over of role-based security would be a wise use of your time. Understand what a role is and who can be a member.

Tip: Know the IsCallerInRole( ) method of the ContextUtil object.

Remote Possibilities
Another technology important to .NET development is .NET Remoting. I'm going to issue a caveat here: .NET Remoting isn't a concept for the amateur. It can get very complicated and takes a good deal of time to master. I'm only going to cover an overview of what you need to be able to do with it. There are entire books written just about this one topic.

.NET Remoting is the concept of having different layers of components run on different machines. This can be done in myriad ways. There are two general types of objects: well-known and client activated. Well-known objects don't maintain state (with one exception), so they're usually good for one use only and need to be re-created every time. Client-activated objects can maintain state but require significantly more resources.

There are also two kinds of well-known objects: SingleCall and Singleton objects. SingleCall objects are exactly what the name indicates: They're called once and then destroyed. Singleton objects are the only kind that can maintain any kind of state, but they do so for all clients at once, not individual clients. You need to be familiar with these types of objects and when to use them. Also, know how to use the Activator object to instantiate .NET Remoting components.

In addition to knowing the different kinds of objects, it's important to understand what channels are and how to use them. Channels are the network-oriented paths that can be used to connect machines that have .NET Remoting components on them. There are two main kinds of channels: HTTP and TCP. As a developer, you choose which protocol to use for your applications. SOAP over HTTP is usually the type that requires the least amount of coding; but you may want more control and choose TCP as your protocol. The choice is yours.

Tip: Make sure to study .NET Remoting thoroughly before you take this exam. It's incredibly complicated.

Data, Data and More Data
As with any certification exam, Microsoft expects you to be razor-sharp with data access code. You need to be familiar with all aspects of .NET data management. For example, know when to use the System.Data.SqlClient namespace vs. the System.Data.OleDbClient namespace. Also be familiar with how to issue a query to a SQL Server 2000 box and receive XML as a response.

Learn about the DataSet object and how to work with it. Strongly typed datasets allow you to refer to individual tables and objects by their name rather than through the Tables collection. Know how to create this type of dataset and what can and can't be accessed with familiar names. Also be able to work with the XML-based features of the DataSet object. Be able to use the ReadXml ( ) and WriteXml ( ) methods to import and export XML appropriately into a DataSet object. Know how to use the XmlDataDocument object to provide the appropriate view of data as needed.

Having a solid foundation in the basics is important. Know how to write SQL statements that retrieve the appropriate data from a table. You should also know how to generate XSD schemas from a SQL Server database schema and apply that to a DataSet object.

Tip: Take a little time to familiarize yourself with the FOR XML clause that can be added to a SQL query with SQL Server 2000.

It's important to understand how to deal with XML documents in general. Make sure you know the System.Xml namespace thoroughly. For instance, an XmlTextReader object is much more efficient than an XmlDocument object when you're attempting read-only access. Get a good working knowledge of the XmlValidatingReader object and what its functionality buys you in an application. Finally, make sure you can issue a few simple XPath queries to retrieve specific nodes from an XML document.

Tip: Spend time reacquainting yourself with SQL statements. This should win you a few extra points.

Get the Bug Zapper!
Once you've written your application, it's natural to have to debug. Make sure you know how to use the Trace and Debug objects provided by the .NET Framework. Remember that any Debug statements that are in the code when you set the Configuration Manager to “Release” mode won't compile into the final version.

Tip: The Trace object is what should be used to write error messages to text files or the Event Log.

Windows services can run on Windows 2000 Professional and Server or Windows XP Professional, but not on Windows 95 or 98. A Windows service is a good choice when an application needs to run unattended, regardless of whether users are logged on or not. Spend time learning how to debug a Windows service in the Visual Studio.NET IDE. Also know the order of events associated with a Windows service and when each will occur.

Additional Information

The preparation guide for this exam is at www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-320.asp.

You'll find a .NET Remoting technical guide at http://msdn.microsoft.com/.

Web Cornucopia peddles itself as the online “oasis for the parched enterprise component engineer/developer.” It covers channels and .NET Remoting here: www.execpc.com/~gopalan/dotnet/remoting.html.

Apress recently published Advanced .NET Remoting by Ingo Rammer. You can learn more here: www.dotnetremoting.cc/book/AdvancedDotNetRemoting.asp. A number of other books on the topic have surfaced as well.

Finally, know the security rights associated with event logs. For instance, what level of security do you need to create a new type of event log? What do you need to write to an existing event log? Also, know the levels of file permissions that may be required to write a log to a physical file on the hard drive.

The Big Push
Of course, the last cycle in the development process is deployment. Although the .NET Framework eliminates “.DLL Hell,” it also adds some complexities, especially when deploying applications that integrate with COM. For example, know which command-line utilities are used for specific tasks associated with deployment. REGASM.EXE registers an assembly in the registry for use within a COM object and REGSVCS.EXE registers an assembly with COM+ services.

You should be intrinsically aware of component versions, as well. If you have two versions of a component, one local and one in the global assembly cache, which one is your application going to use? On that topic, how do you get an assembly into the global assembly cache, anyway? All of these questions should be answered before attempting this test.

In the realm of Web services, know how to configure discovery. Familiarize yourself with the .DISCO and .VSDISCO files and how they're used to make a Web service available to clients. Also be able to create a setup project that will deploy your Web service with as little user intervention as possible.

Finally, know your security models. This means studying up on IIS security as well as Windows security and knowing which model should be used in which situation. This information may seem like more of a systems engineering task, but it's important for you as a developer to understand what's going on and how to secure your application.

Wrapping It Up
No, this exam isn't easy. It covers a vast amount of material that should be carefully studied beforehand. Spend a good amount of your study time focusing on .NET Remoting and the many different uses for Web services. Good luck!

Originally published in the September 2002 issue of MCP Magazine. Reprinted with permission.


Chris Golubski, MCSE+Internet, MCDBA, MCSD, MCT, MCP+Site Building, is an independent trainer and consultant, and a major techno-geek. When he's not geeking out or studying for an exam, Chris is busy tending to the leaseholder on his apartment, his cat Blackie. Chris also holds Novell, Lotus, Prosoft, Cisco and CompTIA certifications. He welcomes comments and questions at .
More articles by Chris Golubski:


There are 13 CertCities.com user Comments for “Component Complexities: Microsoft Exam #70-320”
The current user rating is: three stars - difficult, but manageable
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11/30/02: Syed Ali Raza Zaidi from Pakistan says:
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3/28/03: Anonymous says:
four stars - very difficult
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