M I C R O S O F T T E C H N O L O G Y A S S O C I AT E

Student Study Guide

EXAM 98-361

Software Development Fundamentals

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UDY GUIDE FOR
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98-361

Software Development
Fundamentals

Authors
Tim McMichael (Software Development and Windows Development).
Tim has been a high school computer science teacher for the past
11 years. He currently teaches Advanced Placement Computer
Science, .NET programming, and computer game programming at
Raymond S. Kellis High School in Glendale, Arizona. He also serves
as Curriculum Coordinator for IT classes within the Peoria Unified
School District. Prior to teaching, Tim worked for several years as a
database application developer. Tim earned his B.A. from Colorado
State University and his M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Arizona
State University. In his free time he enjoys creating games with XNA
Game Studio and spending time with his young daughter. Tim is the
author of the Windows Development Exam Review Kit in the MTA
Exam Review Kit series.

Patricia Phillips (Lead Author and Project Manager). Patricia taught

computer science for 20 years in Janesville, Wisconsin. She served
on Microsofts National K-12 Faculty Advisory Board and edited
the Microsoft MainFunction website for technology teachers for
two years. For the past five years she has worked with Microsoft
in a variety of roles related to K-12 curriculum development and
pilot programs including Expression Studio web design and XNA
game development. In her role as an author and editor, Patricia
wrote several articles and a student workbook on topics including
computer science, web design, and computational thinking. She is
currently the editor of the Computer Science Teachers Association
newsletter, the Voice.

This content is only for use by or provision to students for their personal use.
Some examples depicted herein are provided for illustration only and are fictitious. No real association or connection is intended or should
be inferred.
Microsoft and other trademarks listed at http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualProperty/Trademarks/EN-US
.aspx are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other marks are property of their respective owners.
2010 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This content is provided as-is and Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Career Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Exploring Job Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Value of Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
98-361
CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FUNDAMENTALS

Understanding Core Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.1

Understand computer storage and data types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.2

Understand computer decision structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.3

Identify the appropriate method for handling repetition . . . . . . . . . . 9

1.4

Understand error handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Understanding Object Oriented Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.1

Understand the fundamentals of classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.2

Understand inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2.3

Understand polymorphism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2.4

Understand encapsulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

CHAPTER 3

Understanding General Software Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

3.1 Understand application life-cycle management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2 Interpret application specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3 Understand algorithms and data structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CHAPTER 4

Understanding Web Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4.1

Understand Web page development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

4.2 Understand Microsoft ASP.NET Web application development . . . . 35

CHAPTER 5

4.3

Understand Web hosting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4.4

Understand Web services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Understanding Desktop Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.1/5.2 Understand Windows Forms applications; Understand
console-based applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
53

CHAPTER 6

Understand Windows services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Understanding Databases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6.1 Understand relational database management systems . . . . . . . . . . . 49

iv

Contents

6.2

Understand database query methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

6.3

Understand database connection methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53