Exam 70-175
Designing and Implementing Distributed Applications with Microsoft^® Visual Basic^® 6.0

This certification exam measures your ability to design and implement distributed application solutions by using Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0.

Distributed Applications are client/server applications that use a network in a multi-tier architecture to distribute their presentation services, business logic, and data services. These applications often access many different data sources. The COM components contained in these applications typically participate in transactions, and they can be shared by multiple users and multiple applications.

Before you take the exam, you should be proficient in the job skills listed in the matrix below.

Developing the Conceptual and Logical Design

• Given a conceptual design, apply the principles of modular design to derive the components and services of the logical design.

Deriving the Physical Design

• Assess the potential impact of the logical design on performance, maintainability, extensibility, scalability, availability, and security.
• Design Visual Basic components to access data from a database in a multi-tier application.
• Design the properties, methods, and events of components.

Establishing the Development Environment

• Establish the environment for source-code version control.
• Install and configure Visual Basic for developing distributed applications.
• Configure a server computer to run Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS).
  • Install MTS.
  • Set up security on a system package.
• Configure a client computer to use an MTS component.
  • Create packages that install or update MTS components on a client computer.

Creating User Services

• Implement navigational design.
  • Dynamically modify the appearance of a menu.
  • Add a pop-up menu to an application.
  • Create an application that adds and deletes menus at run time.
  • Add controls to forms.
  • Set properties for controls.
  • Assign code to a control to respond to an event.
• Create data input forms and dialog boxes.
  • Display and manipulate data by using custom controls. Controls include TreeView, ListView, ImageList, Toolbar, and StatusBar.
  • Create an application that adds and deletes controls at run time.
  • Use the Controls collection to manipulate controls at run time.
  • Use the Forms collection to manipulate forms at run time.
• Write code that validates user input.
  • Create an application that verifies data entered at the field level and the form level by a user.
  • Create an application that enables or disables controls based on input in fields.
• Write code that processes data entered on a form.
  • Given a scenario, add code to the appropriate form event. Events include Initialize, Terminate, Load, Unload, QueryUnload, Activate, and Deactivate.
• Add an ActiveX control to the toolbox.
• Create dynamic Web pages by using Active Server Pages (ASP) and webclasses.
• Create a Web page by using the DHTML Page Designer to dynamically change attributes of elements, change content, change styles, and position elements.
• Use data binding to display and manipulate data from a data source.
• Instantiate and invoke a COM component.
  • Create a Visual Basic client application that uses a COM component.
  • Create a Visual Basic application that handles events from a COM component.
• Create call-back procedures to enable asynchronous processing between COM components and Visual Basic client applications.
• Implement online user assistance in a distributed application.
  • Set appropriate properties to enable user assistance. Help properties include HelpFile, HelpContextID, and WhatsThisHelp.
  • Create HTML Help for an application.
  • Implement messages from a server component to a user interface.
• Implement error handling for the user interface in distributed applications.
  • Identify and trap run-time errors.
  • Handle inline errors.
  • Determine how to send error information from a COM component to a client computer.
• Use an active document to present information within a Web browser.

Creating and Managing COM Components

• Create a COM component that implements business rules or logic. Components include DLLs, ActiveX controls, and active documents.
• Create ActiveX controls.
  • Create an ActiveX control that exposes properties.
  • Use control events to save and load persistent properties.
  • Test and debug an ActiveX control.
  • Create and enable property pages for an ActiveX control.
  • Enable the data-binding capabilities of an ActiveX control.
  • Create an ActiveX control that is a data source.
• Create an active document.
  • Use code within an active document to interact with a container application.
  • Navigate to other active documents.
• Design and create components that will be used with MTS.
• Debug Visual Basic code that uses objects from a COM component.
• Choose the appropriate threading model for a COM component.
• Create a package by using the MTS Explorer.
  • Use the Package and Deployment Wizard to create a package.
  • Import existing packages.
  • Assign names to packages.
  • Assign security to packages.
• Add components to an MTS package.
  • Set transactional properties of components.
  • Set security properties of components.
• Use role-based security to limit use of an MTS package to specific users.
  • Create roles.
  • Assign roles to components or component interfaces.
  • Add users to roles.
• Compile a project with class modules into a COM component.
  • Implement an object model within a COM component.
  • Set properties to control the instancing of a class within a COM component.
• Use Visual Component Manager to manage components.
• Register and unregister a COM component.

Creating Data Services

• Access and manipulate a data source by using ADO and the ADO Data control.
• Access and manipulate data by using the Execute Direct model.
• Access and manipulate data by using the Prepare/Execute model.
• Access and manipulate data by using the Stored Procedures model.
  • Use a stored procedure to execute a statement on a database.
  • Use a stored procedure to return records to a Visual Basic application.
• Retrieve and manipulate data by using different cursor locations. Cursor locations include client-side and server-side.
• Retrieve and manipulate data by using different cursor types. Cursor types include forward-only, static, dynamic, and keyset.
• Use the ADO Errors collection to handle database errors.
• Manage database transactions to ensure data consistency and recoverability.
• Write SQL statements that retrieve and modify data.
• Write SQL statements that use joins to combine data from multiple tables.
• Use appropriate locking strategies to ensure data integrity. Locking strategies include read-only, pessimistic, optimistic, and batch optimistic.

Testing the Solution

• Given a scenario, select the appropriate compiler options.
• Control an application by using conditional compilation.
• Set watch expressions during program execution.
• Monitor the values of expressions and variables by using the Immediate window.
  • Use the Immediate window to check or change values.
  • Use the Locals window to check or change values.
• Implement project groups to support the development and debugging processes.
  • Debug DLLs in process.
  • Test and debug a control in process.
• Given a scenario, define the scope of a watch variable.

Deploying an Application

• Use the Package and Deployment Wizard to create a setup program that installs a distributed application, registers the COM components, and allows for uninstall.
• Register a component that implements DCOM.
• Configure DCOM on a client computer and on a server computer.
• Plan and implement floppy disk-based deployment or compact disc-based deployment for a distributed application.
• Plan and implement Web-based deployment for a distributed application.
• Plan and implement network-based deployment for a distributed application.

Maintaining and Supporting an Application

• Implement load balancing.
• Fix errors, and take measures to prevent future errors.
• Deploy application updates for distributed applications.