Exam 70-176
Designing and Implementing Desktop Applications with Microsoft^® Visual Basic^® 6.0

This certification exam measures your ability to design and implement Win32 desktop application solutions by using Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0.

Win32 Desktop Applications are applications that are run by a single user on a single computer that runs Microsoft Windows. These applications reside on the hard drive of the user's computer and use local COM components. These applications can employ a two-tier architecture that uses remote data.

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

Deriving the Physical Design

• Assess the potential impact of the logical design on performance, maintainability, extensibility, and availability.
• Design Visual Basic components to access data from a database.
• 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 desktop applications.

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 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 callback procedures to enable asynchronous processing between COM components and Visual Basic client applications.
• Implement online user assistance in a desktop 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 desktop applications.
  • Identify and trap run-time errors.
  • Handle inline errors.

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.
• Debug a COM client written in Visual Basic.
• 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.

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 desktop application, registers the COM components, and allows for uninstall.
• Plan and implement floppy disk-based deployment or compact disc-based deployment for a desktop application.
• Plan and implement Web-based deployment for a desktop application.
• Plan and implement network-based deployment for a desktop application.

Maintaining and Supporting an Application

• Fix errors, and take measures to prevent future errors.
• Deploy application updates for desktop applications.