Microsoft Windows Architecture for Developers Training Kit

This self-paced course combines text, graphics, hands-on procedures, multimedia presentations, and review questions to teach you about Windows architecture. The course is designed for you to work through the book from beginning to end, but you can choose a customized track and complete only the sections that interest you. You can also work through the book in an order that prepares you for the certification exams. (See the "Using, this Book to Prepare for Certification" section that appears later in this chapter.) If you choose to customize your study, see the "Before You Begin" section in each chapter for important information regarding prerequisites.

The self-paced training book is divided into the following chapters:

• The "About This Book" section contains a self-paced training overview and introduces the components of this book. Read this section thoroughly to get the greatest educational value from this self-paced training and to plan which lessons you will complete.
• Chapter 1, "Windows Operating Systems and Architecture," describes the three different Windows environments and the basic architecture of the Windows operating system. After working through the chapter, you will be able to describe which Windows operating system should be used for various business requirements.
• Chapter 2, "Network Concepts," describes local area networks and wide area networks and the terms, "Internet" and "intranet." How computers communicate and the protocols they use for networked applications are also described. After completing the lessons in this chapter, you will be able to list common application protocols used over the Internet and describe how bandwidth and latency can affect online content creation.
• Chapter 3, "Building Solutions Using Microsoft BackOffice," lists the various software products that compose BackOffice and how, as a developer, these products can be used as the foundation for advanced business solutions. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to describe how specific BackOffice products can be used to solve specific business requirements.
• Chapter 4, "Application Development," describes the development tools included in Microsoft Visual Studio. Creating solutions using Microsoft Visual Basic and Microsoft Office are discussed. In addition, Windows logo compliance and localization considerations are also described After working through this chapter, you will be able to compare and contrast the Microsoft development tools currently available.
• Chapter 5, "Component Solutions Architecture," defines COM and how OLE and ActiveX relate to COM. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a basic understanding of how you can build reusable software. After you have completed the lessons in this chapter, you will be able to build software components that can be used by different applications.
• Chapter 6, "Implementing Database Solutions," describes fundamental database concepts that you need to understand before you implement client/server solutions. After you have completed this chapter, you will be able to describe the difference between file-based databases and client/server databases, and list ways to implement an appropriate database solution.
• Chapter 7, "Database Interfaces for Developers," discusses the major database interfaces available for developers. Using Visual Basic you will implement solutions using all three interfaces. At the end of the chapter, you will be able to describe which database interface should be used for a given business scenario.
• Chapter 8, "ActiveX Technologies," describes the major ActiveX technologies available for developers. Creating ActiveX documents and building ActiveX controls is discussed. After you have completed the lessons in this chapter, you will be able to list various ActiveX technologies and describe their use given a certain business scenario.
• Chapter 9, "Implementing Client-Side Solutions," describes the use of VBScript to build active content in a Web page. How to create variables , build procedures and write script will be discussed. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to write VBScript that runs in a Web page on a client computer.
• Chapter 10, "Implementing Server-Side Solutions," describes the use of Active Server Pages and writing VBScript for use by the Microsoft Personal Web Server or Internet Information Server. Creating Web pages that act as a traditional application, such as global variables, will be covered. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to use Microsoft Visual InterDev to build Active Server Pages.
• Chapter 11, "Other Programming Interfaces," discusses various APIs to expand the capabilities of development tools. The Crypto API, Messaging API, Speech API and others will be described. After completing the lessons in this module, you will be able to list available APIs, describe their use, and implement MAPI to mail-enable a Visual Basic application.
• Chapter 12, "User Interface Considerations," discusses building effective user interfaces. Topics such as, using 3-D controls, online help, and Windows common dialogs will be covered. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to describe features of an effective user interface and you will be able to implement context-sensitive help in a Visual Basic application.
• Chapter 13, "Design Methodologies and Management," discusses the use of the Microsoft Solutions Framework to manage large software development efforts. Using Microsoft Visual Source Safe will also be described to help manage source code and related project files. After completing the lessons in this chapter, you will be able to describe which MSF model should be used given a certain business scenario.
• "Questions and Answers" lists all of the review questions from the book showing the page number where the question appears and the suggested answer.