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MSDN Developer Centers

MSDN Developer Centers pull together content and resources around specific products and technologies, connecting you to code samples, community sites, technical articles and more.

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The Library contains a bounty of technical programming information, including sample code, documentation, technical articles, and reference guides.

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• Support Forums for all your programming questions
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• Are you looking for guidance on how to develop your Microsoft .NET skills? The .NET Developer Career Skills Road Map presents many skills development and career opportunities that the .NET platform provides for professional developers.

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Microsoft Exams

Preparation Guides

Exam 70-300

Exam 70-305

Exam 70-306

Exam 70-310

Exam 70-315

Exam 70-316

Exam 70-320

Exams grow old and retire

Exams evolve constantly and sometimes they are replaced entirely.  You should ask yourself regularly is my exam still available?

Why are exams terminated?  Microsoft says:

"Microsoft develops new exams and discontinues others to ensure that all exams reflect current job roles. To help you manage your certification and training plan, all certification exams will be available for at least two years from the release date of the exam. (Please see the preparation guide of the exam you are interested in, which includes the date the exam was released.) Announcements of exams scheduled for discontinuation will be made once a year in June on this Web site."  Reference for this quote.

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Microsoft Qualifications

Your first step - MCP qualifications

When you successfully complete a single Microsoft exam, you are awarded MCP status.  MCP stands for Microsoft Certified Professional.  In short, MCP means that you have passed one or more Microsoft exam but you still require more exams to complete a qualification.

For this reason your MCP status will expire if the exam(s) that you have completed are discontinued.  

Microsoft says:

"If that exam retires, the certification is valid for at least one year after the retirement date."  Reference for this quote.

(Your MCSD, or the like, qualification will not expire when exams are discontinued.)

MCAD or MCSD?

What is the difference?  

The image below gives you a good idea of the difference between the two qualifications.  To know more, read here.

Q.		According to the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for Microsoft .NET requirements, if I earn the MCSD for Microsoft .NET certification, I will automatically earn the MCAD for Microsoft .NET certification. Is this correct?

A.

Yes, that is correct. The exams required to earn the MCAD for Microsoft .NET credential are a direct subset of the exams required for the MCSD for Microsoft .NET credential. You will earn the MCAD on your way to earning the MCSD.

Reference for this quote.

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Software

"Refactor! for Visual Basic 2005 is a free plug-in from Developer Express Inc., in partnership with Microsoft, that enables Visual Basic developers to simplify and re-structure source code inside of Visual Studio 2005, making it easier to read and less costly to maintain. Refactor! supports more than 15 individual refactoring features, including operations like Reorder Parameters, Extract Method, Encapsulate Field and Create Overload."    Reference for this quote

The Microsoft Support Lifecycle indicates how long a product will be supported, i.e. service packs.

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