Description:
Written for C++ developers seeking the valuable Microsoft Certified Software Developer (MCSD) credential, Distributed Applications with Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 MCSD Training Kit will prepare students for the Visual C++ exam 70-015. The book also explains where Visual C++ fits into the Microsoft vision for Windows software, particularly for writing COM-based distributed applications. This exam-prep guide excels by exposing the reader to the many ways Visual C++ can be used to build reusable, state-of-the-art DCOM/COM+ components. Chances are, few developers have created components using all the tools covered here. (For example, a series of tutorials demonstrates a reusable component built as a C++ DLL and then a COM object using the Platform SDK, ATL, and even MFC.) This comparative perspective to COM is one good reason to read this book. The text also covers database standards centered on Microsoft's Universal Data Access (UDA) and OLE DB/ADO, but also older standards like ODBC (and SQL). It does a particularly good job of describing two important tools in the Microsoft distributed-computing arsenal: MTS for transactions and MSMQ for message queuing. In addition, the book looks at deployment strategies with components and applications (including InstallShield, CAB files, and recent Microsoft tools for reducing administration overhead). It's a testament to the practical approach of this book that material on the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF), the "official" Microsoft software life cycle, is relegated to an appendix. With its hands-on take on today's Visual C++ tools and APIs, this text deserves a close look from anyone who programs with Visual C++ for a living. --Richard Dragan Topics covered: - MCSD exam 70-015 tutorial
- Overview of Microsoft certification programs
- Distributed architecture overview (user, business, and data service layers)
- Production channel (managing development and production systems)
- Installing and administering Microsoft Visual SourceSafe
- Visual C++ IDE basics and related tools
- Introduction to MFC, ATL, and STL
- Multithreaded programming and apartment models (STA and MTA)
- Stack-based and heap-based memory allocation
- Memory debugging techniques
- Help systems (traditional and HTML-based)
- Menus, toolbars, rebars, and status bars
- Dialog boxes and data validation (DDX and DDV)
- Building ActiveX controls and COM objects (with ATL, the Platform SDK, and MFC)
- COM tutorial
- Distributed COM (DCOM)
- Inheritance
- Code reuse strategies
- Windows NT services
- Active Documents
- MFC ISAPI for Web components
- Microsoft Transaction Services (MTS) and Microsoft Message Queue Services (MSMQ)
- Overview and C++ how-to
- database programming (SQL, UDA, OLE DB, ADO, ODBC standards)
- Exception handling in C++ and COM error handling
- Debugging and testing strategies
- The Dependency Walker and Spy++ tools
- Deploying applications
- Zero Administration for Windows (ZAW) tools and techniques
- The Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) project life cycle
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