Most development books take a very low-level approach, teaching you how to use individual classes and accomplish fine-grained tasks. Like the Microsoft 70-518 certification exam, this book takes a high-level approach, building on your knowledge of lower-level Microsoft Windows application development and extending it into application design. Both the exam and the book are so high-level that there is very little coding involved. In fact, most of the code samples this book provides simply illustrate higher-level concepts. The 70-518 certification exam tests your knowledge of designing and developing Windows applications. By passing this exam, you will prove that you have the knowledge and experience to design complex, multitier Windows applications using Microsoft technologies. This book will review every concept described in the exam objective domains, such as the following: ? Designing the layers of a solution ? Designing the Presentation layer ? Designing the Data access layer ? Planning a solution deployment ? Designing for stability and maintenance This book covers every exam objective, but it does not necessarily cover every exam question. Microsoft regularly adds new questions to the exam, making it impossible for this (or any) book to provide every answer. Instead, this book is designed to supplement your relevant independent study and real-world experience. If you encounter a topic in this book that you do not feel completely comfortable with, you should visit any links described in the text and spend several hours researching the topic further using MSDN, blogs, and support forums. Ideally, you should also create a practical application with the technology to gain hands-on experience.