Exam 70-599:

Pro: Designing and Developing Windows Phone Applications

Published: July 14, 2011
Language(s): English
Audience(s): Developers
Technology: Windows Phone 7
Type: Proctored Exam

About this Exam
This exam is designed to test the candidate's knowledge and skills on designing and developing applications for the Windows Phone platform. Note that candidates who earn the MCPD: Windows Phone Developer certification will be required to show continuing ability to perform in this technology area by completing a recertification exam every two years.
Audience Profile
Candidates for Exam 70-599 are typically independent software vendors (ISVs) or developers who design and develop applications for the Windows Phone platform.
Credit Toward CertificationExam 70-599: Pro: Designing and Developing Windows Phone Applications: counts as credit toward the following certification(s):
Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Windows Phone , Developer

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Skills Being Measured
This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below.The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam.
Designing Data Access Strategies (19%)

* Send and receive data.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: design connection mechanisms for communicating with external web services; plan how to consume and parse data from web services (for example, WCF and WS*); ensure a trusted transfer of data to and from a phone
* Design a data storage strategy.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: differentiate between persistent and transient data; determine when to use isolated storage; plan for size limitations of isolated storage; design cloud-based storage
* Plan for bandwidth limitations and implement network connectivity detection.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: plan for disconnected scenarios; plan for low network bandwidth

Designing and Implementing Notification Strategies (17%)

* Plan for and implement push notifications in the application.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: choose method for notifying user of application’s state/status (tile, toast, RAW); respond to notifications; registration for notifications
* Plan for and implement push notifications on the server.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: when to use toast, tile, and raw; plan for receiving the unique device URL
* Create and update live tiles.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: update background image, numbers, and text

Working with Platform APIs, Tasks, and Choosers (21%)

* Design and implement sensor interaction.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: choose which sensors are appropriate for your application; design location awareness (when to use different levels of GeopositionAccuracy); location awareness system setting
* Plan for and implement the use of Tasks and Choosers.
* Plan for and implement multitouch and gestures.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: manipulation events (ManipulationStarted, ManipulationCompleted, ManipulationDelta)
* Design and implement application navigation.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: pass parameters (NavigationContext API), manipulate the navigation stack (NavigationService API), use of the Back button, PhoneApplicationPage class and PhoneApplicationFrame class and the difference between these two classes

Designing the Application Architecture (21%)

* Design for threading.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: use of the composition thread
* Monitor and tune performance.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: frame rate counter; cache visualization; redraw regions; bitmap caching; memory usage limitations; plan for power consumption; tune bandwidth consumption; performance counters
* Manage the application life cycle.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: tombstoning; response to PhoneApplicationService events (Launching, Activated, Deactivated, Closing)
* Prepare the application to meet Windows Phone marketplace requirements.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: Windows Phone Application Certification Requirements; design for localization and globalization; plan for trial versions; work with WMAppManifest.xml; design for icon requirements for marketplace

Designing the User Interface and User Experience (22%)

* Design for separation of concerns.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: presentation patterns that use view models, MVVM
* Design Windows Phone control usage.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: design control usage as described in UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone; design proper use of PanoramaControl and PivotControl; choose when to use the Panorama Control and PivotControl; recommend when to use ApplicationBar
* Recommend keyboard layout for a given situation.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: InputScope property
* Design for system themes, accent color, and screen orientation.
*This objective may include but is not limited to: built-in styles that use system themes and accent colors, ApplicationBar icons (size, transparency), landscape, portrait

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Microsoft adds RAW photo file support to Windows

Some welcome news for serious photographers running Windows: Microsoft has added support for the RAW file format from within Windows Explorer as well as Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011.

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"Dealing with raw images on Windows hasn't always been easy," admited Brad Weed, group program manager for Microsoft's Windows Live in a blog post emailed to me in advance of its posting.

Microsoft today announced the release of a Camera Codec Pack that supports more than 120 RAW file formats from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, Leica, Minolta, Panasonic and Epson. Once installed, Explorer windows will be able to generate thumbnail images from RAW files.

RAW files, often called digital negatives, include all the data that a camera captures electronically. That data is usually processed in some way to produce a viewable image, a bit like film negatives need processing to create prints. Many photography enthusiasts prefer shooting with a RAW format because 1) those files include much more data than a JPG and 2) RAW gives them greater control over what the final image will look like, much like doing your own darkroom work instead of sending film out to be processed. (Am I dating myself here?)
RAW files in Windows Explorer before the Codec
RAW files as they appeared in Windows Explorer before the Camera Codec Pack

However, not all software can deal with RAW files, including many low-end image editors. Until today, Windows Explorer didn't, either; Explorer could not generate thumbnail images of RAW files the way it did with JPGs. So, even if you chose to display image thumbnails within Explorer, all you'd get is icons showing the application you've associated with that file type. (I've linked my RAW files to be opened in Photoshop Elements, hence the PSE).
RAW files in Windows Explorer using the Codec
RAW files as they appear in Windows Explorer using the Camera Codec Pack

I'm not sure how many people will be using Windows Live Photo Gallery to edit RAW files. It's hard to imagine that many photographers shooting RAW are using Windows Live to edit their images, as opposed to, say, robust editors such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom or Apple Apeture -- all of which include RAW editors. However, the ability to see RAW thumbnails in Explorer should be useful for hobbyists using the Windows platform. I've already downloaded and installed the Codec on my Windows 7 system at home, and it's nice to see thumbnails of my RAW files instead of icons of the software I use to open them. And I suppose the Windows Live capability could in handy in a pinch, for someone encountering a RAW file who doesn't usually deal with them.

You can download and install the Codec Pack manually from the Microsoft Download Center.

If you're wondering, Mac OS X is already able to generate thumbnails for RAW files, and Apple's consumer-level iPhoto software pulls in RAW files and automatically processes them (unlike Apeture which gives the user more control over that conversion).