Software Development Fundamentals: Exam 98-361 MTA (Microsoft Technology Associate)

The content in this book is well organized and thoroughly explained. Example problems are also well explained with all example code written in C#. I especially liked the practice problems at the end of chapters and the availability of a practice exam from a link provided in the first few pages.The things that I didn't like about it were mostly superficial. The "book" has more of a magazine feel to it. At most I would say it's a soft cover book or workbook. Perhaps that was my own fault for not reading the product detail carefully and assuming. Also there is no color other than the outside cover. Normally something like that doesn't concern me but when you pay over $50 for a "Workbook" it's worth noting. Something else worth noting, if you want a PDF version of the book the publisher offers it at half the price of the book. Most books I bought in the past usually throw that in for free. Overall pretty not bad.

Update: April 6, 2019:I just took the MTA 98-361 and didn't make the cut. I found this book is lacking updated terminology. There were questions on the exam that this book doesn't even mention. Based on the questions that were asked, I'd say only 70% on this study guide was actually on the exam. I see the price has gone up, too. **Don't waste your money on this book until it is updated!!**Also, don't bother with UCertify, neither...waste of money.__________________________________________________________________I was a little hesitant to purchase this book considering it was written four years ago. There's outdated material in this book and this year, the MTA exam is getting a make over.Just as one review states, there are grammatical errors in this book. I'm a self taught beginner looking for a career change in the IT field. Reading through the book, it gives a good idea of computer coding structure and terminology. My problem is with the actual coding in the book. In several places, you are to create several forms of coding. I've followed the book to the "T" and I still get errors from the Visual Studios compiler. Highly frustrating and prevents me from moving forward in the activities.The only thing that is keeping me going is the fact I found a fantastic application "SoloLearn". It is well designed for beginners wanting to learn any coding language. It has helped me learn C# faster than this book and at my own pace. It covers a lot of subjects in this book and it's free!At this time, I can't recommend this book for the MTA 98-361 Exam. It needed to be revised!

I used this book, along with MVA self-paced course to successfully pass the exam. While the booklet gave a good overview of the objectives to be tested, the questions and examples were significantly less complex than the exam questions themselves. The code-specific questions (I took C# language version) varied greatly from the sample code and example questions and Competency scenarios found in this book. In short, I would recommend this book as a supplement to your study for this exam. I highly recommend the rental option that Amazon makes available for this book. At less than 200 pages, I was able to rent it for a semester at half the purchase price, and within a month, I was able to pass the exam (with the help of independent study as well).

This book is very well written, it progresses well from foundation topics to the more advanced, and it should be easy for any reader to understand. The reason I awarded four stars as opposed to five is that there are some topics that one might not understand real well if they have no previous computer science or software engineering background. I do not mean that one could not pass the certification after reading this book. I cannot judge this since I have yet to take the test.If the certification test is based on the topics in this book then any reader should be able to pass the test upon completion of this book. Best wishes and good luck on your exam.

Here's the thing about this book... if you want to read it to know more about basic software development then it's fine. If you're reading this book to pass the 98-361 exam then it is NOT enough information.I read this book cover to cover twice to prepare for the exam and I did all of the exercises at the end of each chapter. Just a day before my exam, I found out through a forum post that others who used this book to prepare to the exam found that it wasn't enough. So, I spent 24 hours looking up additional information about the exam using non-Microsoft materials. When I went to take the test boy was I glad I didn't solely rely on this book. Many of the questions on the exam (almost a third of them) were asking about stuff that was never, ever reviewed in this book or just mentioned in passing. If you're going to use this book for the exam also sign up for a class or something. Oh... and to top it all off, the practice test code that came with this book was expired for me. Lame.

This book contains essential knowledge required to pass the MTA certification exam for this subject.I love the way this book is presented. Everything in the book is strong knowledge that you willneed to understand to work in the Microsoft Software Development environment. The chapters are1) Introduction to Programming 2) Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming 3) Understanding General Software Developmentenvironment 4) Understanding Web Applications 5) Understanding Desktop Applications 6)Understanding Databases.I passed the 98-361 MTA Certification test 19 April, 2014. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be.I believe that you will need a very good understanding of C# or Visual Basic. I took the C# option of the exam.I very valuable purchase.

I'm enjoying the book so far and learning a lot. It is very helpful for me, i'm glad i bought it. some of the links in side for student resources are old and don't work anymore and go to dead web pages. There is plenty of other helpful resources that go along with the book on line though. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to take the 98-361 exam to obtain their MTA.

Super! This is the book for the MTA 98-361 exam. I spent about 2 weeks went over this book word by word. Successfully passed the exam. What's covered in this book is what you need to understand for the exam.Can not think any better resource.

received it one day before estimate delivery day .. with the price tag i expected better quality .. the content is good

it is the best one!!!

The Seller was prompt but her 'soft words' is what got me; I fell in love with them and her.