Microsoft offers a set of certifications that validate a software developer’s expertise in Microsoft technologies. Certifications such as the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) are achieved by passing a set of related certification exams, each with a different technology focus.
Learning path objective:
Prepare developers for Microsoft exam 70-486, Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications.
At first glance, this list of courses may seem daunting. But this is because Pluralsight’s developer courses are designed to provide comprehensive coverage of a specific programming language, developer tool, platform or service. Microsoft certification exams, however, are designed to test a developer’s knowledge of a broad set of tools and techniques spanning several different technology areas.
As a result, developers who work through every course listed here will learn far more than what is required in order to pass this specific certification exam. To learn more about the relative weight of each major topic on the exam — which can serve as a guide to specific modules within these courses that are directly relevant to this exam — consult the Microsoft exam page listed above, in addition to the information here and on each course’s home page within the Pluralsight library.
Target audience:
This learning path is intended for software developers who are interested in passing Microsoft exam 70-486, a component of the following MCSD certifications.
Learning path course sequence:
| Course | Duration |
| Building Applications with ASP.NET MVC 4 | 7h 22m |
| Web Security and the OWASP Top 10: The Big Picture | 2h 03m |
| OWASP Top 10 Web Application Security Risks for ASP.NET | 8h 06m |
| What’s New in the OWASP Top 10 for 2013 | 1h 34m |
| Mobile First Responsive Web Design | 2h 57m |
| HTML5 Advanced Topics | 2h 45m |
| ASP.NET Bundling, Minification & Resource Optimization | 4h 22m |
| ASP.NET 3.5 Advanced Topics | 6h 00m |
| Extending IIS 7.5 with Modules and Handlers | 2h 47m |
| Search Engine Optimization with ASP.NET | 1h 05m |
| Introduction to Windows Azure | 2h 25m |
| Windows Azure Web Sites | 1h 35m |
| Windows Azure Access Control Service | 2h 10m |
| Windows Azure Diagnostics | 3h 18m |
| IntelliTrace | 5h 30m |
| Total | 54h 06m |
Learning path description:
The path to ASP.NET MVC 4 mastery begins with Scott Allen’s comprehensive Building Applications with ASP.NET MVC 4 course. This is designed to introduce developers to all facets of MVC 4 application development from the server to the client, and including topics such as security, testing and deployment. Once basic mastery of ASP.NET MVC 4 has been acquired, several courses offer deeper dives into specific areas of emphasis included on the exam.
A key — and often overlooked — aspect of web application development is security. Before exploring other facets of ASP.NET MVC application development, be sure to spend time with Troy Hunt. Start with his efficient overview of web security and the OWASP top 10, and then dive into the implementation of those recommendations within ASP.NET. This will teach you how to defend against threats such as cross site scripting, cross site request forgery, injection attacks and more.
Moving to the client side of the MVC application development story, Jon Flanders provides an excellent look at mobile-first responsive web design, while Craig Shoemaker’s advanced HTML5 course provides insights into topics such as offline applications and web sockets. Travis Gosselin’s course on ASP.NET bundling, minification and resource optimization covers all the bases in terms of optimizing the interaction between the client’s browser and your ASP.NET-based backend.
For insights into the ASP.NET HTTP pipeline and support for asynchronous operations, check out Fritz Onion’s ASP.NET advanced topics course. Follow that with Robert Boedigheimer’s efficient look at exam topics such as HTTP modules, HTTP handlers and IIS diagnostics.
Rich Dudley’s course on Search Engine Optimization with ASP.NET provides an overview of SEO concepts, as well as a look at how to put those concepts to work in the context of both MVC and WebForms applications built with ASP.NET.
In addition to the fundamentals of ASP.NET MVC, this exam also tests proficiency in various aspects of Windows Azure for hosting ASP.NET MVC applications. Matt Milner’s introduction to Windows Azure is a great starting point for those new to Azure. His course on Windows Azure Web Sites then provides a focused look at Azure’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) hosting option. And Scott Seely’s course on the Azure access control service provides insight into Azure’s support for security federation.
Rounding out this learning path are a couple of courses focused on debugging and diagnostics. Check out Niraj Bhatt’s course for an exploration of diagnostics within the context of Azure, and Marcel de Vries’ course for information on Microsoft IntelliTrace.
Additionally, Microsoft recommends that developers familiarize themselves with the Microsoft Application Architecture Guide that is published by the Microsoft Patterns & Practices group.