Microsoft 70-482 Self Test Training — Hands-On C# Exam PrepPassing Microsoft Exam 70-482 (Developing Microsoft ASP.NET and Web Applications / or C# related developer exams) requires more than memorization — it demands practical experience, targeted practice, and an understanding of real-world patterns. This hands-on self test training guide gives a structured plan, sample practice questions, detailed explanations, and study strategies focused on C# development skills you’ll need to succeed.
Who this guide is for
- Developers with intermediate C# knowledge who need a focused, exam-oriented study plan.
- Engineers who prefer learning by doing with realistic coding tasks and self-assessments.
- Candidates aiming to reinforce concepts such as asynchronous programming, data access (Entity Framework), LINQ, debugging, and application architecture.
How to use this guide
- Read each topical section.
- Try the hands-on exercises before reading answers.
- Use the sample self-test questions to simulate exam conditions (timed, no external resources).
- Review explanations and code samples to fill gaps.
- Repeat weak topics and add more practice projects that use those features.
Exam focus — core topic areas
Microsoft 70-482-style assessments concentrate on practical tasks in several core areas. Below are the main domains to prioritize.
- C# language fundamentals and advanced features: generics, delegates, events, LINQ, tuples, pattern matching.
- Asynchronous programming: async/await, Task, parallelism, deadlock avoidance, cancellation tokens.
- Data access and persistence: Entity Framework (Code First and Database First), LINQ to Entities, transactions, performance tuning.
- Web application architecture: MVC or ASP.NET Core patterns, routing, middleware, dependency injection.
- Debugging, testing, and diagnostics: unit testing (xUnit/NUnit), mocking, logging, exception handling, performance profiling.
- Security and configuration: authentication/authorization, configuration management, secure data handling.
Study plan (8 weeks)
- Week 1 — Refresh C# fundamentals, generics, delegates, and OOP design.
- Week 2 — Deep dive into LINQ and collections; practice query creation and optimization.
- Week 3 — Entity Framework: model creation, migrations, relationships, and queries.
- Week 4 — Asynchronous programming and parallelism; practice converting sync code to async.
- Week 5 — Web app patterns: routing, controllers, middleware, DI.
- Week 6 — Testing and debugging: write unit tests, use mocking, analyze stack traces and memory.
- Week 7 — Security, configuration, and performance tuning.
- Week 8 — Full-length timed self-tests and review of weak spots.
Hands-on exercises
Exercise 1 — LINQ query transformations
- Task: Given a collection of orders, write a LINQ query to return customers who have placed more than five orders in the last year, ordered by total spend descending.
- Goals: Use filtering, grouping, aggregation, and projection.
Exercise 2 — EF Core basic model & migration
- Task: Create a Code First model for Blog and Post (one-to-many), add initial migration, and seed sample data. Write a repository method to retrieve blogs with their most recent post.
- Goals: Model configuration, migrations, eager loading, projection.
Exercise 3 — Async API endpoint
- Task: Implement an ASP.NET Core controller action that calls two external services in parallel, aggregates results, and supports cancellation via CancellationToken. Ensure no deadlocks and proper exception handling.
- Goals: async/await, Task.WhenAll, cancellation support, resilience.
Exercise 4 — Unit testing & mocking
- Task: Write unit tests for a service that depends on an email sender and a repository. Mock dependencies, test success and failure scenarios, and assert expected side effects.
- Goals: xUnit/NUnit, mocking frameworks (Moq), test isolation.
Exercise 5 — Performance profiling
- Task: Identify a performance bottleneck in a sample app (heavy LINQ operations causing N+1 queries). Fix by using eager loading or batch queries and measure improvement.
- Goals: Diagnostics, query optimization, EF performance patterns.
Sample self-test questions (with concise answers)
- Which C# feature allows you to define a method that can accept a variable number of arguments of the same type?
- Answer: params keyword.
- In async/await, what does Task.WhenAll do compared to awaiting tasks sequentially?
- Answer: It runs tasks concurrently and completes when all finish, improving overall latency if tasks are independent.
- How do you prevent the N+1 query problem in Entity Framework?
- Answer: Use eager loading (Include) or explicit batch queries to load related data in fewer queries.
- When should you use ConfigureAwait(false) in library code?
- Answer: Use it to avoid capturing the synchronization context when continuation on the original context is not required (improves performance and avoids deadlocks in certain app types).
- Which pattern helps decouple a controller from concrete implementations of services for easier testing?
- Answer: Dependency Injection (register interfaces and inject them).
Example code snippets
Async aggregation with cancellation (ASP.NET Core controller example):
[HttpGet("aggregate")] public async Task<IActionResult> GetAggregate(CancellationToken cancellationToken) { var taskA = _service.GetDataAAsync(cancellationToken); var taskB = _service.GetDataBAsync(cancellationToken); try { await Task.WhenAll(taskA, taskB); } catch (OperationCanceledException) { return new StatusCodeResult(StatusCodes.Status499ClientClosedRequest); } var result = new { A = await taskA, B = await taskB }; return Ok(result); } EF Core eager loading example:
var blogs = await context.Blogs .Include(b => b.Posts) .Where(b => b.Posts.Any()) .ToListAsync(); Unit test with Moq (xUnit):
[Fact] public async Task SendWelcomeEmail_CallsEmailSender() { var mockRepo = new Mock<IUserRepository>(); var mockEmail = new Mock<IEmailSender>(); mockRepo.Setup(r => r.GetUserAsync(1)).ReturnsAsync(new User { Id = 1, Email = "[email protected]" }); var svc = new UserService(mockRepo.Object, mockEmail.Object); await svc.RegisterUserAsync(1); mockEmail.Verify(e => e.SendAsync("[email protected]", It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>()), Times.Once); } Test-taking strategies
- Read questions fully and identify keywords (e.g., “best”, “most efficient”, “guarantee”).
- Eliminate clearly wrong answers first.
- For coding questions, think about side effects, thread-safety, and resource disposal.
- Manage time: flag and return to complex questions.
- Practice with full-length timed self-tests; simulate exam environment (no internet, time limit).
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Relying only on theory — practice by building and debugging real code.
- Not understanding async pitfalls — practice cancellation, ConfigureAwait, and deadlock scenarios.
- Ignoring performance — profile sample apps and learn EF query generation.
- Weak testing discipline — write unit tests for every important flow and use mocks for external dependencies.
Resources to augment practice
- Official docs for C#, .NET, Entity Framework, and ASP.NET Core.
- Public GitHub projects that use modern patterns (examine architecture and tests).
- Online coding platforms for timed practice problems.
- Community Q&A and blog posts for common pitfalls and optimizations.
Final checklist before the exam
- Completed hands-on exercises for each core domain.
- At least three full-length timed self-tests with review.
- Strong understanding of async patterns, EF performance, and DI.
- Familiarity with debugging tools and common exception traces.
This hands-on self test training plan targets the skills needed to pass Microsoft 70-482-style assessments by combining practical coding tasks, targeted sample questions, and exam strategies. Follow the 8-week plan, practice deliberately, and focus on areas where your mock tests show weakness.
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