Exam 70-457 - Transition Your MCTS on SQL Server 2008 to MCSA- SQL Server 2012, Part 1
Skill 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. The higher the percentage, the more questions you are likely to see on that content area on the exam.
Please note that the questions may test on, but will not be limited to, the topics described in the bulleted text.
Create database objects
- Create and alter tables using T-SQL syntax (simple statements)
- Create tables without using the built-in tools; ALTER; DROP; ALTER COLUMN; CREATE
- Design views
- Ensure code non regression by keeping consistent signature for procedure, views, and function (interfaces); security implications
- Create and alter DML triggers
- Inserted and deleted tables; nested triggers; types of triggers; update functions; handle multiple rows in a session; performance implications of triggers
Preparation resources
- Tables
- Views
- CREATE TRIGGER
Work with data
- Query data by using SELECT statements
- Use the ranking function to select top(X) rows for multiple categories in a single query; write and perform queries efficiently using the new code items such as synonyms and joins (except, intersect); implement logic which uses dynamic SQL and system metadata; write efficient, technically complex SQL queries, including all types of joins versus the use of derived tables; determine what code may or may not execute based on the tables provided; given a table with constraints, determine which statement set would load a table; use and understand different data access technologies; CASE versus ISNULL versus COALESCE
- Implement sub-queries
- Identify problematic elements in query plans; pivot and unpivot; apply operator; cte statement; with statement
- Implement data types
- Use appropriate data; understand the uses and limitations of each data type; impact of GUID (newid, newsequentialid) on database performance, when to use which data type for columns
Preparation resources
- SELECT (Transact-SQL)
- INTO clause (Transact-SQL)
- FROM (Transact-SQL)
Modify data
- Create and alter stored procedures (simple statements)
- Write a stored procedure to meet a given set of requirements; branching logic; create stored procedures and other programmatic objects; techniques for developing stored procedures; different types of stored procedure results; create a stored procedure for data access layer; program stored procedures, triggers, and functions with T-SQL
- Modify data by using INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements
- Given a set of code with defaults, constraints, and triggers, determine the output of a set of DDL; know which SQL statements are best to solve common requirements; use output statement
- Work with functions
- Understand deterministic and non-deterministic functions; scalar and table values; apply built-in scalar functions; create and alter user-defined functions (UDFs)
Preparation resources
- CREATE PROCEDURE (Transact-SQL)
- ALTER PROCEDURE (Transact-SQL)
- INSERT (Transact-SQL)
Troubleshoot and optimize queries
- Optimize queries
- Understand statistics; read query plans; plan guides; DMVs; hints; statistics IO; dynamic vs. parameterized queries; describe the different join types (HASH, MERGE, LOOP) and describe the scenarios in which they would be used
- Manage transactions
- Mark a transaction; understand begin tran, commit, and rollback; implicit vs. explicit transactions; isolation levels; scope and type of locks; trancount
- Evaluate the use of row-based operations vs. set-based operations
- When to use cursors; impact of scalar UDFs; combine multiple DML operations
- Implement error handling
- Implement try/catch/throw; use set based rather than row based logic; transaction management