C# Coding Apprentice
Certification

Candidates are expected to demonstrate a general background in coding with C#. Prior to taking the exam, a candidate is expected to have approximately 100 hours of hands-on experience or lectures on developing using C#.

The elevated level of preparation required is derived from the industry-standard level of the exam and the fact that this certification reflects the candidate’s readiness to enter the job market. Moreover, this Certification is used as a job placement index by recruiting managers, for the correct placement of a job seeker. Knowledge Pillars CSCA uses a task-based format in order to ensure the validity of the results.

To optimize the examination experience for the Candidate, Knowledge Pillars has taken certain steps to utilize a real C# coding environment during the examination. The exam is provided both in Testing Centers or remotely, via the remote proctoring system.

Objectives:

• Objective 1 – C# Fundamentals
• Objective 2 – Control Statements
• Objective 3 – Methods
• Objective 4 – Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Concepts
• Objective 5 – Introduction to Design Patterns
• Objective 6 – Introduction to LINQ (IEnumerable)

Objective 1 – C# Fundamentals

1.1: Recognize and apply C# syntax

• Identify and use keywords, operators, and delimiters
• Use semicolons and curly braces to structure code
• Use comments to add documentation and clarify code
• Utilize IntelliSense for code completion and to increase productivity

1.2: Utilize C# data types

• Recognize and use built-in C# data types, including numeric, Boolean, and character types
• Use strings and string manipulation methods
• Utilize the var keyword for implicit typing
• Recognize and use nullable value types
• Understand the difference between value types and reference types

1.3: Declare and initialize variables and constants

• Declare and assign values to variables and constants
• Use the correct scope when declaring variables and constants
• Understand the difference between instance variables and local variables
• Use the readonly keyword to create constants

1.4: Handle overflow and underflow

• Understand how overflow and underflow can occur in numeric calculations
• Use checked and unchecked keywords to detect and handle overflow and underflow

1.5: Manage variable scope

• Understand how variable scope affects the lifetime and accessibility of variables
• Declare and use variables at the appropriate scope
• Understand the difference between local and instance variables

1.6: Convert between data types

• Understand the difference between implicit and explicit type conversion
• Use casting to convert between data types
• Utilize the Convert class to convert between data types
• Understand how to handle exceptions when converting data types

1.7: Use operators and precedence

• Recognize and use arithmetic, assignment, comparison, and logical operators
• Understand operator precedence and how to use parentheses to override precedence

1.8: Work with arrays and lists

• Declare and initialize arrays and lists
• Access and modify array and list elements
• Utilize the Array and List classes to manipulate arrays and lists
• Understand the difference between arrays and lists and when to use each

Objective 2 – Control Statements

2.1. Decision Making

• Understand the purpose of decision-making statements in programming
• Use if statements to control program flow based on a single condition
• Use if-else statements to provide alternate code paths based on a condition
• Use if-else-if statements to provide multiple code paths based on multiple conditions

2.2. Switch Statement

• Understand the purpose of the switch statement in programming
• Use switch statements to provide multiple code paths based on a single value
• Use switch statements to provide multiple code paths based on multiple values

2.3. While Loop

• Understand the purpose of loop statements in programming
• Use while loops to execute a block of code repeatedly based on a condition
• Use while loops to iterate over a collection of items
• Understand the difference between while loops and do-while loops

2.4. For Loop

• Understand the purpose of for loops in programming
• Use for loops to execute a block of code repeatedly for a specified number of times
• Use for loops to iterate over a collection of items
• Understand the difference between for loops and while loops

2.5. Jump Statements

• Understand the purpose of jump statements in programming
• Use break statements to exit loops or switch statements early
• Use continue statements to skip the current iteration of a loop
• Use goto statements to transfer control to a labeled statement
• Use return statements to exit a function or method and return a value
• Use throw statements to raise an exception in response to an error condition.

Objective 3 – Methods

3.1. Working with Methods

• Define and call methods
• Understand method signatures
• Identify access modifiers and their impact on method access
• Understand the scope of variables declared within a method
• Pass arguments into a method and return values from a method
• Use method overloading

3.2. Methods Parameters

• Understand the different parameter passing mechanisms such as pass by value and pass by reference
• Understand the difference between value types and reference types
• Use optional and named parameters
• Use params keyword

3.3. Method Overloading

• Understand method overloading
• Identify overloaded methods
• Create overloaded methods with different parameter types and numbers
• Use overloaded methods in code

Objective 4 – Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Concepts

4.1. Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

• Understand the basic concepts of OOP
• Know the benefits of OOP

4.2. Class and Object

• Define classes and objects
• Understand the relationship between classes and objects
• Create objects from a class
• Work with object references

4.3. Constructors

• Define constructors and their purpose
• Differentiate between parameterized and default constructors
• Understand constructor overloading

4.4. Inheritance

• Define inheritance and its purpose
• Create a derived class from a base class
• Override base class members in a derived class
• Use base keyword to access base class members

4.5. Encapsulation

• Define encapsulation and its purpose
• Use access modifiers to protect class members
• Understand the differences between public, private, protected and internal access modifiers

4.6. Abstraction

• Define abstraction and its purpose
• Use abstract classes and methods
• Implement abstract classes and methods

4.7. Polymorphism

• Define polymorphism and its purpose
• Use method overriding and method overloading
• Understand the differences between compile-time polymorphism and runtime polymorphism

Objective 5 – Introduction to Design Patterns

5.1. Singleton Pattern

• Understand the Singleton Pattern
• Implement the Singleton Pattern

5.2. Immutable Object Pattern

• Understand the Immutable Object Pattern
• Implement the Immutable Object Pattern

5.3. Builder Pattern

• Understand the Builder Pattern
• Implement the Builder Pattern

5.4. Factory Pattern

• Understand the Factory Pattern
• Implement the Factory Pattern

Objective 6 – Introduction to LINQ (IEnumerable)

6.1. Delegates (intro)

• Define the concept of delegates and their role in C# programming.
• Explain how delegates are used for event handling.
• Discuss the different types of delegates, including single-cast, multicast, and generic delegates.
• Describe how delegates can be instantiated and invoked in C#.

6.2. Lambda Expressions

• Define the concept of lambda expressions and their role in C# programming.
• Explain how lambda expressions can be used to create anonymous methods.
• Discuss the syntax and structure of lambda expressions in C#.
• Describe the different types of lambda expressions, including single-line and multi-line expressions.
• Demonstrate how lambda expressions can be used in LINQ queries to filter, sort, and transform data.

A critical part of the exam development process is the beta exam. By taking the exam in its beta format, candidates provide us with useful information to evaluate the technical accuracy, relevance, and psychometric characteristics of the questions before we score examinees.

Get 80% off the CCA beta exam. If you take the beta exam, Knowledge Pillars will send a 25% discount voucher to the same email that you use to register for exams AFTER the beta exam has been scored. You can apply that voucher to your next Knowledge Pillars exam registration. 

Note Participation in the beta is on a first come, first served basis. Due to popular demand, we recommend that you register as soon as the beta registration period begins. 

Candidates located in China, India, Pakistan, or Turkey are not eligible to participate in beta exams for security reasons.

Preparing for a beta exam

You will have access to the Exam Details page that lists the skills that will be assessed on the exam. Knowledge Pillars does not currently offer training materials for its exams.

People interested in beta exams usually have access to other resources, are experienced with the technology, or work with the beta product. We recommend that you consult peers, community resources, and early-adopter articles for support if you need additional preparation materials.

Beta exam scoring and results

When you complete a beta exam, you do not receive a score immediately because the scoring model for the exam is not yet finalized.

You usually receive your exam score within 2-3 weeks after the exam becomes available worldwide—this can be up to 16 weeks after you take the exam, depending on when in the beta period you took the exam. This time frame reflects the comprehensive process used to evaluate the beta exam results, including statistically analyzing the data to evaluate the performance of each question and reading and evaluating all comments provided during the beta exam. The rescore process starts on the day that exams go live, and final scores are released approximately 10 days later.

Note Participation in beta exams is voluntary, and Knowledge Pillars makes no promises or guarantees regarding the beta exam process, availability of your scores, or the timing of your results. Generally online proctored exam results are presented within 72 hours.

Passing the beta exam

Passing a beta exam in your certification exam counts toward your transcript. You do not need to retake the exam in its final version and you will receive a digital badge as confirmation of your passing score. Make sure that you take another exam within a year so you can take advantage of the 25% discount you earned for taking the beta exam through our beta exam discount program.

If you do not pass the beta exam, you cannot retake the beta exam. If you are interested in earning a certification that requires successful completion of that exam, you must wait to retake the exam at regular cost when it’s live, or you can apply the 25% discount that you received for taking the beta exam through our beta exam discount program.