Course · Intermediate

AWS Certified Developer – Associate

Learn to build, secure, deploy and debug applications on AWS the way the Developer – Associate exam expects, by writing Python and AWS CLI code against Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, SQS, EventBridge and KMS, shipping it with AWS SAM and a CI/CD pipeline, then reasoning through exam-style questions.

Start the course See the syllabus

55 itemsLast updated October 2026

aws-developer-associate / at a glance

11modules
33lessons
12labs and projects
632practice questions

The Developer – Associate exam checks that you can write, secure, deploy and debug code that runs on AWS. It gives you a scenario from a developer’s day, a failing deployment, a throttled function, a secret in the wrong place, and asks which change fixes it. This course teaches that judgement by having you write the code.

Each module explains how a group of services behaves from the developer’s side, then has you call it from the AWS CLI and short Python (boto3) scripts, and deploy it with AWS SAM. Every lesson and lab ends with ten exam-style questions, and the course closes with a capstone that ships a serverless API through a pipeline and a full-length, 65-question practice exam weighted like the real one.

The exam’s four domains, and where the course covers them:

Domain	Modules
Development with AWS services	2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Security	2, 6, 7
Deployment, testing and packaging	8, 9
Troubleshooting and optimization	4, 10

AWS replaces DVA-C02 with DVA-C03 on 1 December 2026. This edition is written for DVA-C03 and checked against its published exam guide; the orientation lesson explains which version to book. AWS changes services and exams over time, so before you book, read the current exam guide linked above; if it has changed, tell us and we will update the course.

Who it is for

Software developers, backend and full-stack engineers and DevOps practitioners who write code that runs on AWS, and anyone preparing for the AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam.

Before you start

Comfortable programming in at least one language; the labs use short Python scripts and every one is explained
Comfortable running commands in a terminal (Linux, macOS, or WSL on Windows), or willing to use AWS CloudShell in the browser
Basic HTTP, JSON and Git (commit, branch, push)
Some hands-on AWS use helps; the Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect – Associate course is useful but not required

What you need

A separate AWS account used only for this course, never a work or production account
AWS CLI version 2 or AWS CloudShell, which has it already; lab 1 shows both and signs the CLI in without long-lived access keys
Python 3.12 or newer with boto3, and the AWS SAM CLI for the Lambda labs
A budget alert on the account before any lab (lab 1 sets one up). Every lab says what it costs at the top, stays within the Free Tier where it can, and ends with a clean-up step

This edition

What's new as of October 2026

Built for the DVA-C03 exam that replaces DVA-C02 on 1 December 2026, including the new AI security task and AI-assisted development
Current Lambda: Python 3.14 and Node.js 24 runtimes, SnapStart for Python, durable functions, tenant isolation mode, 1 MB asynchronous payloads, and the new Event Function and Web Function names
Current SDKs and CLI: the AWS SDK for JavaScript v3 (v2 reached end of support), boto3 on supported Python versions, aws login for short-lived CLI credentials, and default S3 checksums
Tracing with OpenTelemetry and CloudWatch, now that the X-Ray SDKs and daemon are in maintenance mode
API Gateway response streaming and longer integration timeouts, Cognito feature plans and managed login, Step Functions JSONata and variables, and 1 MB EventBridge and SQS messages
KMS on-demand and configurable key rotation, and DynamoDB warm throughput and multi-Region strong consistency
Amazon Q Developer and Kiro, and the status of tools older courses still teach: Cloud9, CodeCatalyst, the Copilot CLI and CodeGuru
A capstone that ships a serverless API through a pipeline, and a 65-question practice exam the length of the real one

Prepares you for

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C03)

Every module maps to the domains in AWS's published exam guide.

You book and take the exam yourself with AWS. We do not run exams or sell exam vouchers. Pontelon is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized training partner of AWS. Practice questions are our own, written against the published exam guide, never leaked exam content. Certification names are trademarks of their owners.

Outcomes

By the end, you can

Call AWS from code with the SDKs and the AWS CLI using short-lived credentials, retries with backoff, pagination and least-privilege IAM roles
Build event-driven applications with Lambda, SQS, SNS, EventBridge, Step Functions and Kinesis, and handle failures with retries, destinations and dead-letter queues
Design DynamoDB keys and indexes from access patterns, choose a consistency model, and add caching where it pays
Build and secure APIs with API Gateway and Amazon Cognito, using validation, bearer tokens, stages and throttling
Protect data with KMS envelope encryption, Secrets Manager, Parameter Store and masking of sensitive data, including in applications that call AI services
Package, test and deploy with AWS SAM, CloudFormation and a CodePipeline pipeline, releasing with canary or blue/green and rolling back on an alarm
Instrument code with structured logs, custom metrics and traces, and use them to find a root cause and a bottleneck
Read a Developer – Associate question, spot the detail that decides it, and rule out the distractors

Syllabus

Modules, lessons and labs

Work through them in order: each one builds on the last, and each module ends with a checkpoint. Module 1 (2 items) is open to everyone. After that, sign in and pass each lesson's questions (70% or better) to unlock the next one. Your progress is saved to your account.

Module 1
Getting started
How the course and the exam work, and a developer sandbox with the CLI, Python and SAM ready.
1. Course orientation: the exam, the change to DVA-C03 and how to studyLesson · 10 questions
2. Lab: a developer sandbox that cannot surprise youLab · 10 questions
Module 2
Calling AWS from code
SDKs, the CLI, credentials, retries and the IAM a developer actually writes.
Module 3
Application patterns and messaging
Loose coupling, resilience, queues, topics, events, workflows and streams, all in code.
Module 4
AWS Lambda in depth
The execution model, configuration, error handling, integrations and tuning.
Module 5
Data stores
DynamoDB from keys to transactions, S3 from code, caching, and search.
Module 6
APIs and app authentication
API Gateway, Cognito, AppSync and CloudFront: building, protecting and caching APIs.
Module 7
Security in application code
KMS and envelope encryption, secrets and configuration, sensitive data, multi-tenancy and AI services.
Module 8
Packaging, infrastructure as code and testing
Artifacts and containers, SAM, CloudFormation and CDK, testing at every level, and AI-assisted development.
Module 9
CI/CD and deployment strategies
Repositories, builds and pipelines, and releasing with canary, blue/green and automatic rollback.
Module 10
Observability and optimization
Structured logs, custom metrics, tracing with X-Ray and OpenTelemetry, root-cause analysis and performance.
Module 11
Capstone and exam
Ship a serverless API through a pipeline with tracing, then sit a full-length practice exam.

Want it taught live, or to your team?

The course is free: module 1 to anyone, the rest with a free account. We also run it with an instructor, for a cohort or against your own systems. Ask us for the format and price.

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