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Learning .NET
Nightslyr
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'd like to learn some .NET stuff (ASP and C# are the two I know the most about), but have no idea where to start. I prefer books to online tutorials, but hate buying books that seem good in the store, or get good reviews online, only to find that they're not very good once you get past the introductory chapters.
My scripting background is this: I primarily script in PHP(5), and can create more or less whatever I want to, barring bigger projects like CMS' and full-featured blogs. I have made my own simple e-commerce scripts which work, but aren't for real due to security issues. I know basic JavaScript, and can do DOM tricks and form validation. I have very rudimentary knowledge of C++ ("Hello world!" level of knowledge).
So, with that rough rundown of my current skill level, can anyone recommend me some decent introductory texts? .NET is going to be my next big project after I fine tune my PHP abilities.
Thanks!
My scripting background is this: I primarily script in PHP(5), and can create more or less whatever I want to, barring bigger projects like CMS' and full-featured blogs. I have made my own simple e-commerce scripts which work, but aren't for real due to security issues. I know basic JavaScript, and can do DOM tricks and form validation. I have very rudimentary knowledge of C++ ("Hello world!" level of knowledge).
So, with that rough rundown of my current skill level, can anyone recommend me some decent introductory texts? .NET is going to be my next big project after I fine tune my PHP abilities.
Thanks!
Nightslyr on
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There is a lot of example code on MSDN, you might try looking at that. I find learning from examples to be easier sometimes. Although with .NET it seems to be a little more difficult to figure some stuff out that way... If you don't like online tutorials, then, uhh, print them out. Then they become books.
I used Deitel's VB.NET book 3-4 years ago and then taught myself C# based on that, which has worked out well.
http://www.thelostworlds.net/
http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Specific-Improve-Software-Development/dp/0321245660/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9910294-2090011?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184588336&sr=8-1
There is a lot of cool stuff in .NET that is somewhat unique to the language (C#, VB.NET, whatever other .NET language you use), that you probably need a bit of advising to learn how to use properly (struct vs. class, IDisposable, finalizers, etc). This book is a great resource.
I've done some small OOP-ish things. I know how to create classes and instatiate objects. I know some of the basics (how to create a Singleton, basic Factories and Abstract Factories, basic composition, Decorators, etc). I'm currently reading through apress' PHP5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice book. The patterns, according to the author, are based on the Gang of Four's book (which I also own but haven't gone through) and Fowler's Enterprise Patterns book (which I don't own yet).
I'll look into the Deitel book. One of my old C++ books (which I lost somewhere) was through them. Has .NET changed in any significant way since you went through your VB.NET book? I ask only to figure out if there's any specific version/edition I should look for.
Since you already have programming experience, the book shouldn't be too hard to understand, and gives good technical details on .NET web development, in both VB.NET and C#.
So, in English, it's written for people who know how to program, but don't know the first thing about .NET, and it covers all bases.
Once you have that book and are doing real stuff, get MSDN, and use it, a lot. MSDN is civilization!
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
The book I had was based on .NET 1.1. So I learned VB.NET using Visual Studio 2003 and the Deitel book, then taught myself C# using VS 2003, and then when VS 2005 / .NET 2.0 came out I migrated over to C# in that and learned the new features on my own.
.NET 3.0 is out, but there is no corresponding version of VS yet (it's in beta). Supposedly VS 2008 will be out at the end of this year, and is supposed to be based on either .NET 3.5 or 4.0.
There were definitely some differences between 1.1 and 2.0, so I imagine 2.0 -> 3.5/4.0 will also entail some notable changes, but if you're using VS, it will tell you when you're doing something deprecated.
http://www.thelostworlds.net/
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
I only looked at it briefly, but I was working from a tutorial that had a new way to define Windows forms. Maybe it was using XAML? I gave up on it pretty quickly because I usually prefer to design forms using the GUI instead of coding them directly.
http://www.thelostworlds.net/
I believe that's part of it... but the actual change to CLR 3.0 will occur with .NET Framework 3.5, which is part of Visual Studio 2008. It includes a lot of cool stuff like LINQ, anonymous types, extension methods, and more. From what I've seen though, it looks like it extends 2.0 rather than changing large portions of it like 1.1 -> 2.0, so getting a book based on 2.0 even should be fine for someone wanting to learn the basics.