How to start programming on the asp.net platform?

Question

I recently developed a keen interest in the .net framework cos of my boyfriend who adores everything programming, and I want to know the best way to learn, ie, applications or websites? c# or vb? mvc or not mvc? please help. also can you learn java while learning asp.net c#?

Answer 1

My advice is that you skip everything that's called ASP.NET Webforms, and go directly to ASP.NET MVC. This is because Webforms try really hard (in a really bad way, IMO) to abstract away what separates programming a web application from a typical desktop application, thus hiding one very important aspect of web programming from you.

And yes, it is possible to learn Java at the same time as you learn C#, but why not focus on one language at a time? The syntax is basically the same, so what you need to learn in the second language is jut new names and libraries. Learn one of them decently first, then move on. What's important when learning programming are all the concepts, the way of thinking and understanding problems - not what language you use.

And I'd go for C# instead of VB, too. But that's just me. I do believe though, that C# is generally more used. Also, C# has more or less exactly the same syntax as Java, as I mentioned - in case you want to learn Java later on.

If programming for the web is what you want to do, I'd also read a bit about the HTTP protocol, how the stateless web work, how websites are actually fetched from the server and displayed on your computer. And a bit of HTML and CSS is also nice to know.

Answer 2

Get Visual C# Express Edition and Asp.Net MVC and you're good to go. I'd also suggest getting a book or two on MVC, with my favourite being this one . And - sure - you can learn java while learning Asp.Net, no problem.

Answer 3

the best way to start is www.asp.net, there are lot of tutorials, videos, samples to start with. on the java question i would suggest to start looking into design patters, core concepts etc because not matter what is your language of choice is software programing patterns, design and concepts can be applied on C#, VB.Net and Java

Answer 4

As mentioned before www.ASP.NET has some great videos and tutorials. I like ASP.NET MVC but I would be hesitant about suggesting a complex pattern like MVC/MVP/PresentationPattern/etc without knowing someone's background in object oriented programming. Perhaps read up on OO design and maybe patterns and anti-patterns?