Learning C# prior to learning ASP.NET MVC?

Question

With only mild programming experience in the past, I was wondering about C# and ASP.NET MVC..

Do you guys think it's a better idea to learn C# before learning ASP.NET MVC? I've already delved a little into both of these already, but I still need some help deciding.

I think I would be a much stronger MVC user if I had more knowledge of the C# language itself.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

Answer 1

If you're going to use C# to code your ASP.NET MVC Models/Controllers/etc. then yes, learn C# before you dive into ASP.NET MVC .

That way, you'll be able to better handle the language issues you're going to run in to when composing your .NET MVC application. Otherwise you're going to be trying to learn two things at the same time and not get a good grasp on either one.

Answer 2

Master C# first, then go to ASP.NET, then learn MVC and other patterns. Don't bite off more than you can chew, newbie mistake.

Answer 3

I agree with your third paragraph with C# at your back you'll be a stronger ASP.NET MVC developer; but I also think that they (C# and ASP.NET MVC) make great co-learning tools. And if you're going to try to pick up both tools, doing it together makes a lot of sense.

Answer 4

ASP.NET MVC is a pretty tough framework to start out on. It assumes you are already versed in ASP.NET, and ideally you even have a little bit of Ruby on Rails or similar experience too (ASP.NET MVC was really influenced by rails). On top of all of that good knowledge of C# is also very helpful.

I guess it depends on what your needs are. Are you going to create a mission critical webapp that your business depends on? In that case, yeah really learn ASP.NET and C# well. If this is just for a hobby and/or learning, then I say just go for it and learn C# as you go.

Answer 5

I jumped into Rails and Django without learning Ruby or Python first.

You learn what you need to know pretty quickly and everything you do learn is always guaranteed to be practical and immediately useful.

If you already understand MVC you already know which piece of code does what.

Answer 6

Knowing C# before jumping into anything .NET related is very recommended if not required. MVC is only a way of making webpages with the tools of ASP.NET which uses C# and VB as its backend languages. MVC is actually called ASP.NET MVC. Think of C# as the equivalent to PHP or Ruby in "Ruby on Rails".

Answer 7

Learn C# first. C# will be around for years to come; MVC may or may not be (Microsoft has a long history of handling web site code with flavor-of-the-month paradigms that don't age particularly well).

Answer 8

Asp.net MVC is a framework for web development on top of .net developed in C#.

So if you want to know the priorities(not necessarily in a waterfall model, you can learn them in parallel):

• First you must learn C#(some oo priciples and the way you must structure your code).
• Second you must learn the rules and techniques in web development (Html, Css, javascript, Web Architecture and the way it works(concepts like session management, cookies, etc) ...)
• and Last learn the Asp.net MVC

Answer 9

I have to disagree with Matt Greer about any assumption for MVC that you are already versed in ASP.NET. Nearly all of the tutorials and/or books that I've come across definitely do not start from an assumed ASP.NET knowledge base. In fact, for a junior developer, I'd think that knowledge of ASP.NET would be detrimental and confusing, as ASP.NET adds a whole bunch of stuff (designers, viewstate, abstractions, etc) that really is sort of the antithesis of ASP.NET MVC development.

ASP.NET MVC, however, is a framework that definitely requires knowledge of C# or VB to implement properly. In the end, any of the code that drives the site will be written in C#. The ability to properly write .net code is a definite requirement.

I'm personally very partial to Apress books, so I'd recommend the following:

Apress Beginning C# 2010: http://www.apress.com/book/view/9781430231714

I'd also recommend from experience

Apress Pro ASP.NET MVC 2: http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430228865

Another really great series for learning ASP.NET MVC 2 is the screencast series available from tekpub at:

http://www.tekpub.com .