.NET and stuff for resume....
RWB
Icrontian
I need some more things to know for webdesign and such, I don't know .Net too well nor do I understand how it intergrates with the web. I'm pretty much a PHP/DHTML/CSS/XML kind of guy, that's all I think you need for a great site, but I see all the time things that are required for a job like .NET and ASP and I figured maybe someone here can enlighten me as to where I can get started on this.
I currently have the Visual Studio "EXPRESS EDITION" suite which includes the J#, C#, VB, Web Developer programs. The free stuff MS released recently.
I just built a cheapo webbrowser in Visual Basic using a tutorial, pretty kick ass and simple to do. I can see the power behind this, and possibly faults. It's kind of like a WYSIWYG Web Site developer package, you place what you want - where you want, with little to no coding required(unless you want it).
So to go with my original question, what is this ASP and .NET stuff and why in the hell do I need to know it
I currently have the Visual Studio "EXPRESS EDITION" suite which includes the J#, C#, VB, Web Developer programs. The free stuff MS released recently.
I just built a cheapo webbrowser in Visual Basic using a tutorial, pretty kick ass and simple to do. I can see the power behind this, and possibly faults. It's kind of like a WYSIWYG Web Site developer package, you place what you want - where you want, with little to no coding required(unless you want it).
So to go with my original question, what is this ASP and .NET stuff and why in the hell do I need to know it
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MS Visual J# 2005 Express
MS Visual C# 2005 Express
MS Visual Web Developer 2005 Express
MS Visual Basic 2005 Express
I DO HAVE A CLUE on what they do, and have some basic understanding... I know VC# is for coding C# but what is it compaired to.... Borland?
I know the Web Developer is for the web, but is it just MS's version of Dreamweaver? Seems a bit more streamlined for something else from what I've seen.
What is the VJ#?! Something like Java but different? WTF?!
My last question is.... why does MS have to make all this so hard for me? I am positive once I get this basic crap outta the way I'll be able to just dig right in and be ready real soon to add it to my resume of things I "know" how to use. But the sooner I get it, the better
:ukflag:
The .NET framework is a Microsoft product designed to provide a framework for developing Windows & web applications. It is purely OO (object orientated) and thus is a collection of pre-made classes that do ALOT of different functions (eg.. file system, network, mail, string manipulation, math etc). It is also a runtime environment to run the applications that you build using it
Part of the concept of .NET is to provide a language independant set of code that can be used by more than one Microsoft language. This means that you can pick your language you feel most comfortable with. It could be J# (Microsofts implementation of a java based language), C++ (Microsoft latest version of C++), C# (the latest, greatest programming language from Microsoft designed from the ground up by the same guy who created Delphi for Borland) or even good old Visual Basic (although you need to use the Visual Basic.NET)
Ok, so what does that mean you ask? Well it means you can quickly develop an application and alot the "plumbing" code is prebuilt for you. All you need to do is effectively design the user interface for it and call the frameworks classes and methods in your own classes/methods. Think of it as a very flexible super toolbox of functions (like the prebuilt functions in PHP: mysql_connect for example).
Anything you write in .NET is compiled to a single intermediate language (IL) which when run is intepreted and turned into machine code by the CLR (common language runtime). This simple means your C#, C++ or VB application isn't compiled to machine code but to a single language that the .NET framework can understand and recompile on the fly into machine code. It's very slick
So where does this fit into the web world...? ASP.NET.
ASP.NET supports two of the .NET languages (C# & VB.NET). Write your code to power your application and then just add calls to that code & precompiled objects in your ASP.net pages (.aspx). You can effectively write one set of code for a Windows application (eg.. a series of complex forms) and then use the same compiled code in an ASP.NET page. You utilising the OOP (object orientated programming) model and not having to continously rewrite, rework code
To properly utilise and use .NET, you must understand OOP & objects. It will seriously mess with your head once you get deep into .NET (whichever language you use) unless you have an acute understanding of namespaces, interfaces, classes, abstracts, methods, properties, public, private, protected and more. Start with a simple C# application tutorial, infact this tutorial got me started. Should help you get your head round the basics
This tutorial I always found infinitely useful when first getting into .NET & OOP.
Once you pick a language that you are comfortable with the most (whether it be C# or VB.NET or C++), program a few simple Windows applications. Once you have done that, you can turn to making into a live web application. Download SQL Server Express and program a web application with a database backend. If you write the right kind of code into classes, a web application can use the same code as your windows application. You just call the code in your .aspx page
If all this is starting to mash your head, that's fine, it will! Just give it time and patience to learn. It will start to make sense! I was lucky to dive into PHP 5 OOP first and thus had a solid understanding of OOP before going into .NET. They are different but the concepts are the same
Now the commercial question for your resume.
IT departments and managers like nice, safe, stamped, sealed code. It's a proven fact. Harping on about the virtues of PHP & open source all you like, alot of IT managers/directors don't understand or trust it. Simple as that. Microsoft languages are force fed via huge amounts of marketing and thus this is what is seen as the most effective solution. Sadly, some companies will develop in-house applications that are far more complex & expensive than they need because they don't understand how the open source model works and the benefits of using it's components. PHP is a wondeful tool for quick, lightweight web projects and certainly is not as complex as a basic ASP.NET application.
However this does not mean that PHP is not scalable or good for large commercial applications. PHP IS EXREMELY scalable. Coded correctly, it will scale just as well as any .NET application. That's fact. I've built an in-house application at work that is hammered all day long (1000 connections a minute @ peak times) and it stands up just fine. Just as with .NET, throw enough tin (hardware) at it and it will have the performance you want
However you are going to find that mass adoption of Microsoft languages IS a reality. I see more .NET developer jobs that ever. Web & windows, so understanding how to use the language, runtime & components is essential unless you find a company that is particularly interested in running what the developer is suggesting.
If a career as a developer is really where you want to go, then knowing a wide range of languages (C#, VB.NET, PHP, Java), OOP programming & methodology and SQL (you have to get into that too) is what you are going to need. You already have a good grounding with HTML/xHTML/Javascript/DHTML/CSS & XML but it's not enough in this day & age. Being a specialist in a language is fine but it can cost you when you will be turned down for a role because you only know "one" bit. The more you can bring to the table, the easier it will be for you to find a role BUT also for you to get your job done efficently. Working on a huge ASP.NET project, you might scrap up a little PHP web app on your desktop that generates a load of SQL statements & XML that could save YOU days of work. Next minute, every developer in the company is using it
Any questions...?
Luckily I have OOP experience with Lingo(Macromedia Director's propeitary Language), and even some very basic background with C. So, if I have anymore questions, I'll be back here
Looking through these tuts while I am at work here hehe, my computer is down at home until we get internet(just moved) so I'm actually trying to get overtime so I can have more time to study hehe.
I have nothing else to say...
Well, maybe just that : C# FOR THE WIN ! :type: