*really* getting started

[Tom Jones]

Hi,

I have 8 years experience developing commerical software for Windows
(C/C++/x86 Assembler/C#). What I have zero experience with is "developing
for the web." I mean, I can look at HTML and understand what is going on,
but I've never developed anything larger than a few simple pages.

I have a rather deep understanding of .NET and the BCL but I have no
experience with ASP.NET perse.

I am wondering where I should start. It seems as though most
references/tutorials are *all* ASP.NET *or* all HTML. I would like to learn
'web development using ASP.NET'. Is there a tutorial/book that is
appropriate for someone like me?

Thanks in advance for any advice...

-TJ

 

[Random]

My advice would be to begin with *all* ASP.NET. It sounds like you'll
easily become more familiar with the HTML fundamentals as you go along. One
caveat, though - I would also recommend staying away from the
GUI/drag-and-drop tutelage. Read and write it all in code. The GUI
developers, in my opinion, miss out on a lot of the back-end necessities
required for clean, sharp, advanced coding. It doesn't mean some very
adequate sites aren't developed by pure graphics designers, but they tend to
have simple architectures and it sounds like you are reaching beyond that.

 

[Ken Dopierala Jr.]

Hi,

You basically have 3 things you need to learn:

How to code web apps in ASP.Net.
How to work with HTML.
How to work with Javascript.

Additionally, if you havn't already done this with C#, you'll want to learn
how to create and consume web services. For the Javascript the best book I
can recommend is:

Beginning Javascript ISBN: 0-7645-4405-5

For the other two I would do a search on Amazon and read the reviews. I'm a
bit out of the loop on new books in those categories. Another thing you
might want to look into, since you are just starting, is whether you want to
jump in with VS.Net 2003 or start with the VS.Net 2005 beta. If you aren't
planning on doing anything commercial for a year or so you might want to
just go with 2005. Good luck! Ken.

 

[Guest]

Tom, If you're like me and like to learn from books, I can point you to a few
things:

I've not seen a good book that does both ASP.NET and HTML. My bible for
ASP.NET is "Programming ASP.NET" by Dino Esposito. Understand everything in
there (1100+ pages) and you'll have arrived. There are easier intro books,
but Esposito's book covers all that and way more with real-world examples.

Re HTML, I liked both "Creating Web Pages with HTML" and "How to Do
Everything with HTML" as good intros, then back those up with a heavier
reference.

It's hard to get away from understanding javascript well if you're in this
for real. "How to do Everything with Javascript" is another good intro, maybe
with a reference like O'Reilly's "rhino" book, "Javascript: The Definitive
Guide"

Finally, you'll need to understand CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for most
things. I like O'Reilly's "Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide."

Have fun.

hth,

Bill

 

[Scott Allen]

Another resource you might want to check out are the Starter Kits at
http://asp.net/Default.aspx?tabindex=8&tabid=47. This will give you 6
applications with source code to tinker with.

 

[Tom Jones]

Thank you to everyone who responded - I truly appreciate the advice.

I'm just over 30 and I already feel like a dinosaur ("grumpy old C++
programmer") ;-)

-TJ

PS: I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me...

 

[Guest]

Good Luck.
I'm 30!
But still coding all and welcome to the club!
Patrick