VS 2005

[Pwnbroker]

Ok, in school, we learned programming on VS 6.0. I just bought VS 2005, and it is quite a bit different. I am starting my capstone project this week, and I'm having to learn all the nuances with .NET programming. Can anybody recommend a book that will help me get up to speed quickly, like a .NET for dummies or some such?

 

[BigPete]

What kind of reference material do you want? Microsoft has tons of really good stuff that is actually useful and worth looking into especially MSDN, which you should have at least limited access to. Are you having a hard time with the IDE (Visual Studio) or are you having trouble with a language (VB, C#, C++, etc)? Here is the documentation for the .NET framework, you can search for classes and view the details: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms229335.aspx

Some very good, free ebooks on C# .NET as well as other programming topics can be found at the following:
http://www.mindview.net/
http://www.charlespetzold.com/books.html

I still think you need to be a bit more specific about what you want though.

 

[Pwnbroker]

I just installed 2005, and I'm reviewing some of the VB stuff we did in class. One thing I noticed immediately was that you can't access form attributes directly, that you have to create an object of such type and set the properties you want and then assign that variable to the form variable. So, I'm just wondering what other little things I might run into with the transition.

 

[Markbnj]

I don't think you need a book. There are tons of resources out there. The MSDN library is completely free. You can access it at msdn.microsoft.com. Drill down into the .Net 2.0 section and you'll find technical articles, tutorials, how-tos, etc. There are also a number of .Net specific websites out there, and thousands of 3rd party tutorials. Google should provide immediate access to literally everything you will ever need to learn the framework.

Have fun.

 

[LintMan]

Do you have to use .NET? Why not use the same language you used in VS 6.0 and are familiar with? VS2005 should still support everything you did there.

 

[Pwnbroker]

There is a company that is hiring programmers, and the company rep said they are especially interested in .net programming...

 

[formulav8]

There are TONs of Visual Basic.NET 2002/2003/2005 resources out there. I even have a website in my sig that has alot of VB.Net resources. Microsoft has done a great job of having alot of various resources for VB.Net.

I like .NET MUCH better than the Classic versions of VB. I really like the TRUE OOP. Much more powerful than 5.0/6.0 and alot of things are easier to do also. Ex: Subclassing. There is a small learning curve though. I didn't really have a problem personally, but i've noticed some out there has. But anyways, I would head over to Microsofts MSDN .Net section to get started. Alot of beginner stuff is available.


Jason

 

[Pwnbroker]

I guess what I'm specifically looking for is something that walks you through the changes between 6.0 and 2005. More specifically the changes in VB, as that is what I'm most likely going to use for my capstone project. I bought 2005 because it is .net and that's what companies are tending to be looking for.

I've searched msdn and google for about an hour last night, but all I could find was .net content, or how to transition from 6.0 to 2005, but nothing that layed out the differences for the upgrader.

What I'm trying NOT to do is spend half the quarter trudging through figuring out why the examples in my book are not working in 2005. I could do it, but my time would be better spent planning and coding, not retooling my head.

 

[Markbnj]

I think the basic problem is that .Net is not really an upgrade to VB6. It's a whole new API for accessing Windows functions, and includes a new Windows Forms application framework (as well as a bunch of other stuff). The syntax that you're used to in VB hasn't changed much, but the you use a new layer of objects which you create and manipulate to get things done. It's very much worth learning, but I think your best approach is to grab some of the .Net 2.0 tutorials for VB and dive in.

 

[BigPete]

I think Mark hit the nail right on the head. Visual Basic has not changed much at all. Your problem is that you need to learn .NET.

 

[Pwnbroker]

Creating forms and adding objects isn't that much different. Either that, or I just didn't understand what you were trying to say. Yes, I know I need to learn it, but the point you're missing is that for my capstone project, I just don't have the time to work on my project, plus my other class, plus a full time job, plus a family. Time is at a premium. Easy to say, hard to do. And a bunch more cliche's that are probably not sinking in.