Hello, community of programmers. I wished to have started this topic on Nairaland long time ago, but thank God it is starting this year 2011.
Programming in PHP and Java, for many years now, have gathered lots of followership especially among the unversity students, who seek for free tools to develop their skills in programing.

But, if you were once a VB6 programmer, having the orientation of the Visual Studio technology paradigm you will want to program with Microsoft .NET.
Yes Microsoft tools are very expensive to buy and the rate of technology change is very alarming, but have you tried to find out that Sun Studio and Java Bean now have serious platform to contend with?

Have you tried out how easily you can accomplish many programming tax with Microsoft .NET visual Studio, especially 2008 and 2010?

I think the community of prgrammers in Nigeria should try and explore what is there in Visual Studio .NET and why Microsoft is putting more, gigantic, effort in ensuring that life is better and easy for programmers.

Learning Curve: windows programmers know that the world is moving to the Web and more skills will be required for this. But windows programming is an entire different paradigm from web programming. Windows programmer might need a 180 degree paradigm shift, but still retain their programming ability and not skills, to be able to understand how to program web applications.

For the PHP programmers, you will appreciate what is separation and object programming in its real life when you become friend with the studio.

I want more programmers to come to .NET environment, pick up skills in C# and VB.NET and do great things for yourselves, save more time and have more space to enjoy relationship with your family and become more sociable.

please how can i get vb.net? i need it urgently. abeg send me the link to download it. God bless you in anticipation towards your positive response.

Yep. Microsoft .NET visual Studio 2010 is the bomb, it makes software development fun & intresting

Well nice to see .NET guys here. But i have something that i will like u guys to let me know. Most time when u visit institution to start a programming course, they will usually blow the trumpet for java more than .NET language telling you that Java runs on all platform which is right anyway.

but i am reluctant in learning the Java thing but choose to do the .NET. Ok i have seen a lot of desktop application write with .NET even VB6 used by big firms in Nigeria, but i hardly see any one written in Java language

Will i be right if i assume this. Please let me know ur minds on this

I would strongly advise anybody getting into the rich to overflowing .NET World to embrace C#. VB.NET is a dying language.

One more thing, you do not have to buy Microsoft products like Visual Studio and SQL Server. You can get most things done with the Express versions which are all FREE!

http://www.microsoft.com/express/

I don't know if this works in Nigeria though, but if you are a student, you can get bucket loads of FREE software (Visual Studio, SQL Server, Windows Server 2008 etc) from:

https://www.dreamspark.com/default.aspx

master-e:

Well nice to see .NET guys here. But i have something that i will like u guys to let me know. Most time when u visit institution to start a programming course, they will usually blow the trumpet for java more than .NET language telling you that Java runs on all platform which is right anyway.

but i am reluctant in learning the Java thing but choose to do the .NET. Ok i have seen a lot of desktop application write with .NET even VB6 used by big firms in Nigeria, but i hardly see any one written in Java language

Will i be right if i assume this. Please let me know your minds on this

If you are writing software for Sun Solaris, Mac OS, HP-UX etc, then the (somewhat inaccurate) argument that Java runs everywhere holds. However, if your product and clientele fall within the 91% of users running Windows, then you do not need Java. 91% isn't a small percentage.

thanks guys! i like the site. but my laptop has less of the requirement needed to install any of the vsudio. what i need is if i can get vb.net single, i would be grateful. gud guys

I'm really happy to meet my fellow .NET Guru, keep the spirit high, i work with C#,ASP.NET,MS SQL SERVER etc, just too in love with Microsoft .NET framework !!!!

@beaf

If i shud deduce from your words, you are indirectly telling me using .NET is more thank ok in the Nigeria community.


Thanks

master-e:

@beaf

If i shud deduce from your words, you are indirectly telling me using .NET is more thank ok in the Nigeria community.

Thanks

Yes it is, and there is much more targetted help available. Also, few people realise that the Visual C++ compiler is much better than gcc and the likes; the coding environment makes the likes of Eclipse, Code::Blocks, Boorland etc look quite plebian.
On the .NET side, there is simply no competition and practically all Windows computers have it installed; there is no RAD environment that can compete with .NET. The only issue I see is a small one with ASP.NET; it is the cost of hosting websites, it is slightly more costly than with Linux.

@Beaf

If i shud seek ur advice as a professional or at least one that know more me. Since i am just starting out, what shud i concentrate myself on mastering?

What level of skill would u advice me to acquire

master-e:

@Beaf

If i shud seek your advice as a professional or at least one that know more me. Since i am just starting out, what shud i concentrate myself on mastering?

What level of skill would u advice me to acquire

Follow the order below at your own pace for a few months.

1. Get a indepth understanding into how object oriented programming works, it will give you a very solid starting base.
2. Learn all you can about abstract classes, structs, interfaces etc, its very easy stuff to grasp.
3. Once thats in place, study design patterns and get to understand them and the thinking behind them. After you have studied a few design patterns, you would need to get events driven design under your belt as well.

Once you have all these things, you can grasp any concept, understand any piece of code and begin to be able to visualise systems at an enterprise level.
They are all very easy to learn. but you will be surprised at how far up the coding champ ladder they will carry you. Most people ignore them and end up as cut and nail coders who don't quite understand what they are doing.

As for language, I would advise you take the C# and C++/CLI route, VB.NET is a dead end language. You will find that learning C based languages like C# will open doors to C++, Java, PHP, JavaScript etc; the C# route gives you an easier route to expand your language portfolio.

Good luck!

@Beaf

Thanks for the encouragement so far and i hope i will not be asking for too much o!
I am having problem getting Visual Studio and SQL Server, but what i have now is all in pieces, Visual Basic 2008, Visual C# 2008 and the rest and MS Access.

Will these be ok for my development work?

One more thing Sir, sometimes the mind need to be given some kind of target else it may take thing too light and get lazy, if you are to give me a time frame, what will your suggestion be. I mean how many months shud set for myself to amount to something tangible?

HELLO MASTER-E,
LET ME GIVE YA A KINDA GUIDE. . .

ASK YOUR SELF, WHY DO I WANT TO PROGRAM?

THEN LEARN ABOUT PROGRAMMING

THEN START WITH THE SIMPLEST AND EASIEST PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE AVAILABLE TO YOU

THEN EITHER GET A GOOD TUTOR OR GOOD MATERIAL TO USE

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PC

FIND YOURSELF A PERSONAL PROJECT TO MAKE AND IN NO TIME YOU WILL BECOME . . . A PROGRAMMER.

AT THAT POINT, YOU WILL REALIZE THAT IT IS NOT THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE THAT MAKES YOU CHOOSE IT, BUT THE PROBLEM THAT YOU WANT TO SOLVE MAKE YOU CHOOSE THE BEST PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE INSTEAD!



I WILL GIVE YOU MY EXAMPLE. . .

AS A PERSON, I LOVED TO CREATE MY OWN BOARD GAMES. WAY BACK IN MY SEC SCHOOL, I DISCOVERED MY TALENT FOR INVENTING AND DESIGNING BOARD GAMES. WHEN I LEFT SCHOOL AND THE COMPUTER FEVER SLOWLY BEGAN TO CREEP INTO THE COUNTRY, I SAID TO MY SELF, "I WOULD LIKE TO PORT MY BOARDGAMES TO A COMPUTER GAME". I DID NOT KNOW HOW, SO I WENT TO FIND OUT.(THIS IS WHY I WANTED TO PROGRAM, WHY DO YOU WANT TO PROGRAM?)

THAT'S WHEN I DISCOVERED THE WORD PROGRAMMING WHICH WAS SAID TO MEAN "TALKING TO THE COMPUTER TO MAKE IT DO ANYTHING FOR YOU!"

THERE WERE MANY LANGUAGES TO CHOOSE FROM BUT BASIC WAS THE BEGINNER'S BEST CHOICE.

AFTER THAT I MOVED TO C++

THEN I SAID TO MY SELF "I HAVE LEARNT A FEW NEW THINGS, NOW TO MAKE MY GAME"

MY LANGUAGE OF CHOICE? SURLY BASIC AS IT WAS EASIER TO MANIPULATE AND BESIDES IT HAD BETTER GRAPHICS HANDLING FUNCTIONS THAN C++ . YOU SEE, THE PROBLEM I WANTED TO SOLVE CHOOSE THE LANGUAGE FOR ME!

AND I CREATED MY FIRST EVER PC GAME. . . FLASHQUIZ - TO TEST THE HUMAN MRC (MEMORY RETAINING CAPACITY)


THEN ONE DAY I SAW A GAME WRITTEN WITH GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE (GUI) AND ASKED HOW WAS THAT DONE? THAT IS HOW I MET VB.

THEN MY NEXT TARGET WAS TO PORT MY GAME FROM QBASIC TO VB . YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FINAL RESULT HERE: http://jist./demo.html

THEN CAME THE INTERNET CRAZE AND I WANTED TO MAKE A SITE LIKE YAHOO. THAT'S WHEN I MET PHP+MYSQL

THEN CAME THE MOBILE PHONE CRAZE AND I WANTED TO DESIGN PHONE APPS. THEN I HAD TO BOW DOWN TO THE POWER OF JAVA OVER ALL THINGS COMPUTER ( SOMETHING I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER DO AS A CORE VB FAN )

AND IF TOMORROW, ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY PRESENTS ITSELF, AS A PROGRAMMER, I WILL CATCH IT AND MAKE IT MINE!

YOU SEE, DO NOT TIE YOUR SELF TO ONE LANGUAGE. YOU WILL LEARN MOST OF THEM EVENTUALLY. SO START WITH THE SIMPLEST ONES, UNDERSTAND THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PROGRAMMING WITH THE SIMPLE LANGUAGES THEN NO ONE WILL TELL YOU WHICH NEW LANGUAGE TO LEARN NEXT, YOUR INTEREST WILL MOTIVATE YOU MY FRIEND AND INTEREST,WILL GIVE YOU THE TARGET THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR!

master-e:

@Beaf

Thanks for the encouragement so far and i hope i will not be asking for too much o!
I am having problem getting Visual Studio and SQL Server, but what i have now is all in pieces, Visual Basic 2008, Visual C# 2008 and the rest and MS Access.

Will these be ok for my development work?

One more thing Sir, sometimes the mind need to be given some kind of target else it may take thing too light and get lazy, if you are to give me a time frame, what will your suggestion be. I mean how many months shud set for myself to amount to something tangible?

MS Access of very limited use to you, both as a commercial tool and for your experience; it is meant to be used as a stand alone tool and has its own macro's and flavour of VB.
You should get SQL Server 2008 Express, its free and has most of the functionality you will neeed. Almost every code help on SQL and .NET is about SQL Server (you'll also find a few Oracle and MySql). Knowledge of SQL Server will help your CV in large ways.

Aside from not having SQL Server, your toolbox is pretty adequate for your development work.

For target times. . . It would depend on three things, a) your current understanding, b) how hot you are, c) your degree of determination.
I always find that option b) has a way of pushing determined people to strive to higher heights - everyone wants to be hot and everyone has the tools to prove it. How hard can you drive yourself? The answer to that question will determine the level of success you will attain, so visualise your goal and start the journey.

I would take a month to work flat out on nothing but object oriented stuff, to the extent that when I'm changing my car tyres, I'm thinking of the whole car in code! . . .If you are a chess player, you will understand this state of mind very well!!
Set aside another two months to play with design patterns, employing them in your code and getting a really close feel for how guru's visualise problems and structure their code to solve them. Make sure to start with the simplest, and don't be tempted to look at design patterns before you are thoroughly comfortable with object oriented programming and its concepts.
After three months of concentrated effort, you should be ready to take on event driven programming. You should need about a month to conquer that.

Dude, in four short months, you can truely escape rookie status and challenge "cut and nailers" who have been coding for donkey years. You can reach a very advanced level in a year, it depends on your drive; but, you seem to have the right doses, so go for it.

@Beaf

Thanks for giving more than i ever expected. I deeply appreciate, maybe someday i will get to meet with u. I don't know if i can have your phone numbers sent to my mail box friendehis@yahoo.com plssssssss.


One more thing my instructor, which kind of software move the Nigeria market, Hotel management, educational, health or what?

Presently, 'am writin c# and asp.net. They are powerful language. Please can any one suggest any project dat can be written wit c# or asp.net.

hi,

i'm looking for an experienced and good web developer/programmer in C# and .NET language with proven skills and experience to develop a functional property website for me.

I also have other websites also in .NET i want to modify

Please contact me at, leslexx@yahoo.com

@Beaf. pls can u recommend any books for programming in dot net for beginners or novice programmers. ebooks most especially and recent/current ones

Beaf:

I would strongly advise anybody getting into the rich to overflowing .NET World to embrace C#. VB.NET is a dying language.

One more thing, you do not have to buy Microsoft products like Visual Studio and SQL Server. You can get most things done with the Express versions which are all FREE!

http://www.microsoft.com/express/

I don't know if this works in Nigeria though, but if you are a student, you can get bucket loads of FREE software (Visual Studio, SQL Server, Windows Server 2008 etc) from:

https://www.dreamspark.com/default.aspx

In as much i support what you have written so far, i vehemently oppose your views on VB.NET. Haven worked with VB.NET for over 5 years, i do not see it dead, it gets refreshed each time a new framework is released. you should be able to differenciate your biased view on VB.NET from real life.