I realize I’ve pretty much abandoned this blog for the past week or two, but I’ve been pretty busy. I’m still trying to find time to get around to reviewing the DVBLink software for the HD-PVR I received week.
I’ve been filling most of my time trying to learn some C#, so I’m pretty occupied there. Things are just kind of slow, otherwise. There seems to be a but of lull in my small HTPC world, which doesn’t leave much to write about. I’m sure I could find something, but if I have to start writing about things I’m not interested in, I’m really not going to see the point of doing this, period.
Anyway, if any of you have some really good resources (outside the more obvious ones) that you could recommend, I’d appreciate it. Right now I’m going through James Foxall’s Sam’s Teach Yourself Visual C# 2008 in 24 hours and I’ll be following that up with Microsoft Press’ Visual C# 2008: Step By Step. I’m pretty new to programming (PASCAL 15 years ago and some intermediate C++ and BASIC courses at uni) and completely new to .NET, but these books have been pretty good so far.
Hope to have some interesting new content soon, so keep a tab on me!
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I’d like to recommend Head First C# (http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-C-Andrew-Stellman/dp/0596514824/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248294189&sr=8-1&tag=thne0e-20), but there are so many errors in the code examples that I’m having a hard time doing so. It would make a great C# primer if you don’t mind dealing with 40-odd pages of errata…
It actually looks good. I’m a complete beginner, but at the same time, I don’t learn very much when the first 50 pages explain the “Hello, World!” program. I very much prefer jumping straight in with the learn-as-you-go method. It’s why I like the MS Press Step By Step book (even though it does start off a bit slow with a bunch of rambling, it does go well beyond the “Hello, World!” for the first exercise). Thanks!
The code errors may actually make it a little more interesting…plus, O’Reilly books are almost always good.
I’ve been programming a little myself lately. I’m learning VB although at times I wish I had started with C#. I find that VB is much more “human readable”.
For the last 4-6 weeks I’ve been building a hobby app to rename downloaded files as they come in. It’s doing an amazing job at cleaning filenames but I still lack the logic for folder detection and renaming. Either way it’s fun to learn I’ve been forced to learn Regex as well with the help of Regex Buddy.
Goodluck in your programming endeavors. What are your plans for your first project?
No plans really, It’s just something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I figure by the time I’ve got a good understanding of what I’m doing, I’ll have an idea of what I want to do with what I’ve learned. I do know that I would like to focus on database interaction though, so I’ll have to see where it leads me.
I flip-flopped between C# and VB for a few weeks before settling on C#. I actually found VB MUCH easier, but I just felt that I’d be able to do more with C# in the end (I’m thinking professionally also, since I’m already in the field). If I can get a good handle on it, I figure learning others (especially VB) will come a bit easier.
Jon that’s how I felt with VB. It’s my starter app and if I like it C# should be within reach if I choose to continue. I’m a Systems Administrator and I’ve found a little programming goes a long way to set you apart from the crowd when things need to be automated.
Being a systems admin is what caused me to struggle with choosing C# over VB. VB scripting and systems administration go hand-in-hand, so I really wanted to start there so it would benefit me now. I’m pretty old school and still use batch for most everything, but had slowly migrated over to Powershell since I had to have more flexibility. Picking that up is what piqued my interest again in wanting to learn something other than a scripting language.
I still may switch back over to VB as I’m just really not into the terseness that C# is requiring…it’s just too much to remember for me right now.
I had a similar transition. Batch files to Powershell to .Net programming. I had to learn Powershell when we moved to Exchange 2007. I really like it for day to day and find myself with a powershell window open all day. I just wish I had some proper training with it.
Just recently I started scripting the updates to our IT Documentation spreadsheet. It’s been alot of fun but I wonder if it should be written in VB instead…
Well, I ended up switching back over to VB…being a noob, I figure I should go with what’s considered easier to learn and VB is definitely a little easier.
I just finished my first “useful” application, although it’s still nothing to write home about. I made a little lottery picker for the Mega Millions Lottery that will generate 5 unique numbers, plus the mega ball, for all 5 entries. I can then print it if I want. It’s simple, but generating the unique random numbers was a bit challenging. It did give me some good practice on creating classes, modules, etc. though.
The next worthwhile application I go for will probably be a video playlist creator.