Where is the best place to start to learn .NET

[bigfoot]

I just got my new .Net 2003!

Do I start with creating exe's? Do I start with asp.net?
Or is there something like an exe but it isn't?
I hear the word soap around, and XML.
XML I played with - very cool.
I have been a VB programmer since 1.0, and this is a whole new animal!

Where do I start now that I have the time?

Got a few wrox books too, but where do I start?

Thanks

-Gary

 

[kenbw]

Gary,
There is a lot online if you want to do .Net programming. If you are specifically interested in web programming and are looking for tutorials then I'd try:

http://www.asp.net/Tutorials/quickstart.aspx

What exactly is your problem with the .Net framework. You should be able to program out of the box without many problems if you are wanting to to Windows Forms. Its still the drag and drop style with code behind. Some of the methods and properties are different. And if you want you can have true OO with VB now, but it is not necessary in order to code. Is there something you are specifically having a problem with that perhaps I could answer?

Ken

 

[bigfoot]

Nothing special. I just was looking for some documentation on the various controls.
I see that the listbox, and combo box have changed. They now support datasource arrays.
I was wondering what changed, and also the new asp stuff.

 

[kenbw]

Gary,
So much has changed that it might be best to try to "forget" what you know about old VB. When I find myself going back to older versions of VB now I'm kicking myself in the butt because of all the things that make it easier for me in the .Net version. There is so much good literature out there that I'd say just pick up and go with it. I found after about a month or so I was comfortable with VB.Net. There are some things that I know now that I didn't in the beginning.

For example, Microsoft has kept all the old VB functions like vbcrlf and Asc. But there are other better ways to do this. For example to get a new line you should now use System.Environment.NewLine or to convert a character to its Ascii integer you should you Convert.ToInt64("a"c). A lot of it is just playing and figuring out whats new and how to use it.

Again I hope this helps.
Ken