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How to get back on the development wagon RRS feed

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    Hi,

    I'm after some direction for getting back on the dev wagon. I studied C and did some VB, VBA, HTML, JavaScript, and relational DB stuff well over a decade ago. I'm now in another somewhat unrelated career full time but are starting to get the itch to do some programming in my spare time. Obviously a LOT has changed! Any ideas for where to start getting up to speed would be much appreciated (I'd prefer (e)books or online rather than face-to-face classes, although my unfortunately limited data cap may restrict video tutorials).. not too fussed on language; Azure intrigues me and a very brief look at Ruby a few years ago looked interesting.

    Thanks very much!

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 5:23 AM
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    This might be a good starting point:-

    https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-gb/certification-overview.aspx

    The above link does not seem to be available from Internet Explorer but is from Google Chrome.

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 5:46 AM
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    Also have a look at Microsoft Virtual Academy as it contains a lot of free training content http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com

    When you see answers and helpful posts, please click Vote As Helpful, Propose As Answer, and/or Mark As Answer

    Jeff Wharton
    MSysDev (C.Sturt), MDbDsgnMgt (C.Sturt), MCT, MCPD, MCSD, MCSA, MCITP, MCDBA
    Blog: Mr. Wharty's Ramblings
    Twitter: @Mr_Wharty
    MC ID: Microsoft Transcript

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 5:57 AM
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    Hi Shehaal,

    You can also refer to Pluralsight. They got some good hardcore programming stuffs.

    Cheers !!

    Regards, Ram.

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 6:05 AM
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    Thanks for the tips for Pluralsight and MVA. The only thing that's putting me off those is the video tutorials; I only have 8GB a month so that won't last very long.. Might see how well I can stream them through an Azure VM!

    On a side note; what language/s do you use/prefer and why? C++, C#, and HTML5/JavaScript seem to be MS's favourites for Win8/WP8 app development, but I'm not sure of the differences between the first two having never used them.

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 10:06 AM
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    Hi, shehall.

    If you are interested in creating Windows Store/Phone apps or the new Universal apps, you will probably use C# and XAML. Although you can use HTML5 and JavaScript, most people opt for C#/XAML. Check out the resources here: http://dev.windows.com/en-us/

    If you are interested in ASP.NET Web development, you will probably use HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript on the client (Web Browser) and C# on the server side. You will use Entity Framework (EF) on the server side to access data in a database, such as SQL Server. Most web developers today prefer using ASP.NET MVC for unit testing purposes and more control over outputted web page markup.  For free low-bandwidth tutorial training on ASP.NET MVC, check out http://www.asp.net/mvc You can learn about other web technologies here as well.

    Microsoft gives away a free version of SQL Server called SQL Server Express. You can decide which free one you want and download here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dn434042.aspx

    Alternately, developers can pay just $59 for SQL Server Developer edition. It includes all the bells and whistles of SQL Server Enterprise edition without the hefty price tag. Get it here: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/SQL-Server-2014-Developer-Edition/productID.298540400

    You will need to use a coding editor - Visual Studio! Microsoft gives away free versions of VS called Visual Studio Express, available here: http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-express-vs.aspx Just make sure you download the right one. There is a web developer edition, a Windows edition (for Windows Store apps), a Windows Desktop edition (for classic WinForms apps), etc.

    Most of the online documentation is available through MSDN, available here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/microsoft-platform-technologies-tools-msdn

    Good luck!

    Best wishes, Davin Mickelson

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 10:11 PM
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    Thanks Davin, much appreciate the run-down! I downloaded VS the other day but haven't had a change to delve too much into it yet. I'll definitely check out those other resources through the week.

    Cheers!

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014 11:37 PM
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    i am glad i found this thread. i am in the same boat. recovering from an accident and just got that itch again. i am going to get most of this stuff and go from there. i know ms charges for developers for some of the good stuff if your considered disabled you think they give discounts? 
    Thursday, October 23, 2014 1:55 PM
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