C# Beginner's Question

Hello, everyone. I have just got into studying C#. I have been interested in programming for a while, and would really like to help out our developer at work work on some projects. (He writes a lot of programs to interface with a labor/food cost program we use in our restaurants as well as other business related tasks/programs)

I am using .NET v 4.0. I have a copy of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 that I am coding in as well as writing programs in Notepad++ just to make sure I understand the relationships between everything and work on anything VS automatically codes for you. I have a book I've been working through as well as a few online sources, and it's been coming along very well thus far.

Along with my training material's exercises, I have been writing my own programs utilizing anything I've learned thus far and trying to stretch the limit of what I've learned to encompass new ideas or just look at issues in a different way and think outside of the box. I have been writing a lot of pointless programs just to work on my understanding of loops, structures, arrays etc. and it has been going well but I feel like everything I am doing is useless outside of practice.

The resources I have seen/use primarily have "do this as we do it" type exercises, which is why I have been creating my own projects. But a console program that displays a list from inputted numbers/strings doesn't apply to real world scenarios.

My question is, is there something I should be working on to help better my understanding of this language for a business environment? Any input or advice is appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

You have to start out with the pointless programs to get an understanding of the language. Its basically like learning a language, the first few years (chapters of a book) are pretty basic phrases and words. I would like to know what book you are using, because majority of them will teach you more advanced techniques of linking everything together in the later chapters of the book. Also, these books are mainly there to teach you the basic principals of the language. Once you get the understanding of how to implement things and how they work, majority of coders just look up online how new methods work and such and then implement it in their code with their knowledge.

As for right now, try creating an interface that allows you to add items to a list to purchase and calculate with tax and shipping. I would suggest using a combobox and allow the user to add them to a list. Try to work yourself, and if this sounds too far out of your current knowledge then just keep reading the book until you are able to something similar to this.

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Originally Posted by Mercifies

You have to start out with the pointless programs to get an understanding of the language. Its basically like learning a language, the first few years (chapters of a book) are pretty basic phrases and words. I would like to know what book you are using, because majority of them will teach you more advanced techniques of linking everything together in the later chapters of the book. Also, these books are mainly there to teach you the basic principals of the language. Once you get the understanding of how to implement things and how they work, majority of coders just look up online how new methods work and such and then implement it in their code with their knowledge.

As for right now, try creating an interface that allows you to add items to a list to purchase and calculate with tax and shipping. I would suggest using a combobox and allow the user to add them to a list. Try to work yourself, and if this sounds too far out of your current knowledge then just keep reading the book until you are able to something similar to this.

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Thank you for that advice. I didn't mean pointless as I shouldn't do it, I just meant pointless as no one would ever use it.

As far as the book goes, I am Beginning Microsoft Visual C# by Wrox (multiple authors). They also have a professional C# book they recommend once I am through this one, I may check out provided I feel I need to/it would benefit me.

The suggestion about that program is a good one. Right now I have been making similar programs, but dumbed down using only certain aspects of that program as that is my skill level right now. Once I get to that point, or maybe even shortly before, I will definitely tackle that project and see what I can do.

Again thank you for your advice, I guess I'll just have to continue what I'm doing and keep pushing my limits! :)