Need advice on what to study - Returning to programming

[PolishPaul]

Long story short - Been in and out of programming (fun, school) and i've finally decided to put my head into it full throttle.

I've decided to go the .NET way and perhaps learn MFC down the road. My experience is with C++ (read Deitel & Deitel, mostly command line), VB.net from school (some forms etc) and Java from school as well.

Now I always loved C++ but none of the courses (books, tutorials) ever taught me how to get anything "done" (be productive). I sure learned a lot about programming (command line) and theory but wasn't able to deliver anything practical/productive since i didn't learn how to use the visual studio/tools.

Now i had a class on VB and bam! all of a sudden i'm popping out windows apps with ease and lightning quick - best of all those apps do something. Trade off was that one did not learn squat about programming itself... (like you do with C++)

I've just dipped my fingers into the new VS 2005 and i'm noticing that the whole .NET club is pretty much the same. Anotherwords, i'm able to 'pop' out these basic windows apps in any of the languages...

So the question is.... Which one of the languages should i pursue?

I wanna be able to get a position in programming soon...

I need to be able to "produce" things, rather than just "know" how things work. Be able to deliver. Seems like VB is easy, but C++ is the goodstuff. C#? What advantages do they hold?

I seemed to have always followed a theory of learning from the inside out. I learned quite a bit about the 'guts' of programming, but i found myself unable to look at the big picture. Like, i'll write you some cool algorithms or what not, but a windows app that does something simple... tough. I need to learn from the outside in now - Produce something, then go into details of how it all works.




Any such advice for a novice would be great. I've been one-foot in programming for almost my whole life. I'm in a position where i could go just about any route (well within .NET). I've finally decided to get an IT position (helpdesk) and want to advance into a programming position asap... Where is there good (secure future) money? I'm thinking Web Dev. looks like a good steady future... trying to pickup DB (had a lot of classes on the subject) and .NET...

For now, i'm just checking out all the MSDN tutorials/walkthroughs/videos etc.

~PolishPaul~

[PeejAvery]

As you stated, .NET is much simpler to learn and is more common to you due to your experience.

Remember that all your work that you have done in Visual Basic requires an OCX control. Think of what language that OCX was written in...probably C++.

C++ is much more advanced and you can start much farther down than you can with VB.

[PolishPaul]

I figure that VB will be easier/quicker to "produce" results. I'm actually much more familiar with C++, jut not the visual part. VB is sort of new to me, but agian, i'm able to 'crank out' some basic windows apps (forms) etc. Plus MSDN has a free book on VB which should speed things up in that departament.

So i think i'll pursue VB just so i can get things done, and in between i'll learn some VC++/Windows API, etc.

I'm thinking of concentrating on DataBase programming and perhaps Web with VB and .NET..

[PeejAvery]

I'm thinking of concentrating on DataBase programming and perhaps Web with VB and .NET..

If you want database and web together, you might want to get a grasp on ASP or PHP. Personally, I like PHP better.

[HanneSThEGreaT]

Hello PolishPaul! Based on your knowledge of C++ , any .NET language should be a breeze.
About web design, PHP is a good option, also remember AJAX is quite hot these days too.
I wish you luck with all your programming endevours, and remember, wichever language you choose never give up because every day is a new learning experience!!