TMS 2310B Developing ASP.NET Web Applications with Visual Studio .NET

This one week course met my expectations in everyway and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning ASP.NET using Visual Studio. During the last 21 years of programming I have used 13 different languages on a professional basis. In my opinion if you were to combine the training and experience necessary to be proficient in those 13 languages you would approach the requirements of learning Visual Studio .NET for use as a professional tool.

The first question I had was, “Where do I begin”? I managed to learn a few things on my own and then obtained several books on the subject before starting the class. Wrox who was previously my favorite software publisher published the first book on ASP.NET that I owned. They re-wrote that book because of its incorrect content and it is now in version two.

Another book was purchased in December of 2002 and had a publishing date of 2003. It appeared the material inside was from Beta 1 and was basically useless to me. This is a serious issue with many of the books I have seen on the market. They do not meet the needs of the developer who wishes to learn how to use Visual Studio .NET as a programming tool. So far the Microsoft series (core and certification books) have been the most useful.

I have just completed one week of training on ASP.NET with Visual Studio and I highly recommend this course for anyone who will be using this tool. The course material gave me a jump-start into the product and allowed me to explore many of its intricacies. Being able to navigate through the product with understanding while doing a productive task is a great feeling.

Now I have a better concept of how to use Visual Studio .NET. There is much to learn and a combination of experience, asking questions, reading and additional training should help fill in the rough spots. Visual Studio .NET is a great tool even if it is in version one. It has a few problems but those should be resolved in time. Some of the problems are a true pain.

In the mean time just learn what interests you or what helps to pay the bills. Perhaps in another 5 years we will get to learn another programming language/tool which will replace .NET.

Tom