Where to start?

Please help a newbie get started

[tnitty]

Does one need to know HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc. before learning ASP.NET?

I know little about web development, but know enough to know that I want to learn ASP.NET 2.0 eventually (actually, ASAP). Is it naive to jump right in before getting a foundation in general web development?

In any case, when I do get to that point, can you recommend some introductory .net books? I found a few threads, but they seem to predate the release of 2.0

Thanks

[rkhare]

why ASP.NET 2.0 first?

[Little_G]

Hi,

If you want to output web pages with asp then yeah, you'll need to know html/css, javascript if you need it.
PS. You should take a look at PHP instead of ASP.NET, I prefer it.

Andrew

[tnitty]

why ASP.NET 2.0 first?

First is probably unrealistic. But I was told our company relies on it.

You should take a look at PHP instead of ASP.NET, I prefer it.

I've heard that, but since my company is 100% Microsoft, I'm going down the Microsoft route.

[TheNige]

Well, if you are relatively intelligent and willing to learn, just go to the bookstore and browse through a few books. Find one that you can understand and buy it.

It helps to have some concept of what HTML/CSS is, as that is what ASP.Net will be generating. Besides knowing HTML though you'll need to also pick up a programming language such as C# or VB.Net to use ASP 2.0.

[oxbaker]

the website asp.net is a great site with tutorials, etc. Also 4guysfromrolla.com has some great tutorials and downloaded components as well. Both offer excellent forums for posting help questions. You really do need to get a foundation in both HTML and an actual programming language however. Because asp.net is nothing more than a way to tie together C# (or VB) with a web-based environment (HTML, CSS, Java).

Good Luck, many community centres and local schools offer very cheap or free html and web site basics courses. And you can get a weeks worth of C# programming classes for a couple hundred bucks.

hth,
mcm

[garann]

If you try and jump into ASP.NET without first learning HTML and CSS, you'll still be able to produce pages fairly quickly, assuming your company provides you Visual Studio. However, you'll probably be relying on the built-in "controls" the framework offers, which means your pages will be unnecessarily bloated and nearly impossible to edit without VS.

I'd recommend learning to hand code ASP.NET pages without codebehind files. That will give you exposure to ASP.NET's class library and the syntax of the language you choose to learn, as well as to HTML and CSS, without turning you into one of those "web developers" who can't do a thing without VS or leading you to create webpages you can't even understand.

[TheNige]

And once your know what you are doing be sure to get Visual Studio so you don't waste time hand coding everything. Intellisense and debugging are your friends.

[oxbaker]

id recommend going with the free Visual Web Developer Express edition (for asp.net 2.0) as its similar to visual studio but its like 1200 dollars cheaper CUZ ITS FREE! and you can use that to see if its right for you.