MSDN Launches Beginner Programmers Site

cout << "Hello World!";

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/beginner/
If you're like me, you probably couldn't code your way out of a paper bag, and the extent of your programming abilities are getting a computer to display "Hello World!" in a terminal window.  Finding out what to learn, where to go for help, what books to read etc. makes the prospect of self-teaching something as complex as computer programming pretty daunting.  Well, MSDN has recently launched a site with the novice coder in mind. 

The Beginner Development Learning Center site has tracks for learners interested in either web of windows application coding, and provides three tiers of learning for each track to cater to beginners of various experience.  If you have zero coding knowledge, they start you off at the bottom and lead you through the basics.

The site has a "for kids" tone to it, but if you're just starting out with coding, it's probably just as well.  You can also download free versions of Visual Studio to do the hands-on exercises.

5,509 views 13 replies
Reply #1 Top
this is excellent news, I will definitely check it out.
Reply #3 Top
That's great! Many thanks for the link, Zoomba.
Reply #4 Top
I just got the C# stuff downloaded and installed to my Vista laptop.  Hopefully I'll get to poke around the site and the tutorials this weekend 
Reply #5 Top
Two questions...
Will this be worth it if I am still only running XP?

and second

Which download should I go with? Website or Windows development? I don't know anything about either and I'm not sure what would be a better fit for me.
Reply #6 Top
ALl the stuff works fine for XP, in fact if you want to run it under Vista, you'll need to grab extra patches.

As to app or web... I'd suggest app just because you don't have to run any servers on your PC for it.
Reply #7 Top
Thanks Zoomba.
Reply #8 Top
Thanks for the link Zoomba I'm looking forward to giving this a try!
Reply #9 Top
Sweet! I've always wanted to learn how to code!   
Reply #10 Top
I can feel my brain hurting already
Reply #11 Top
Don't worry about the server stuff. The Visual Web Developer Express comes with its own server built in.
Reply #12 Top
Sweet! I've always wanted to learn how to code!

Someday DS, I'm sure you might even be able to turn it into a career! 
Reply #13 Top
Not bad... good place for beginners.