I.T. Coders, Developers, I have a question

[Y_lifter]

I have the basic coding logic from COBOL(old days), VB, HTML and IIS, WINDOWS server skills
and have been looking to do a refresh as I have been concentrating on Program Managment the last 2-3 years.

Anyway, the question is which one language to spend the time getting back up to speed with.

My fancy has been struck by .Net and ASP .Net due to ours being a big time Microsoft shop
and I can reuse the VB and also .Net and ASP.NET Web Matrix is free to down load now to learn on..

Opinions, comments.. thanks

 

[john937]

Java, SQL

 

[Code]

One language?
Either java or C#

 

[ZKaudio]

java is becoming so universal, i wrote a game for my damn phone...

 

[Y_lifter]

Problem is the concern with java and the battle between Sun and MS has many looking at alternatives for new projects..

 

[Y_lifter]

http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/default.aspx?tabIndex=4&tabId=46

 

[hellboy]

If you're already in a Microsoft shop then stick with the .NET stuff. ASP, C#, and VB(ugh). Also some C++ if ya got the time.

Seriously though - right now is a SHITTY time to be a programmer. I've been doing it for 11 years and I've never seen it so hard to find a job as it is now.

 

[oubeta]

Cobol is a dead language and is not used my many companies. C, C++ is a good one.
If it were me I'd learn SQL. It's a little hard but probable the most useful these days.

I love cobol, but I will never use it except for fun. Sql and database design is what they are stressing at my school. Jave and VB are good to know also.

 

[Y_lifter]

We still have cobol at the data centers but as I stated, I am not a developer but a solid Program Manager just looking to stay current.

I know the basics of DB's and SQL queries and don't have the time to learn C.

I'm thinking of brushing up on the HTML and then learning
VB and use it on the .Net framework.
Maybe starting with the above free asp .Net Webmatrix and then getting them to buy Visual Studio .Net

 

[Code]

Cobol is a dead language and is not used my many companies. C, C++ is a good one.
If it were me I'd learn SQL. It's a little hard but probable the most useful these days.

I love cobol, but I will never use it except for fun. Sql and database design is what they are stressing at my school. Jave and VB are good to know also.

According to CIO Weekly, cobol is still used in over 50% of of companies in the health insurance industry.

I run into cobol all the time at the DoD.

 

[Lumberg]

I am learning VB .Net. Definitely concentrate on .Net. THe thing about it is you can do everything with every language in .Net as it uses a common-language runtime. If you're comfortable in VB don't go through the hassle of learning Java or c# or j# or whatever.

 

[Y_lifter]

Thanks for the Comments,

Thoughts on VB as the one to get back up to speed on ? Negatives and such.
Lots of VB skill around me and not a lot of java to go to for ?'s

 

[Code]

VB is used in some small shops and used to write virii.

Oter than that, I don't see it used very often in production environments.

 

[audiophyle]

depends on what you're trying to code. java is real popular right now but is a beast of a language and will take some time to learn. C is another good one as is any of the other open source scripting languages, namely perl and python. I wouldnt waste any time learning vb, .net or any of that other proprietary bullshit.

 

[Code]

depends on what you're trying to code. java is real popular right now but is a beast of a language and will take some time to learn. C is another good one as is any of the other open source scripting languages, namely perl and python. I wouldnt waste any time learning vb, .net or any of that other proprietary bullshit.

Java is very easy.
.net is insanely popular and terribly useful.
C# will over take server-side applets over the next 5 years.
C is NOT a scripting language, nor is python.

 

[Lumberg]

we use VB.net for all our production. Pretty silly I know. I for one would be more comfortable in c but que sera sera.

 

[Y_lifter]

The .Net is a no brainer because it can support so many lang
and is the direction our MS platform is going to.

 

[Lestat]

C/C++

 

[Y_lifter]

Is going with component based Visual C# .Net or C++ .Net
OK, as I mentioned my lack of Cycles time to learn it properly ?

 

[Code]

Is going with component based Visual C# .Net or C++ .Net
OK, as I mentioned my lack of Cycles time to learn it properly ?

C#

 

[Y_lifter]

How funny is it that this thread has interest on a AAS BB forum... LOL.

Our team had a discussion regarding the fact that generally, I.T. people aren't geeky these days. Most are kinda cool in fact.
No more pocket protectors.

I really appreciate the leaned responses, and it looks like I'm leaning toward "C# .Net"

Any PM's with intro direction or good resources would be appreciated..

Y

 

[Lumberg]

How funny is it that this thread has interest on a AAS BB forum... LOL.

Our team had a discussion regarding the fact that generally, I.T. people aren't geeky these days. Most are kinda cool in fact.
No more pocket protectors.

I really appreciate the leaned responses, and it looks like I'm leaning toward "C# .Net"

Any PM's with intro direction or good resources would be appreciated..

Y

www.gotdotnet.com

 

[Y_lifter]

www.gotdotnet.com

NICE !

 

[Lumberg]

Lumberg for MOD!

 

[revexrevex]

One word, oracle

 

[javaguru]

Code and I disagree on many issues but with an alliance I honsetly think we could rule the world. C# is a good language but in typical MS fashion C# is a a rip off of Java.

 

[oubeta]

Code and I disagree on many issues but with an alliance I honsetly think we could rule the world. C# is a good language but in typical MS fashion C# is a a rip off of Java.

What???

Who wants to learn how to put a smiley face on a website. C is much more powerful. Java is a joke, I self taught myself java in about 3 days.

 

[Code]

What???

Who wants to learn how to put a smiley face on a website. C is much more powerful. Java is a joke, I self taught myself java in about 3 days.

Have you ever written anything for C and had it run on the web?

Java was developed because C, C++ all took too much over-head and were too slow for *anything* on the web.

The ease and power of java is the reason it's dominant. Easy, Yes.

A joke, tell that to the hundreds of million websites and databases currently using it for web-based production.

 

[WODIN]

Where moving to .net in the next quarter. We've been using VB as an admin / db overlay tool on the oracle development. Works like a charm and roll outs are fairly simple.

 

[javaguru]

VB is underrated IMO. We used VB 6 for all of our database intensive RAD. I support an EDI program written in VB 6 that runs in over three hundred facilities. As a teaching language it's great, allowing students to develop something functional rather quickly and it's a good language for teaching decision structures.

 

[Code]

VB is underrated IMO. We used VB 6 for all of our database intensive RAD. I support an EDI program written in VB 6 that runs in over three hundred facilities. As a teaching language it's great, allowing students to develop something functional rather quickly and it's a good language for teaching decision structures.

VB is a great tool.

Sadly it's not as sexy as java or .net or C#.

A smart CIO would stick with VB. VB programmers are damn near unlimited and work cheap.

 

[javaguru]

If you learn Java you pretty much know C#.

 

[javaguru]

We currently use .net for our RAD development. C++ in Visual Studio 6 should have had the RAD development capability of VB.

 

[Y_lifter]

Thanks for the comments. .Net is pretty much a given for our environment and future direction...
So,
Looking to start with VB . NET(many co-workers to help me in VB)
and also C# .Net.
I'll also look at asp .Net for the quick stuff since MS offers free design s/w .

My only concern with the C# is how Microsoft deals with the SUN java legal issues, and now MS telling us they are going to stop supporting parts of MS Java.

 

[audiophyle]

Java is very easy.
.net is insanely popular and terribly useful.
C# will over take server-side applets over the next 5 years.
C is NOT a scripting language, nor is python.

Java is not easy for someone who only has experience with basic COBOL.

.net is a good idea... a fast, high level language that can be optimized to run on multiple platforms. I'm not quite sure how this is any different from java other than the fact that it's proprietary?

c# is a complete and utter ripoff of java, end of story. Not only is it a ripoff, it's platform dependant! You cant write c# code on linux and linux makes up more than 60% of all web servers on the net!

I didnt mean to say that c is a scripting language. I should have been more clear. Python and perl however, ARE scripting languages. A perl or python SCRIPT does not need to be compiled in order to run. thus making them scripting languages.
http://www.arl.hpc.mil/outreach/eLink_Fall02/clarke.html