shahine.com/omar/

Every few weeks I get an email from some one asking me how I got started programming, or learned .NET and what books I’d recommend.

Well, 2 or so years ago (I think) I had never written a line of .NET code. I had some BASIC experience (small amount), a bit of scripting experience and two 100 level college courses on java and C++. I’d never written a Windows Application though.

I’ve read the following books at one point or another. I’m listing them in the order I’d read them today. I’d note that I actually learned VB.NET first, and then switched to C# a few months later. The switch took a few days of getting used to.

1. Programming C# – Jesse Liberty
2. C# Essentials
3. A Programmer’s Introduction to C# – Eric Gunnerson
4. Windows Forms Programming in C# – Chris Sells
5. Essential ASP.NET With Examples in C# – Fritz Onion
6. Programming .NET Components – Juval Löwy
7. Mastering Regular Expressions – Jeffrey E. F. Friedl
8. C# Cookbook

Besides reading books, I spent a lot of time using Goolge’s USENET search feature, and of course looking at real code like BlogX, then dasBlog. But the best way to learn is to think of something you would like an application to do, and write it yourself. GotDotNet has a ton of great user contributed projects, and samples to investigate.