learning asp.net

[f1sh3r]

im looking into getting a new job soon, and a part of it is web programming. the company is strictly MS when it comes to software so im assuming asp(x) is the thing to use. ive been playing around with php since 2003 or so, but ive never used asp or this new fangled asp.NET

should i just pick up Visual Web Developer 2008 and start playing around? is there anything else better to get my feet wet? im pretty confident in my php skills, should i be just as confident about asp.net going into the job interview?

thanks

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

I am not sure about PHP, but you'll definitely need to know the basics of ASP.NET and .NET in general. I am assuming (depending on the company) they'll also expect you to know basic C# or VB.NET skills.

ASP.NET has a rigorous event cycle - this question is asked almost every time. There are objects like Session, Cache, ViewState, and Application which you might need to differentiate. Beyond that, basic ADO.NET skills might be required (you didn't post a job description). Knowledge of User Controls, Server Controls, basic ASP.NET components like GridView (and its events), Repeater (and its events), etc. might also be expected. Not to mention, Web Services!

Just "playing around" with Visual Studio or Web Developer is a good idea, but it will be hardly enough if you're going for an interview. I am not trying to scare you; am just being realistic. In my opinion, the best book to learn ASP.NET is O'Reilly's Programming ASP.NET 3rd edition. It covers almost everything you need to get started (including controls, user/server controls, Web Services, etc.).

Also, keep in mind that the current version of .NET is 3.5, while the book above is based on .NET 2.0. In essence, there is no difference between the two - ASP.NET 3.5 has expanded its list of controls, embedded AJAX components, and jam packed some other assemblies. If you know .NET 2.0, learning .NET 3.5 will be a breeze.

Good luck.

 

[Markbnj]

im pretty confident in my php skills, should i be just as confident about asp.net going into the job interview?

Well if you're interviewing for an asp.net/C# gig, yeah . Like Dhaval said, it really depends on the job description. If someone tells me they are confident in asp.net then I will assume they can answer questions about the page lifecycle, architecture, control types as already mentioned, view state and the other forms of user state and how they work and are used, data binding, the data provider model and how to use it to work with SQL. If I believe they are advanced then we'll talk about javascript and ajax, the ajax control toolkit, xml and xpath queries using XmlDocument and related classes, and maybe I'll ask what he or she thinks about LINQ and the 3.0 changes to C#, or XAML and WPF (not precisely ASP questions).

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

I forgot one of the most important topics (most interviewers forget, too, but this question is now being regularly asked in/around the Seattle/Redmond area): your knowledge of IIS 6.0 and 7.0 - things like configuring AppPools and performance settings in general. I myself have posed this question to quite a few candidates that I have met.

Just a side note, please don't invent things on your resume! We had a gal come in a couple of months ago, who claimed on her resume that she knew SQL Server 2003 .

 

[clamum]

You should probably start out with a primer in object-oriented programming (if you don't already know it). Then an overview of the .NET 2.0 framework, and then ASP .NET.

ASP .NET has a lot of good tutorial videos and resources for learning. A co-worker really likes http://www.dnrtv.com/ and Dot .NET Rocks as well, though they are for more intermediate/advanced developers so I wouldn't start out with them.