Major career change

[luckluck]

After having 7 years of Network related career, I am going to make big change in the path.

Basically I need to enter to the field of software engineering but I am clue less which path to choose.

I am recruited by a newly formed company and intended duty is setting up network and its service, Email etc. As the company progress is very slow in nature I have lot of free time and resources available.

I would like to obtain MCSD or similar thing but it must help me to develop a software program which will need by this company in the future.

I can imagine few programming paths like C++, VB, Visual C++, Visual C#, PHP, etc. I have some knowledge in object oriented programming. Positive of mine is I think I am good at self studying.

Can you advice on this? Should I learn all of this from the beginning? Can I just start from the middle?

(I should say that the Microsoft Press book for 70-300,310,316 and 320 can’t help me to build even a program like “hello world�)

(My networking background is MCSE, CCNP, CCDP and CCIE RS –written. I know this won’t help me at all but it will help me to analyze things easily)

Thanks

[Crane]

Microsoft Press Books kind of stink. I'd learn Visual C# if I were you. It is easy to pick up, is OO and there are tons of tutorials on the web. You could learn the entire language from the web. I wouldn't start in the middle.

[luckluck]

Thanks, I am still in the dark in some areas.

Lerning C# : It is possible to learn very basic and fundamental concepy by learning C# ? or should I cover those fundamentl by learning C++ or similar "old" language? I was under impression that the latest programming like C# "hide" the fundamental by doing fundamentl coding programme itself.

anothe aspect.

say, I need to write small programme to add two numbers. If I write it by VB "drag and drop" instead of coding >> "" ; ' # <gffdggf> in C++ , Am I missing fundamental ?

[Void]

To answer your questions.

Yes, if you learn C# you will learn the fundamentals. Since C# is very similar to C++. I don't notice much difference in C# at all besides of syntax (-> = . in C#).

I'm fairly certain you can't drag and drop calculations in VB. So, in VB you would still have to do calculations. If you use Visual Studio C# you can also drag and drop but the VS doesn't do calcuations for you.

Does this make sense?

[hoser2001]

I have learned almost all of my coding skills using C#.
I took an intro to prog class on Delphi...... useless...
One semester of C++ which basically got me into 'thinking' like a programmer thinks.

Other than that everything I know is thanks to C#

[Crane]

I've been through several classes and I can tell you for a fact that learning C# will be just as good as learning C or C++.

[luckluck]

Thanks to all of you. I highly appriciate your advices..

[WingedPanther]

One other comment: MSCD isn't likely to help you much. Get the information you need to write your program. If it will involve databases- learn about databases, etc. You already have the job, so just worry about making the product.

[luckluck]

Yes .. its the right code..

Many thanks..

[Kaabi]

I hope everything works out for you, and you're pretty smart, so I'm sure it will.