Windows Programming

Ok, I used to be pretty good at BASIC all those years ago, and work currently as a network admin on Cisco equipment, and was thinking of trying to teach myself how to write some stuff for Windows.

My question is this: What would be the best software to use, what language does it need to be? I've seen J, C, C++, J++, etc.

Next question, and probably the harder one is can I get something like this open-source? As in, I don't need to buy the frickin' MS developers' suite type thing.

Any ideas or suggestions would be great.

Yep. I would recommend learning C# for use with .NET. It is free, and there are a couple cool IDEs out there for free as well. Download the .NET SDK and you can get started with the command line C# compiler and notepad.

My recommendation would be with C# as well. Check out Microsoft's Visual Studio Express for an excellent, free option.

What he said. Also, VB.NET is also taking off big time.... Either way, if you know the .NET framework/IDE you can use either language pretty quuick. I find VB.NET is nice for quick dirty stuff, and C# for anything else.

VB is great for me, since I started in VBA in the Office Suite (.mdb mostly) Then moving on to activeX was a snap, but now I'm learning C# just because it's department "standard". Nazis!

Me, I've always preferred backend database work anyway.

I'm a java developer so I'm partial to it. Java 5 (1.5 sdk) is an excellent language, it's come a long way and has finally, IMO, become the language we were promised a decade ago.

I develop in Eclipse (eclipse.org) which is an open source and very powerful IDE. There are hundreds of plugins out there that well help you with just about any project. The [url= http://"http://www.eclipse.org/vep/WebContent/main.php"]visual editor project[/url] adds a RAD-type environment for developing appliations.

The nice thing about Java is your appliation will run on more platforms than just windows. You can target any OS with a JVM available, and there's also J2ME devices such as Blackberries and many phones you can develop for.

There's nothing wrong with C#, either, I work with several .NET developers, but my opinion is it's not quite as flexible, and doesn't have nearly the support of the open source community that Java does today. C#.NET is very standardized though, and most projects don't rely on non-MS libs, so that's an advantage in corporate environments. Java on the other hand, has a plethora of tools and libraries out there you can include in your applications.

If you decide to go the C# route, the Visual Studio Express versions are the way to go. 3rd party tools for MS development just can't match up.

Well I guess my first question is what exactly are you trying to do with it? Are you writing scripts for execution on a Windows XP/2000/2003 environment or are you planning on coding applications to run on those platforms?

From your statement it sounds like you are looking more into admin stuff and not application based. The two major things I suggest are learning vbscript and powershell. Both are scripting languages and both are free as long as you have a txt editor (notepad anyone?)

Microsoft VBScripting Center

and

Microsoft Powershell Scripting center

I am a Java dev moving over to .NET due to a change in platform at my company. I am going to miss Java, but I won't miss IBM's slow ass IDE!

I agree with the portability statement about Java. .NET is getting there somewhat though. There are CLRs for many different operating systems now.

Not sure what I want to do with it yet. I guess write for execution within windows, but the admin stuff would kinda go along with my career choice, so ...

Keep 'em coming fellas. I downloaded the .net free version, and I'm gonna kick that around this weekend.

My .02...

...take a .NET class. I'm sure there's a local CC in your area that will offer a "Programming 101" or something similar. Also, there are plenty of "Get started with .NET" tutorials online, most of which are free.

The thing about .NET is that it is pretty easy to use, so people jump right in and start creating apps the wrong way. Even if you're just building utils to run on your own box, it's always a good idea to stick to nomenclature standards, best practices, proper documentation, etc.