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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:52 am
by thefool
This makes me feel like donating to fred hehe. I think we have it too good. A developer who continually keeps making the programming langauge better, and he never begs for money of any kind. So I think i'll smack some money in some day, to let him (and the rest of the purebasic team. Don't forget them!) enjoy some of the pleasures of money (and hopefully help them stay away from the bad sides of it) :)

So lets have a donation round when the new version gets out of beta state...


Now about .net, i feel like its getting more into the business world. I noticed that on the university education im going to attend next year they are using both .net and conventional compilers [as well as assembly]. Yes its a software developer education, 5 years :)
It seems like they work a lot in groups on larger projects. I can't wait to see if it really is as fun as i think it can be hehe

So this year i will spend time programming in purebasic, learning C# and C++. I was on the edge to purchase aurora, as it looked somehow like a C# without .net which also seems very interesting, but i didnt have time to go look more into it. Thankfully i began reading this thread before thinking about it...

about purebasic, the year or so [well since 4.0], i have seen an enourmous increase in the usability of this language. There are still some features that i miss, but i believe they are all coming one day. Again; one language isn't enough. So I think its a good idea to have C# in the pocket for .net, and purebasic for all the things you can imagine purebasic being used for :)

So lets be happy for the purebasic team, and to the ones who gets newcomers feeling comfortable with the language, not to mention kale & his book which probably got a lot of newcomers to get "it going" with purebasic.

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:02 pm
by Kale
thefool wrote:So this year i will spend time ..., learning C#...
C# is a fantastic language and very easy to learn. The only thing which takes time is learning what classes are available in the .NET framework. This seems a bit silly at first 'cos you can just search for the relevant info when needed, but to be productive in an industry environment you need to know it from top to bottom. I'm currently studying for a MCTS cert in Windows and Web development and you have to remember the lot!! :shock:

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:16 pm
by thefool
Kale wrote:
thefool wrote:So this year i will spend time ..., learning C#...
C# is a fantastic language and very easy to learn. The only thing which takes time is learning what classes are available in the .NET framework. This seems a bit silly at first 'cos you can just search for the relevant info when needed, but to be productive in an industry environment you need to know it from top to bottom. I'm currently studying for a MCTS cert in Windows and Web development and you have to remember the lot!! :shock:
I bought "Pro C# 2005 and the .net 2.0 platform". I hope i can read this one and then adapt the knowledge and move up to .net 3.x and C# 2008. Hear about the book? And if so - is it recomendable or not heh

"MCTS". Do you have to have another job to take that? I mean is it like an "extra" addition to a pre-existing education or to take alone? Surely, even if it was to take alone i wouldn't bother until after my university education is done heh

Now we are at it; any other interesting readings/books i should take note of after reading that one (on the whole topic. C# and .net)? I enjoy reading printed books, and i usually purchase them from amazon.co.uk.

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:48 pm
by Kale
thefool wrote:I bought "Pro C# 2005 and the .net 2.0 platform". I hope i can read this one and then adapt the knowledge and move up to .net 3.x and C# 2008. Hear about the book? And if so - is it recomendable or not heh
Actually i have read that one from cover to cover and it's not only a fantastic book on C# but one of the best books i've ever read on programming. It's not a beginners book though and you will need a little background on OOP and coding in general. I thoroughly recommend it. :)

The MCTS certificate is a stand-alone qualification that can be taken whenever you please. You pay your money and take the exam(s). There are books available from Microsoft that act as a training guide for studying for the exam(s) but you'll probably need to read a few more books aswell. More Info: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/n ... fault.mspx
They are hard work and require lots of brain room but i've come to the conclusion that for people like me who have no formal education, a cert like this shows a potential employer that you know a great deal about the relevant subject matter.

Other .NET books that i've read and recommend:
User Interfaces in C#: Windows Forms and Custom Controls
Visual C# 2005 Recipes, A Problem-Solving Approach
Beginning C# 2005 Databases: From Novice to Professional

Not C# but can easily port examples from Java:
Head First Design Patterns

MCTS Training Kits:
MCTS Self Paced Training Kit: Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation
MCTS Self Paced Training Kit: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Based Client Development
MCTS Self Paced Training Kit: Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 Web Based Client Development
MCTS Training Kit: Implementing and Maintaining SQL Server 2005
There are more! (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcts/default.mspx)

The foundation exam is required and taken first (for the above MCSTs), then the others follow. If you pass the others you become a MS recognised technology specialist for each subject. They don't have to all be done, only the ones which you are interested in. Other certs follow the MCTS. :wink:

That little lot should keep you going for a few years. :wink:

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:02 pm
by thefool
Actually i have read that one from cover to cover and it's not only a fantastic book on C# but one of the best books i've ever read on programming. It's not a beginners book though and you will need a little background on OOP and coding in general. I thoroughly recommend it.
I guess my money where well spent then :)
I will start reading it today. I have read some in it earlier but lack of time due to becoming a student made me bent over and i simply had nearly no time for programming or ANYTHING.
They are hard work and require lots of brain room but i've come to the conclusion that for people like me who have no formal education, a cert like this shows a potential employer that you know a great deal about the relevant subject matter.
I'll keep the link in my "future projects" folder. Maybe its nice to apply this on top of an education. I hope you do well in it, be sure to update us on the forum :)
That little lot should keep you going for a few years.
Hehe :)
Well programming is a hobby for me, and i would love to get working with my hobbies. Who can dream of more in this world?

Thanks for the book suggestions, i'll have a peek around (Especially the beginning C# databases attract me)

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:38 am
by theNerd
Well, Paul has made up his mind. EBasic and Aurora are now FREEWARE:
http://www.ionicwind.com/

(An official announcement is in the works but the main page explains that it is now freeware along with download links.)

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:01 am
by Randall
theNerd wrote:Well, Paul has made up his mind. EBasic and Aurora are now FREEWARE:
http://www.ionicwind.com/
... and what is he saying about continued development and support?

My understanding is that he was shutting down the site because he wasn't making enough money from it. Does making his products freeware improve his financial picture somehow?

Ahhh, now I see the menu on his home page says "Paid Support Forum", I guess he is moving to a pay-for-support model.

So, do those that paid for software licenses now have to pay again for support?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:07 am
by X
Randall wrote: So, do those that paid for software licenses now have to pay again for support?
Yes. Those who already purchased the product & support, must now subscribe to get the support they purchased.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:09 am
by theNerd
There will be a grandfather clause.

You can read the official announcement here:
http://www.ionicwind.com/forums/index.p ... 1.html#new

It's up to everyone to decide on their own whether it was a good idea but no one has every said Paul does not create rock solid compilers. Updates will be still be coming but paid subscribers get them first.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:11 am
by ts-soft
>> I guess he is moving to a pay-for-support model
yes, and some registered users become free support for a limited time, thus i have understand it.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:59 am
by theNerd
ts-soft wrote:>> I guess he is moving to a pay-for-support model
yes, and some registered users become free support for a limited time, thus i have understand it.
Plus http://www.codingmonkeys.com will be used for free programmer to programmer support.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:03 am
by GeoTrail
Cool, more stuff to play with :) Thanks for the info theNerd :)

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:24 am
by yoxola
TBH, EB is a nice product for Windows programming....

Sine it's free, it might spread fast enough and gorw faster, technically it's something good.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:40 am
by Kale
Do we all think that Paul will update freeware tools? He couldn't even do that when they where paid for. :lol: Personal i would steer clear of these languages now and advise people to do the same.

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:14 am
by milan1612
Yes, but Aurora seems to be a quite complete language
(as far as I know see, I didn't try everything yet)