"I am interested in becoming a .Net developer, but I don't know where to begin. There seems to be so many technologies in the field of web development that I feel lost. How do all these technologies relate to each other, which ones do I need to learn in order to be considered for becoming a serious professional, and which one should I learn first?"
However, there is no single answer to these types of questions and truly no unique set of technologies can address all requirements of a web application built upon .NET platform.
This article’s focuses on those who are trying to make their first step into the IT industry and beginners who wish to find the right guidance (set of technologies to master) while developing Microsoft based web applications.
The essential requirement is sound knowledge in the following areas.
1. Web and .NET(www.microsoft.com/net) fundamentals
- Internet , HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Object-oriented programming (OOPS) , Microsoft .NET Framework, C#
2. ASP.NET (www.asp.net) is web development framework within the .NET regime that provides you all the foundation and services necessary to develop Enterprise Web applications. While many language options exist, C# is generally acknowledged to be the language of choice for ASP.NET development. So a solid understanding of ASP.NET framework, C# programming language, HTML and JavaScript, AJAX is a must for developer who wishes to develop a world class enterprise web application.
3. Relational databases are generally the preferred choice for storing application data. Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) help to organize, store, and retrieve the data in a very efficient manner. Since C# applications traditionally uses the ADO.NET components to access data and data services from data sources using Transact-SQL(T-SQL), clear understanding the basics of Relational Database Management Systems like Microsoft SQL Server and ADO.NET and T-SQL is essential.
4. Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like Microsoft Visual Studio provides comprehensive facilities for faster and efficient software development and is always preferred over others. An IDE consists of source code editor, compiler, build automation tool and debugger together in a packaged form and provide a favorable environment for development.
Mastering the above technologies, equips one with the required minimum skill sets but it doesn’t mean you would be getting a job in IT Company simply. Many people fail miserably in job interviews when it comes to presenting their strengths in right form. So, work on your soft skills especially communication skill which will give you, an ability to express your ideas clearly and effectively.
Once these basic requirements are met one could add the following technologies to move up the ladder.
5. Even though an applications could make use of the ADO.NET and T-SQL to persist data into relational databases, Object Relationship Mapping tools such as LINQ or ADO.NET Entity Framework, that provide a layer of abstraction between the application and the database is preferred by most development teams nowadays.
6. Understanding the basics of Web Servers like Internet Information Services (IIS) will be helpful as such applications provide the run time environment for the deployment in production environment.
7. Version control is a critical aspect of any software project, and its importance is generally understood. Version control systems serve several key purposes. First of all, they allow you to sequentially store successive versions of your source code. In addition to providing a secure backup copy of the source code, this process ensures that you can step back to a stable version when things go drastically out of control. Version control systems also help team members to work simultaneously on a project's source code without stepping on each other's toes. So understanding a Version Control System such as Visual SourceSafe (VSS) or Subversion (subversion.tigris.org) and its vital functions is helpful.
8. Substantial amount of developer’s time is spent on automating tasks which will ease the development. Even though IDEs automate much of the work, many developers look to an external tool to assist critical activity; like the build process. Build tools automate many tasks which a software developer encounters while developing, compiling, testing, or deploying applications. So a good understanding of build processes and build tools like NAnt (nant.sourceforge.net) which eliminates the hassle out of the build process and the maintenance is desirable.
9. Frequent testing during development is one of the practices growing in popularity in IT industry now. It provides a powerful approach for combating the inevitable continuous changes of inputs in software projects. But this simple mantra “unit testing” is much easily said than done. In the past major obstacle for implementing “unit testing” was the lack of suitable testing framework. Now with the availability of many “unit testing” frameworks like NUnit (www.nunit.org) and VS Test (comes with Visual Studio Professional editions), providing the basic plumbing for developers to quickly generate whole test suites that validate their programs with the click of a button, implementing “unit testing” has become simple.
10. One of the most significant problems in software development is ‘assumptions’. Assumptions pass required parameter values, or a particular configuration parameters This process can lead to a situation where a developer will spend precious development hours tracing items which don't exist. Assumptions in software development often results in considerable wastage of time and add to risks. Continuous Integration (CI) can help to reduce assumptions associated problems on a project by resorting to rebuilding software frequently.(whenever a change occurs as logged by version-control system) The benefit arising out of CI has been proven beyond doubts and thus it has become the De Facto software development practice for all projects. Spending some time on the non-glamorous fundamental activities and use of CI tools like Cruise Control.Net (confluence.public.thoughtworks.org/display/CCNET) will provide ample time for important and visionary activities.
11. A code review is a useful exercise that helps to ensure code quality. But checking thousands of lines of someone else's code for items like hardcoded locale specific strings, Finalizers are protected, and naming conventions can be a real pain. To make matters worse, code reviews are typically constrained by tight project schedules. There is never enough time for detailed evaluation of code. Despite the best intent of the reviewer, optimization and logic checking take a back seat. Code reviews often become just an exercise in code beautification. Tools like FxCop which examines managed code assemblies for conformance to Microsoft's .NET Framework design and custom guidelines, conformance to recommended coding standards and practices are the real boon to code reviewers. Able team lead leverages these tools to measure and monitor the entire codebase, thereby controlling and ensuring system quality throughout the development life cycle.
Nevertheless these are not the only frameworks, tools and libraries used by all IT companies to develop .NET based web application. But this step by step approach provides a good starting point for the new entrants.
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