What can I hope to gain and expect from this class/classes?

I've never taken a VB class, nor have I programmed in VB, but I have taken many programming language classes over the years and have done quite a bit of work using other languages.

Basically, what you can expect is to write a number of programs that will increase in complexity over the course of the class. One of the best skills you learn in these types of classes is how to debug code. I would hope that they would give you some exposure to design patterns, like Model-View-Controller, but this might be expecting a bit too much.

In the programming classes that I've taken (everything from COBOL to C to Assembler to Java) what I've generally seen missing in fellow students is a firm grasp of logic. I've always felt like a pure theory class in logic should be required before jumping into any programming class. This is especially relevant if you have to do any group assignments, because people's jacked up approach to logic might personally affect you. I took a logic class way back in undergrad; it was more by accident than design, but it definitely helped me.

As far as the specific language goes, IMO that's really irrelevant. Once you get the logic down it's simply a matter of learning the syntax of the new language.

MS

Priston

When it comes to just starting to learn programming It's really no big deal which language you choose to learn. The basic concepts in all programing languages are pretty much the same. From my prospective VB is one of the easier languages to learn, so I would say that's a good step in the right direction.

EDIT:
@ eMeS
A class on pure theory might be a bit much for some people if they've never even written any code in there life. I would say the first 2-3 weeks of the class theory then the rest of the semester programming and learning more theory as they learn new syntax.

Priston wrote: »

EDIT:
@ eMeS
A class on pure theory might be a bit much for some people if they've never even written any code in there life. I would say the first 2-3 weeks of the class theory then the rest of the semester programming and learning more theory as they learn new syntax.

I'm not talking about programming theory; I agree that would mostly be overkill. I'm talking about a straight-up basic logic class, which is not only applicable to programming, but would apply in many areas of everyday life. These are typically offered by philosophy departments, but sometimes you find it in the math department.

MS

eMeS wrote: »

I'm not talking about programming theory; I agree that would mostly be overkill. I'm talking about a straight-up basic logic class, which is not only applicable to programming, but would apply in many areas of everyday life. These are typically offered by philosophy departments, but sometimes you find it in the math department.

MS

While I probably won't take a class on this, is there a specific book you would recommend? Something under 300 pages lol

N2IT wrote: »

While I probably won't take a class on this, is there a specific book you would recommend? Something under 300 pages lol

I'd say go to a Half Price Books and grab whatever book they have on Logic. Preferably one that was actually used in a university-level logic class. It's not like the topic has changed much during the last 5,000 years of recorded history.

MS

If a school is a "Microsoft" school then basic programming classes will be taught using C#, VB.NET (not VB6), and VBScript. Non-Microsoft schools (Apple) will instead use freely available language tools, such as Java, C/C++, Perl, PHP, and Python. Therefore, which school a technology student attends greatly influences their future choices for computer and software engineering technology.

VB.NET and C# go very well with SQL for making server backends and data-driven applications. I'm writing a lot of C# with MySQL right now and it all works very well together.

Have a look at the posts in our Microsoft Developers Forum for information on the Microsoft MCTS certs for .NET programming.

eMeS wrote: »

I'd say go to a Half Price Books and grab whatever book they have on Logic. Preferably one that was actually used in a university-level logic class. It's not like the topic has changed much during the last 5,000 years of recorded history.

Actually, modern logic has not existed for very long at all. It was the publication of Principia Mathematica in the 1930's that codified the logic we use today.

If you want to study the mathematics of computer programming, start with Boolean algebra, propositional (sentential ) and predicate calculus. They all quite fun, really, and often taught in philosophy classes.

JDMurray wrote: »

Actually, modern logic has not existed for very long at all. It was the publication of Principia Mathematica in the 1930's that codified the logic we use today.

I remember studying that in a discrete math class that was an advanced undergraduate class. The logic class that I took in 2nd semester of college was much more basic, and what and focused on the origins of logical thinking. It might not of been 5000 years, but it what we studied came from way back in ancient Greece. As I got more into programming over the years I was very thankful to have had that class when I did, as it instilled some basic core approaches that helped quite a bit.

MS

JDMurray wrote: »

If a school is a "Microsoft" school then basic programming classes will be taught using C#, VB.NET (not VB6), and VBScript. Non-Microsoft schools (Apple) will instead use freely available language tools, such as Java, C/C++, Perl, PHP, and Python. Therefore, which school a technology student attends greatly influences their future choices for computer and software engineering technology.

VB.NET and C# go very well with SQL for making server backends and data-driven applications. I'm writing a lot of C# with MySQL right now and it all works very well together.

Have a look at the posts in our Microsoft Developers Forum for information on the Microsoft MCTS certs for .NET programming.

Actually, modern logic has not existed for very long at all. It was the publication of Principia Mathematica in the 1930's that codified the logic we use today.

If you want to study the mathematics of computer programming, start with Boolean algebra, propositional (sentential ) and predicate calculus. They all quite fun, really, and often taught in philosophy classes.

Thanks for the insight.

BTW the school is defiently MS. I started off learning PL/SQL and switched to T-SQL because of the school.

eMeS wrote: »

It might not of been 5000 years, but it what we studied came from way back in ancient Greece.

I was referring specifically to the modern mathematical logic used in computer programming and not the logic of Western philosophic thinking. People interested in computer programming should find more value in a course of predicate calculus than in one teaching logical argument and debate (although both are quite fun).

N2IT wrote: »

BTW the school is defiently MS. I started off learning PL/SQL and switched to T-SQL because of the school.

Becoming fluent in as many Microsoft technologies as possible is a great way to make a good living as a software engineer.

MS and JD wanted to keep you posted.

I had my first Visual Basic 2010 class. Mainly focused on pulling up the VS editor and how to work around it. How not to use the save as but save all. I found out the hard way lol

I love the OO language it's a lot of fun to use. I still suck badly, it's my first class of course, but with some effort this could be a skill set I'll be proud to list.

Thanks again guys this is going to be a fun journey. And I love my instructor. She is an older asain lady who is really kind and patient. Infact I even made my way into her good graces by showing her the new feature in windows 7 snippit lol.

Oh my first program was a single form with a text box and two buttons. One closed the form out and the first button displayed text in the text field saying Hello World lol

I'm glad that you are liking the class and the programming environment.

Make sure you get basic instruction in the design of an OO program in VB 2010. You should be able to sketch out a program's design without using any any code. Knowing how to do that really helps you write programs faster and more well-constructed. The O'Reilly Head First Design Patterns book is a good one to look through for basic OO Design concepts and principles.