What to Learn when Beginning ASP.Net

by **BIT0112-Rokon** Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:48 pm

Prerequisites

Before you write even a basic ASP.Net application, there are some
prerequisites that must be met. Familiarity with either VB or C# is
necessary; if neither of those languages is familiar to you, then
programming in general must be a comfortable pursuit. If you try to
tackle even a basic DotNet application without such foundational
knowledge, then the whole pursuit will become frustrating and you will
give up. The core tools of web development should be familiar as
well. Trying to develop a web page without knowledge of CSS,
JavaScript, and HTML is like trying to build a house without knowing how
to hammer a nail; the process will frustrate you quickly and you will
give up. Finally, a basic knowledge of databases and SQL is also
necessary. Modern web apps require that a database sit behind site.
Without fundamental familiarity with databases, building a modern web
site will frustrate you. If you have all the above prerequisites,
then building a basic ASP.Net application is easily within your reach.

Skills to Master

Render a View: Whether MVC or Web Forms is the
target platform, the most fundamental aspect of building the application
is getting the UI to display. For one, your site worthless if the UI
is not visible. Second, trying to debug deeper functionality without a
visual output is a hero’s task that should be avoided if possible.
Fetch Data: Any application of substance will have
to fetch data from a database at some point. If your application in any
way requires data to persist between sessions, the database is more
than likely where that data is being persisted. Most modern
applications require this sort of functionality. Consequently, the
ability to grab data from the database is essential skill that must be
perfected and mastered.
Update Data: Merely grabbing data is not
sufficient; many applications require their persistent data to be
modified as well. Consequently, the ability to change data, which also
includes deletion, is absolute must.
Render Data: The data that grab from the database
must be rendered. Grabbing it is worthless if no one can see it.
Debugging your database operation is easier if you can see the result as
well.

What to Build

The question of “what to build?” is difficult to answer. Too small
of a project may not help you master the skills described above, but too
large of a project that may be unwieldy for a neophyte. Where is the
happy medium between those extremes?

The skills described in the previous section fit rather neatly into a
standard type of web site. Many “modern” websites are simply web
fronts to manipulate and view data. That sort of site fits perfectly
with the skills that a beginner should master. The processing
mastering the skills described in the previous section will allow you to
build this sort of site. Once the domain has been picked you are
ready to begin.

What sort of functionality is needed? Forms to enter data for
modification and entry as well forms for search are required.
Different types of data will require unique forms. Pages to display the
data after it has been entered or searched for are also required. As a
side note, the form and the display functionality can be merged into
one page. Make sure that the domain that you have chosen is relatively
small as bigger domains require more forms and display functionality;
more functionality leads to greater headaches. In addition, entry and
search forms require data validation to ensure that user cannot break
that functionality by entering bad values. Given a reasonable data
domain, these functional elements should suffice in helping you master
the requisite skills for an ASP.Net beginner

This tutorial was first published at Code Explosion Blog and written by Collin Rusk