Visual Basic Web Sites

Visual Basic Web Sites

The Web is a boon to programmers and is definitely the fastest mechanism for gathering information about Visual Basic 2005 and related technologies. In this section, I list several of the Web sites that I use to learn about new products and services related to Visual Basic. As you use this list, note that the Internet address and contents of each site change from time to time, so the sites might not appear exactly as I've described them. Considering the constant ebb and flow of the Internet, it's also a good idea to search for “Visual Basic”, “Visual Studio 2005”, and “VB.NET” occasionally to see what new information is available. (For the most specific hits, include the quotes around each search item as shown.)

www.msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/

The Microsoft Corporation Visual Basic home page is the best overall site for documentation, breaking news, conference information, and product support for Visual Basic 2005. This site gives you up-to-date information about the entire Visual Basic product line and lets you know how new operating systems, applications, and programming tools affect Visual Basic development.

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Remember that you can also access MSDN resources quickly from the Visual Studio Start Page within the Visual Studio IDE. The Start Page loads updated articles and news content each time you start Visual Studio, so its contents are always changing.

www.devx.com/

DevX is a commercial Web site devoted to numerous Windows development topics and issues, including Visual Studio and Visual Basic programming. Discussion groups of professional Visual Basic programmers provide peer-to-peer interaction and feedback for many development issues. In addition, DevX vendor partners offer books, controls, and third-party software for sale.

www.microsoft.com/learning/books/

The Microsoft Learning Web site offers the newest books on Visual Basic 2005 programming from Microsoft Press authors. Check here for new books about Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft Visual C++, and Microsoft Visual J# as well. You can also download freebies and send mail to Microsoft Press.

www.microsoft.com/learning/training/

This is the Microsoft Learning Web site for software training and services, including testing and certification. Over the last few years, many Visual Basic programmers have found that they can better demonstrate their development skills to potential employers if they pass one or more certification examinations and earn a Microsoft certified credential, such as the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), or the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA). Visit this Web site to learn more about your certification options.

www.microsoft.com/communities/

This site of technical communities for many Microsoft software products and technologies offers opportunities to interact with Microsoft employees and your software development peers. Through this Web site, you can access blogs, newsgroups, webcasts, technical chats, user groups, and other resources related to Visual Studio development. Currently Visual Studio newsgroup topics are listed under the Microsoft MSDN (Developer Newsgroups) category.