getting-started

How to enter an existing project?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the best way to enter an existing project fast. I've written some of my thoughts here, and would really like to hear advice from other people. What are the things you find a must? I'm especially interested with open source projects, if there's any difference....

ASP.NET Model-view-controller (MVC) - where do I start from?

I'd like to understand better the MVC pattern, as I'll be probably using it in the future (my job is mainly focused in developing .Net web apps). Can I ask to this community to help me find a starting direction on this subject? Articles, white papers, code samples, theory... anything you found helpful! Many thanks Andrea ...

Starting with .NET

Being a self-taught "amateur" programmer, I do most programming in my spare time, for relatively small projects, or for small study-related utilities. I greatly enjoy it, though, and have learned a great deal over the past couple of years. Through various weblogs and websites, I've become acquainted with version control, bug tracking, un...

Best platform for learning embedded programming?

Hi, I'm looking to learn about embedded programming (in C mainly, but I hope to brush up on my ASM as well) and I was wondering what the best platform would be. I have some experience in using Atmel AVR's and programming them with the stk500 and found that to be relatively easy. I especially like AVR Studio and the debugger that lets y...

J2EE App Server Hello World

I am fairly comfortable with standalone Java app development, but will soon be working on a project using a J2EE application server. Does anyone know of a straightforward how-to tutorial to getting a hello-world type application working in an application server? I'm (perhaps naievly) assuming that the overall approach is similar between...

Good Intro to COM Programming

Is there a good book or website with a basic introduction to COM programming? I am using C++, but I am hoping for a good overview. ...

How to begin WPF development?

I've been using Winforms since .NET 1.1 and I want to start learning WPF. I'm looking for good resources for a beginner in WPF. What should I read, what Tools I need and what are the best practices I need to follow. ...

Should I start with Ruby or Ruby On Rails?

I've been wanting to learn Ruby for a long time since there seems to be alot of buzz about it the last couple years. From what I've seen/read there have been a few Ruby'esk things that have been brought over the .NET too. Should I start with learning the Ruby language and just focus on writing simple command-line apps first? Or, should ...

Getting Started with Pair Programming

I found out yesterday that due to demands from the powers that be, I am being pulled from my current project to help out a colleague with some work. Now, he is a great guy, and while it sucks I will have to put my little baby down, I am looking forward to working with him. We have both previously expressed an interest in pair programmi...

What are the steps in starting a simple one-person web project? (for a complete programming newbie)

I've got an idea for a very simple interactive web site. To boil it down to functionality: Names, each with an input box (think tags you can add) Lists following the names of tags others have added Voting capability on the tags Sorting for the whole list of names (alphabetical, most tags, etc.) Sorting for the list of tags within a nam...

Getting started with TDD, Interfaces and Mockups

Bear with me, this is a beginner question: I'm a solo developer, quite familiar with C# and web development and I'm currently trying to shift to TDD since I believe I've understood the advantages in the long run. The classes I usually create do not implement any Interfaces (except from IDisposable and other standard candidates) since I n...

Where can I find a tutorial to get started learning jQuery?

Where is a good place to get started learning how to use jQuery? It seems to be all the rage nowadays, and I want be in on whatever the cool kids are doing. I know some basics of Javascript but I'm by no means an expert. ...

What is the minimum list of tools required to work on F#? Does the express edition work?

I have looked at a few posts that state the need for Visual Studio 2008 in order to run F#. Is there a simpler tool (maybe in interactive mode such as Ruby/Python) to learn F#? I have the Visual Studio Express edition on my machine. Your suggestions are welcome. Any good links (for a C# developer) to get started are welcome as well. I...

Moving from Employee to Business Owner smoothly

I currently work for a company, a big company. I have a contract that states that I need to ask for permission to have another job. Very standard I suppose. I'd like to start trying out some ideas for start ups. Some of them work without moving money (write a program, release it as shareware or something like that and see if people is i...

Best resources for moving from web development with Ruby on Rails to desktop applications with Python?

I've been a Ruby on Rails developer for a few years now and until Ruby on Rails have never been exposed to the conventions and design patterns that I've now grown to love and appreciate. I would like to start getting into building desktop applications with Python in a Gnome environment. What would be a beneficial resource to get starte...

Getting started with writing a Java tool - Revisiting Java

I'm in a bit of an odd position. I've already decided I'm going to use Java to write a particular tool I need, and I used to know Java decently well enough to create basic applets and applications. Problem is, now that I'm revisiting it, I've forgotten a ton of what I used to know (same story with my other web technology questions). U...

Getting started with OpenGL

As you can see here I'm about to start work on a 3d project for class. Do you have any useful resources/websites/tips/etc. on someone getting started with OpenGL for the first time? The project will be in C++ and accessing OpenGL via GLUT. Thanks! ...

How to overcome "it has already been done" problem when starting a project/business?

So, you come up with an idea that seems to be a good solution for an existing problem, or a different approach for solving a problem which makes the existing solutions obsolete or not needed anymore. Then you devote yourself to googling for relevant documentation, making plans about setting up the project, finding fundings and people t...

What are your foundation that you use to start a project?

We want to standardize the way we are starting projects. Most of the company is running off Agile but we want to have common bases. An exemple would be to customize the "Process Template" inside TFS and add our own work items with our own workflow for specific task/request coming from the client. We would also love a better way to gat...

What was the purpose of the first application you developed?

I have a family friend who has been dabbling with development for a few years now and is considering starting to pursue it as a career after quite some time in the hospitality business. The conversation turned interesting when we started discussing the inspiration for some of the personal projects that we had worked on. What we came to...