getting back to c# programming after dabbling in non tech world

Question

Whats the best way to get back and stay abreast to latest stuff going on with C#3/4?

I do have Jon Skeet's book

Answer 1

IMHO, the following resources/actions should help get you back on the latest happenings of the C# world:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/
• HitMill
• http://stackoverflow.com/ [Not just read and ask questions but also try answering to your best. Folks will vote your answer down without any mercy and that would be very motivating for you.]
• A book or two on C# latest edition (You can always refer stackoverflow questions or Amazon reviews, to decide on which book to buy and read for this)
• Try solving some problem or other (there are sources aplenty). Then see how you can improve your solution by applying different techniques/features from the latest language edition
• Thankfully enough there are plenty of screen-casts available today explaining the different concepts or happenings in the world of .Net. Watch it. Get enlightened!
• Do not forget to attend/participate in conferences, local geek groups, etc.

• Read blogs and start writing your own. This definitely is a good experience.

  Happy reading, learning, coding, watching, learning, coding, ...! :)

Answer 2

Learn by doing.

Start a new example project that includes examples of C#3/4 specifics (Linq etc.) and work through examples online and in C# in Depth.

Answer 3

I would reccomend getting a few personal projects going, using different parts of the stack. It will give you the ability to learn a lot about the new features, and will add some immediacy and relevance to any reading you do.

Answer 4

I'd definately look at ASP.NET MVC3 and "Code First" EF4, this makes it fantastically easy/elegant to get started with "real" apps.

I just did my first big work project with Code First and I cant believe it took so long for this to exist. I have a personal project I am now converting back as well.

On the plus side you can take what you do and it is directly relevant to other MVC platforms such as CakePHP (as the conventions are nearly identical)

Answer 5

I think a great starting point would be to pick a simple project like a Blog, and attempt to build one from scratch either from tutorials or a book. It doesn't need to be super complex, just enough to get the point.

While this might be more asp.net'ish, it should expose you to interacting with a database, resource management, and unit testing (if you so choose).