Google search on VB.NET tutorials

Definition of "tutorial" from businessdictionary.com:

Self-paced instructional program that provides step by step information in presenting a concept or learning unit. Computer based tutorials use interactive methods such as hyperlinks, and audio and visual presentation of the subject matter, and provide feedback through question-answer exercises.

• http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/NET/vbNET.html. Assumes no programming experience but covers many topics. These are true tutorials where you follow along step-by-step in Visual Studio to create and run applications. You can flow easily from one tutorial into the next simply following the right-arrow links. Small ad on each page to buy the book. Came up as first search result.
• http://www.programmingtutorials.com/vbnet.aspx. Collection of links to VB.NET tutorials. Some of these follow.
• http://www.startvbdotnet.com/. Aimed at developers who already know a programming language. Deeper well of information. Good explanations, no real tutorials. Good reference when you know what you want to do, but don't know how to do it in VB. Includes multi-threading! Some explanation of .NET itself. Also covers ADO.NET and ASP.NET.
• http://visualbasic.about.com/. Potentially overwhelming amount of information and options. Drilled down on "Learn VB.NET" link, taking me to http://visualbasic.about.com/od/learnvbnet/Learn_VBNET_Visual_Basic_for_the_new_millenium.htm, which provides a list of links (with abstract for each) that don't appear to be in any particular order. Many appear to be for VB.NET 2008 Express.
• http://devcity.net/
. Obviously aimed at all .NET developers. Would have to search this site to find VB material.
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/8hb2a397%28VS.71%29.aspx. This link puts you five levels deep ("Getting Started: Visual Basic and Visual C# Concepts") into a gigantic tree of MSDN topics. Looks pretty intimidating.
• http://www.programmersheaven.com/2/VB-NET-School. Very interesting site that came up as seventh google result. It provides a 15-lesson tutorial. The tutorial proceeds step-by-step with code provided. Does not use Visual Studio or any other IDE. Just command-line tools. Language lessons are separate from and precede WinForm (GUI) lessons. The most interesting item here may be about the author:

  Faraz Rasheed is a student of BSCS in the department of Computer Science, University of Karachi, Pakistan. He is also part of Operation Badar - an IT educational movement in Pakistan. He is an international student member of ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and INETA (International .Net Association). He has keen interest in Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD) and development in programming languages like C#, Java, VC++ and VB.Net. He can be accessed via farazrasheed@acm.org or frazrasheed@hotmail.com

• http://www.dotnetspider.com/. Promising but didn't find any tutorials specific to VB.NET. the tutorial page introducing .NET itself presents a good history lesson and overview: http://www.dotnetspider.com/tutorials/DotNet-Tutorial-266.aspx
• http://www.vbdotnetheaven.com/. Lots of good reference information but too advanced.

Interesting Bit of History

This comes from http://visualbasic.about.com/od/learnvbnet/a/LVBE_L1.htm

Where did Visual Basic come from?

Visual Basic was invented by Microsoft, but it's based on a much earlier language called BASIC invented by Dartmouth College professors John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz in 1964. Since C was invented almost ten years later, BASIC is one of the earliest computer languages. Every version of BASIC has been a revolutionary event in the history of programming from the very beginning. In fact, the version of BASIC created by Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen in February 1975 has an excellent claim to being the very first PC language since the first version was written in the native machine language for the what many consider to be the first PC, the MITS Altair 8800. Since the first PC version was written directly in machine language, nothing came before it!

The first version of Visual Basic came out in May of 1991. It was revolutionary because it gave people the ability to create Windows programs easily and quickly for the first time. Before Visual Basic, Windows programs were usually written using the complicated syntax of C++ and the even more complicated requirements of Windows. It was a tricky job for even the most experienced programmers. But Visual Basic opened Windows programming for everyone. That made it a key part of the amazing early success of Windows. People who didn't live through this era often don't understand that IBM and OS/2 had nearly all the money, most of the customers, and they made the computers. They had it all! Microsoft was a tiny, insignificant upstart by comparison. The programming universe was literally turned upside down when Windows and Visual Basic became the most successful software system in the world.

I did live through it and as I write these words, it's even hard for me to believe just how amazing that time was.

But Microsoft has never been a company that let history happen to them. They have always made their own history. In February 2002, Microsoft made a 300 billion dollar bet on a totally new technology base for their entire company. They called it .NET. Bill Gates, who usually says what he means, called .NET a "bet the company" move. If .NET had flopped, it probably would have been all over for Microsoft.

Additional Online VB.NET Resources

Your contributions to this page are appreciated. Let me know what you've found!