The Code Project vs. MSDN?
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
I remember your background and the background behind the job. Obviously, I wouldn't quit at this stage. It's not easy to find an opportunity like you have, plus you just got that raise. Anyways, just take him off your mailing list, and add him back on when you start forwarding the articles you will soon start writing.
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" — Hunter S. Thompson
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I remember your background and the background behind the job. Obviously, I wouldn't quit at this stage. It's not easy to find an opportunity like you have, plus you just got that raise. Anyways, just take him off your mailing list, and add him back on when you start forwarding the articles you will soon start writing.
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" — Hunter S. Thompson
Thanks, you are right! I was not planning on quitting my job, although it is quite tempting sometimes ;p And I actually already wrote an article, it's on the list for best VB article of the month februari. One of the reasons I wrote it is because I see so many wrong exception handling at my company. Though the only one who read it was a freelancer my company is currently hiring (and he liked it). My employers said "it was a nice article, but they already mastered the subject so they did not need to read it." I beg to differ though, the only person at our company who mastered exception handling is the freelancer! :laugh: But well, the very fact that I wrote that article on CP after only six months of programming experience is half of the proof that CP articles cannot be very good. The fact that it was nominated as best of VB feb 2011 (and is actually getting quite some votes) is the other half of the proof... According to my employer of course :) And I apologize for the self-promotion of my article :^)
It's an OO world.
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
Well.....Personally I avoided MSDN like the plague until the redesign. Now if I want to look at the members of an object I hit up MSDN. FOR EVERYTHING ELSE like learning how to use the object....it is first: search of code project if that doesn't work search Google if that doesn't work ask questions on code project. Humble Programmer
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
Just cobble together a small (non-working - as usual) sample app from bits of MSDN sample code - email it to him and ask for his help debugging it! That'l learn 'im! ;-)
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
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Screw the dumb clod. Take him off your mailing list, he obviously can't or won't learn, so he'll be obsolete soon and you won't need to worry about him.
"People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them." Eric Hoffer "The failure mode of 'clever' is 'asshole'" John Scalzi
When I'm stumped, I look here first. When I'm just bored and looking to learn something, I browse articles of interest here. 'Nuf said. FWIW, I've made a LOT of posts over at the MSDN forums, and to be frank, it's a rare thing that I get a reply that actually helps me solve a problem. D. T. Doutel
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My expression is that the articles on MSDN are more theoretic while that on CP more practical.
TOMZ_KV
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not to mention that there are several very active CP members who are also Microsoft MVPs
Steve _________________ I C(++) therefore I am
I'm not a Microsoft MVP, but an MCC. I have some contribution here, but I wish I could contribute more on code project and beleive what his boss is saying to be complete nonsense. Articles at code project are usually much more comprehensive and are not locked by the standard template of MS articles. I beleive MSDN articles and documentation are more suitable for experienced developers as they tend to be difficult to read and sometimes lack some information, but usually are very objective which benefits experienced developers the most. In any case, Code Project has plenty of very good people who monitors the articles so that information is not misused. So yes, codeproject can be as good if not better than msdn. I prefer MSDN forums though, beleive to be more complete, effective and easier to use.
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
Some authors who are published in MSDN Magazine also publish articles on CodeProject.
:josh: Mole 2010 - debugging made easier
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
Naerling wrote:
I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable.
I totally agree with this one. Almost all my problems/questions were solved when I go to CP. Good comparison. High five!
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
I read every code project article linked in the daily news letters except ones on the MSDN blog or anything related to .net or windows phone 7. I battle ignorance with ignorance.
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I've found much more relevant and technically correct articles on CodeProject than what I ever read or found on MSDN. That said, MSDN does have good stuff, but CodeProject has much more. Consider this: CodeProject has thousands of contributors. MSDN has far, far fewer (in the hundreds). Why? MSDN is a print publication. It doesn't scale. There are 12 issues per year with maybe a dozen articles each, so that's 150 articles a year. Over ten years, that's 1500 articles. CodeProject has literally thousands of articles. Admittedly some of them are not so great, but many are excellent articles. What you need to do is show your boss some articles from MSDN that refer to CodeProject articles. There are some. Beyond that, I agree with Hans, find a new job. That guy is an idiot and a disaster waiting to happen and it will be blamed on you.
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams "Let me get this straight. You know her. She knows you. But she wants to eat him. And everybody's okay with this?" - Timon
Very much so. The writing for code project is much better. Back in the early days, MSDN magazine had much more in depth articles with much more code examples to show. Now, they spend more time showing off their new (shiny) tools. Back then, it was more of a technical journal. Today, it is just a flashy magazine. Also, today, the price of paper to print the magazine articles is more expensive then web pages. Strange how certain companies dominate our thinking. Today, it is Microsoft. Back in the 80s, it was IBM. Corporate thinking was "If your hardware wasn't IBM (or IBM approved), then you could not program to it nor sell for it". But, until something better comes along, those of us in the Windows world will have Microsoft.
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Make Searching Developers go Nuts.
Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.
Agreed! Have you seen their help. Every Visual Studio after VC6, the help was pretty much useless. The examples were terrible to nonexistent. You really had to scratch your head on much of it, until Google came along. VC6 had excellent help with useful examples.
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Hi all, I have been sending quite some emails with interesting Code Project articles to my co-workers and employers lately. One of my employers is an absolute Microsoft lover. Everything that Microsoft does is GOOD and everything else is good if Microsoft does it too. In fact, when I first told him about OOD and Design Patterns he said (somewhat angry) that "I read some (Code Project) articles and now I thought I knew everything, but he had never seen Microsoft do it so he did not believe me nor the articles I read." I think he was quite shocked when he found out that Microsoft uses many OOD principles and Design Patterns :laugh: Anyway, I send him those emails and he walks into my office saying "well, that is nice, all those articles about this and that, but they are not from Microsoft, anyone could have written them." So I try to tell him that the people here at The Code Project are also professionals and are at least as good as the people over at MSDN. But he will not believe that articles that are written here can be really very good and helpful. Basically, to follow his line of thought, the people here write 'nice articles about some spare time hobby stuff' while MSDN writes really good and professional articles that provide Microsoft best practices etc. etc. Clearly, I do not agree with him! :-D I have read quite some Code Project articles and I find them generally easy to understand, many provide good test projects, and at the end I almost always feel like I have learned something valuable. So how much better (if at all) do you think MSDN (blogs in particular) really is? And how much value can we put in Code Project Articles? Just thought I'd ask the community directly (although results may be opposite when asked on MSDN) :laugh:
It's an OO world.
I don't read too many MSDN articles. I do read MSDN documentation and I wince at the idea of finding what I am looking for in that pile of ... OK, after re-reading a passage about 5 times, half the time, I start to get what the idea they are trying to convey is. It is unfortunate that it is almost devoid of useful examples.
