I am very new to the programming world and I am getting ready to start college to take VB.NET and C#.NET. I would like to know if there is anything I could do to prepare me for my class before starting as in maybe getting meup to date on programming basics? Does anyone have any suggestions. ie books, online forums etc. Thanks.

Get copies of the "For Dummies" series (in whatever you find interesting). Obviously VB.Net and C# being two, but I would also suggest C and C++ (they're almost the defacto languages nowadays).

This series is actually one of the best "textbooks" you'll find. They cover nearly everything you need to know for the basics and quite a few advanced items too. You can read them cover to cover or use them as a quick-reference.

Just do a search for for VB.Net, etc. to find websites. I've found some of the more MS-zealot type forums to feel "uppity" regarding newbies, but as a disclaimer, I haven't used .Net yet and didn't look too close at those forums.

Interestingly, when I did search for tutorials online for VB.Net, it was very difficult to find any. Most of the so-called "beginner tutorials" weren't; they usually involved creating a project rather than giving a run-down of what VB.Net is and how it works.

Finally, don't forget your library. You should be able to find many books that will help you. Some may be older but can still give you the basic ideas you will need.

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Well, regarding online forums - how about this one right here?
I mean, I know we are kind of slow right now, but with some help from people like you, maybe we'll really get things running here!

As for an introduction, unfortunatelly the one I created is really lame and I wanted to work much more on it (I really did), but sometimes we just don't use our time the best way we can. I promiss to look into this in the near future; as a source of documentation, I suggest the msdn (but not from the start). A really good book is "Inside C#", by Tom Archer (from Microsoft Press), which you can find in electronic format too.

But really, you can get any book you want, and post questions here as you encounter problems along the way. We will do our best to help you!

Best regards,
Luci

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I'm sure theres loads of good books out there, the following 2 are pretty good:
- Essential ASP.NET with Examples in C#
- Essential .NET (Volume 1) (Probably read this one if you want to get into .NET and see whats going on in the background)

You can read these back to back or use as a reference book as they are not too heavy a read.

- C# Language Pocket Reference
This is great, if your familiar with C++ before going to C# it helps you out.

And if your loving the world of .NET, have a read of Mr Richter's:
- Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming
To see what happens under the sheets.

Thanks to all for the advise! I will take a look at the books mentioned and I can see myself posting alot of questions. Hopefully I won't get to the point of anoying.. Anyway thanks again. Will post soon. Can't wait to get into VB and C#! Hopefully I will catch on quick.