What a predicament: learning new languages

I've been developing Microsoft Active Server Page (ASP) website since 1998 and have written some sweet scripts that make my job easier as well as provide my clients with the tools that make their websites great. Without getting overly technical, I find myself at a point where I have to abandon all that I know and "upgrade" to the new way of scripting web based applications. It's called ASP.NET and changing to this method is like learning to speak a new language, but worse than that, I have to unlearn my native language for the most part. (At least that's how it feels.)

There are a number of reasons I'm facing the change now. An important motivation is the fact that Microsoft (MS) is phasing out the language I'm used to and most server software will also be abandoning the language so over the next few years all my scripts will break. That's enough incentive eh? But also I've found myself wanting to develop more and more user friendly interfaces with the new "Ajax" tools. These tools allow site visitors and members the ability to interact with the website much easier than in the past. (Sorry, that's as non-technical as I can put it.)

I just finished an ASP auction application and have most of the site manager done in old ASP... now I have to start all over and re-write everything in the new language? Phooey! But hey, at least I'm not starting from scratch. I have a good foundation from which to build and I can use the process of re-coding the existing applications as a fast track to learning the new language.

I guess its the timing that causes the predicament too. It would appear that I will also be learning Spanish in the next couple of months out of necessity. Fortunately I won't have to unlearn English. Carrie and I have found a kind of language boot camp in Mexico where I think we will go to cut the learning curve from months to weeks. That's a whole different blog. But I will take a new laptop with me and be learning the new programming language at the same time.

Adios Amigos and ...

Microsoft | Active Server Pages | ASP.NET | Ajax | ASP auction | VBScript | Spanish | language | Mexico | programming language | David Francis | Soky.net | Bowling Green | KY | southcentral | webmaster | web development | gui