Brandon Coppernoll Web content management, internet marketing and social media in Indiana

Brushing the dust off on .NET development

I will be the first to admit that over the past four years since graduating from Ball State University my path in programming has steered me away from .NET. This wasn't necessarily a personal choice. My first position developed their proprietary CMS in ASP Classic VBScript which I took the time to learn how the code worked and ended up becoming quite proficient in it over the past several years. When I started my position at Fusework Studios I continued to write in ASP Classic because that's what I had become accustomed to, and at the time it seemed simpler to stay in that realm.

For some time that's where I became comfortable. It was definitely within my comfort zone. Over the past several years I have had only a handful of projects that would venture into the realms of PHP and .NET development. Each time that I dared to enter this unfamiliar or old territory doubt crept into my mind, but thankfully I have been able to be accomplished enough that I was able to develop and succeed on each project.

Recently on a project I have had to update my personal and work computers with the latest Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 package. I disassembled a compiled DLL file that I was not familiar with only to find that the modifications needed done to the site needed so much more than this DLL was structured to do. I had two choices:

1. Modify the DLL extensively to get the end result.
2. Take what I needed from the code in the DLL and write a new application to accomplish the client's goals for the site.

I opted for number 2, and it was invigorating to be able to brush the dust off a long-lost development approach after working with ASP Classic for so long. Mike Lacey, the other Web developer at Fusework Studios, is a big supporter of .NET development and kept telling me "welcome home." It felt good to take on a new challenge. To do something different. To create something new. After going through the motions for some time in ASP Classic it felt great to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I think inherently that's all a programmer or engineer really wants to do at heart. We want to create. We want to create something new. Even now my mind is reeling over what I can try next. The great thing is...I can't wait.

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