** This thread discusses the article: TechTip: Getting Started with Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 **
"After my experience with installing the IBM Rational Application Developer (RAD) tool for the IBM i, this seemed like a piece of cake"
I echo this experience. When a newbie programmer asks me what to learn, I point them away from Eclipse/Java to Visual-Studio/dot Net. Yes, both have a robust job market, but with the Microsoft tooling and wizards, you are immediately productive and learning the programming craft, not the odd particulars of a constantly changing tool-install process. I even offer this advice to those doing Game Development. - John V