Best Websites for Developers?

Recently, I've been entertaining the idea of getting into a little Java programming for a side project I'm working on, and I realized that I really don't know where to start. This led to a larger question of what the best books and websites are for pepole new to a language. What about for the experts in a language? So this week, I was wondering what slashdotters thought are the best websites to go to for information on the major languages (like C, C++, PHP, Perl, etc) and the important topics in programming (x, gtk, win32, etc). I obviously have some opinions on some of the better places to visit, but I wanted to see what slashdotters thought. (hence the paucity of links in this story) Where do people find the authorities? My intention is to ask about web sites this weekend, and books next weekend.

Comments

Quick Question

[AKAImBatman]

Why the in the world are you asking Slashdot? You realize that this is just going to get you confused. 500 posts say "Java SUX, use Linux!", 200 posts will send you to www.willywonkaland.com as the BEST developer resource, and at least 10 will tell you to "Use the force young padiwon!" At the end of the day, the real answers will be so buried, that you will have NO chance of ever finding them.

That being said, if you want to learn to be a good developer, first you are going to have to be as self-reliant as possible. If you need documentation for something, go to the source. For example:

Java: java.sun.com
Here you'll find a tutorial and JavaDocs. Millions of developers (myself included) learn everything they need to know about Java, right here.

PHP: php.org
Like Sun's Java site, this is a no brainer. Everything you need to know about PHP is right here.

HTML, XML, CSS: W3C
Hold this one close. A good portion of Internet standards are passing through this commitee. The best part is that the specs are right there for everyone to see.

.Net, C#, VB, etc.: msdn.microsoft.com
Ugh. Shell out money, get a bone. There is no other way to develop for M$.

If the documentation and/or support you need doesn't exist at the source, you may want to re-evaluate your usage of a language/product. Why should you waste your time on a meaningless hunt for info when you should be getting work done? The company you buy from should be providing you with what you need to use their product, otherwise you're just giving them money to do their job for them.