Microsoft asks 'So who wants to be a programmer?'

Microsoft launched a new Web site on March 1, its Beginner Developer Learning Center (BDLC), with the aim of bringing more "non-professional" programmers into the Microsoft fold.

The new site is designed to supplement the outreach to hobbyists, do-it-yourself developers and other programming newbies that Microsoft began targeting in November 2005, when the company released for free its Visual Studio Express tools.

According to its own studies, Microsoft believes there to be about seven million professional programmers worldwide. But there are as many as 100 million tinkerers who are doing everything from HTML tweaks, to JavaScript coding, to macro-based development. Microsoft refers to this group as "non-professional programmers."

Via the new BLDC site, Microsoft is working to provide non-professional programmers with basic content. The site currently offers two main tracks: Windows development and Web. It also features a Kids Corner, featuring materials developed in conjunction by Microsoft and teachers.