Which programming skills do I need to know to program something like an Internet casino (in C/C++ or C#)?

I don't gamble online, but I'm interested in learning the technologies, knowledge and skills required to make a network applications like chats, online video grames, netmeeting and the like.


I'm an autodidact and already know C/C++, C# and Java but I've done little programs so far, now I want to apply it to some interest project.





Which progamming language is better?


Online tutorials and resources.


Books.


Web sites and online communities.


Learning path.





Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Which programming skills do I need to know to program something like an Internet casino (in C/C++ or C#)?
I've found learning by doing a great way to study programming. In other words write something small, then build on what you learned. Here, I'd start with just a web site that permits sign-ups but provides no serivces. That's difficult enough to implement for starters.





C/C++ are overkill for what you're talking about. C# and Java are more appropriate. If you want a highly reliable and secure system you probably want to use Linux which largely excludes C#.





This leaves you with Java which is a common choice for implementing online systems.





Another option is Python (my personal favorite), which - together with mod_python for Apache - provides great performance and may be all you need.





For a database back-end you'll want PostgreSQL (free) or mySQL (commercial license).





For the actual user front end you'll most likely want to use Flash, which is an entire development environment of its own.





You can find online tutorials for all of the above on Google.