I'm going to put this out there knowing it will stir the pot, but I think you should take it into consideration. Research was done (I won't say by whom) that showed that there is an attitude out there (similar to the superiority attitude once held by other developers over VFP programmers) that developers using C# are superior to those developing using VB.net. That the C# language is more complex and more robust and that vb.net is a simpler tool. That may arise from the fact that many vb6 developers switched to vb.net (even though the task was not made easy for them) while some c developers switched to C#. It doesn't matter where it came from or even if it is accurate (it is not), but the attitude does exist and it isn't limited to other developers. Corporations and small businesses hold that faulty opinion as well and in many cases a developer using C# makes more salary than a developer using vb.net. In some circles, vb.net is now the underdog that VFP once held the monopoly on.

Yes, that perception definitely exists, no question

Here are my observations as well, take them or leave them :)

1) In the last two years, I've presented at over 30 CodeCamps and .NET User groups - every time, I start with a show of hands on the # of people who use C#, then VB.NET, then both. Up until about six months ago, it was usually about 60/40 in favor of C#. However, more recently, it's more like roughly 75/25 in favor of C#.

(I'm not sure I agree with Craig B - most people I know who have gone from Fox to .NET have used C#).

2) Yes, salaries for C# people are often higher. There is a perception (right or wrong) that C# people are going to be stronger.

3) Another observation, take it or leave it. If someone publishes some cool stuff and offers the source code in C#, and 100 VB.NET developers want to use it, the % of developers who will ask (or even complain) if there's a VB.NET version is likely to be higher than the reverse (i.e. someone publishes some cool source code in VB.NET, and 100 C# developers want to use it). The C# developers are probably more likely to take steps on their own to get what they want.

(And I'll say something else, in fairness - a VB.NET developer is a bit more likely to be stronger with SQL Server...certainly not a blanket statement, but I've known plenty of GOOD C# people who struggle with all but the most basic of SQL queries).


Kevin