>, but I don't think it's a good starting point. I think I need to get familiar with more basic stuff before considering other tools.
>>
>Yes!
>I started out looking at a framework and wasted a lot of time before getting down to learning the basics of C# and ADO.NET.
>Once you've learned the basics of the language, you'll be able to decide on what framework, if any, makes sense for you.

For me a fwk is always something in need to be partially rewritten, be it client-written or purchased ;-)
And I am one of the guys learning best by reading code, either in editor or papaer, but with better results in the debugger.
A fwk based appoach will get me to something running fast, which I can then work upon even to the degree of doing things to the fwk.

>In many cases, that choice has been pre-selected by the employer or the client.

Esp. in that case a solid fwk helps as a sanity check: you can compare perf, best practices, effort and much more on comparable apps, even if you have to stay with the clients choice. Much easier to argue if you can show benefits of an approach as well ;-)