Hi Rick..

You bring up some very good and valid points. I like the fact that you go on record to say that C# IS NOT C++. Other than sharing the same letter in the name and sharing some common syntactical traits, I don't see how the two relate.

As for C# being a stipped down language, I see that knife cutting both ways. IMO, the more stripped down a language is, the more code you have to write. It is pretty early in the evolutionary path of both VB and C#. I suspect as time goes by, VB will gain new features. I suspect that C# OTOH, will remain small and uncluttered.

Being a stripped down language is good too. I think there are 40 or so key words in C#. It does not take long to learn the lay of the land. This is yet another reason why the comparison between C# and C++ is somewhat flawed.

When you get down to it, the power is in the framework and the language does little more than manipulate the framework. The exception is when you are writing your own classes (business objects). IMO, C# is not as fluid, as declaritive as VB. There are plenty of arguments on both sides. However, when push comes to shove, it is a matter of preference because I can interact with the framework just as easily with VB as I can with C#. Therefore, there is no material technical reason why a developer NEEDS to go to C#. If a developer can cling to C#, I say go for it. The same goes for the guy who can cling to VB.

When defining classes in VB over C#, it seems more fluid to me. Perhaps I am missing something, but I don't see what I am missing/losing by using VB instead of C# - for the vast majority of tasks I have to perform. I concede that when the technical reason presents itself, I will then need to bail and use C#. As a matter of preference, if I like VB and I can be productive with the tool, there is no reason I should avoid its use as long as the product will be the strategic focus of the vendor (MS).

To manufacture psuedo-technical reasons for favoring one language over the other - especially when it comes down to a matter of preference - IMO misses the point. It makes something out to be MUCH more than it really is. To intimate that the person who adopts VB is somehow disadvantaged is nonsense.

I don't begrudge somebody promoting his/her agenda. Good business people do that. IMO, Kevin is making a good business decision by focusing on .NET and in addition, encouraging VFP developers to look to .NET as the future. Even I can see going too far when it comes to making what I think, are factually inaccurate and perhaps misleading statements with respect to C# and VB.

The remedy???? Simply say that C# is PREFERRED. It may be a semantic distinction because some will counter by saying "Why should somebody have to justify the language they use?" My response is that people only have to justify the choice when it comes at the expense of another choice. IMO, people cannot make an informed decision when the process is biased. I guess I expect a minimum level of objectivity from the vendor community.

And as you say, if somebody cannot flow easily between the two languages, he is probably not using the right platform.