Jay,

>>I agree with what others have said: "You can master only one". I think mastering one language is more important than beeing average in two.

>Others also said that it depends on what the nature of your work is. Depends on who you want to quote.

I certainly can see positions where somebody who knows a bit of more than one language, sure.

>You didn't actually address directly anything that I wrote. I would like to know what you feel about "If you have the choice to only learn/use one tool great, but when you don't have the choice, what is wrong with having mulitple languages in your toobox?"

If you don't have a choice, you don't have a choice. If you feel you're forced into a new direction, then do it. However I'd say be very carefull: Learning a new language is not a goal on itself (As some seem to suggest, with all kinds of doubtfull suggested benefits), it is a tool to get opportunities to earn your money and/or have fun in your work.

So what I want to say here, is that you've got to pick a language and stick to it, until you think you'll have to jump ship again. I would never force myself to bet on two horses: It takes too long to master both and it is too hard to keep proficient in to. One programming language will cause you enough headaches. Don't think about two.

Walter,