(This really should be posted in "Seekers of ASP.Net Wisdom", but since such a category doesn't exist, this will have to do.)

I realize that the best place to learn about ASP.Net is from an ASP.Net forum, but I wanted to get a preview from "my kind of people" first. :-)

We are considering switching our web site from Unix, Apache, some MySQL, and some Perl over to Windows, IIS, SQL Server, and ASP.Net. (The pull of the Dark Side is strong, for reasons that have nothing to do with Perl.) Handling the conversion to Windows, IIS, and SQL Server will be fairly straightforward, but I'm a bit concerned about the learning curve for ASP.Net.

I realize that we could continue to do many things within Perl on Windows, and I don't doubt that we will do so. However, the primary reason for this switch is to use Microsoft's Content Management Server Software, and that means learning ASP.Net for various tasks.

My question is, as a Perl programmer, what do I have to look forward to as an ASP.Net programmer? <Insert joke about pain and suffering here.> Firstly, which language would be best? My understanding is that we could go with Visual Basic or with C#, but I don't know which would be a better fit. I've heard that Visual Basic is easier to learn, but I've also heard that C# is more like Perl. If anyone is familiar with all three languages, which of the Microsoft languages would you recommend we focus on?

Lastly, are there any books that you think are particularly well-suited for someone making the leap from programming Perl in a Unix environment to programming an ASP.Net language in a Windows environment?

Thanks in advance!

Wally Hartshorn

(Plug: Visit JavaJunkies, PerlMonks for Java)

In reply to ASP.Net Advice for a Perl Programmer? by Wally Hartshorn

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