visual basic or c# with asp.net?

The .NET framework has a CLR (Common Language Runtime) which means you can use VB, C#, or others within the same framework. VB has become more popular than C# recently (as you can see in the Wikepedia article) but the difference is only the "syntactical sugar".

Going with PHP vs ASP.NET is really a personal preference. If you already have the .NET development tools, ie. Visual Studio, then ASP.NET is included in that. ASP.NET also uses the C# and/or VB sytnax for its coding.

One other thig, C# programmers tend to get paid a bit more than VB programmers. (see http://www.vbrad.com/article.aspx?id=63)

My personal preference is VB.NET especially now that the .NET framework 3.5 came out and basically illiminated most of the differences in capabilities between the two. There are lots of comparisons of VB and C# if you just Google "C# vs VB".

PHP can be a great language, coupled with a framework you have a powerful combination. I don't think the poster who said that it's just a side hobby is correct, many of the world's most traffic intensive and dynamic websites use PHP, e.g. Wikipedia.

That said, ASP.NET is also very powerful. You should realise that VB.NET and C# are both .NET languages, so both are compiled into MSIL before being executed. That means you can do almost the same things with either language, it's mainly a matter of preference. I prefer C# because of it's cleaner syntax and the majority of .NET code is written in C#. So I would recommend that.

You can learn EITHER language relatively quickly, what will help you is a solid understanding of programming and design concepts. If you have a good foundation of software engineering principles, then the different languages are irrelevant.

Definitely do C# if you're looking to learn a high-level programming language. But if you're wanting to go into web design, you really want to be looking at languages such as PHP or Java.

with the 3.5 framework they are both essentially the same.. just a bit of syntax difference. folks tend to shy towards c# since it is a lot like the c++ they learned in school.. but really with the .NET framework there is almost no difference.

php is a side hobby.. something good to know but don't hinge a career on it.

Yes go with C# .

I've heard that c# is better.

c#