Learning Windows Forms vs. Windows Presentation Foundation

Question

So I've been thinking of going for Microsoft certification and I have to make a choice (for now) between Windows Forms and WPF for developing Windows applications. I have had good exposure to Windows Forms but never tried WPF before. Furthermore, most of the job postings where I live seem to be WinForms-oriented. That might change in the next few years, so I was wondering if I should get started on learning WPF or stick to the tried and true Forms.

Any insight?

Answer 1

• Although most current dev.positions will focus on WinForms (or ASP.NET for that matter), WPF is starting to get accepted as a 'serious' platform. With serious I mean that people are starting to think about using it for LOB-applications. With the release of Prism it's clear that Microsoft is starting to promote WPF in other ways than just the 'eye-candy' features. This means WPF is going to be presented as a WinForms alternative pretty soon.
• Learning WPF will mean you'll also learn Silverlight at the same time. So you have two modern technologies at your disposal. [Added] -WPF has more to offer than just the eye-candy and you can benefit from it a lot without being a creative genius. The API is intuitive (and fun) and can offer a lot of improved productivity.

In short, I'd say if you want to be 'future-proof' learn WPF.