Do I need to buy Visual Studio Professional?

Question

I have been using Visual Studio Express versions. I used to use the full Pro VS 2005. I can't figure out what I am missing with the Express version. What benefits will I get if I buy the full version of VS? Thanks.

Answer 1

Support for code version systems is a feature that is real essential.

And Microsft needs your money to go on implementing new, hot stuff.

Best wishes

Matze

Answer 2

also, you can add addins like VisualSVN and Resharper into pro. You can't into express.

Matze might be right - MS needs the money - 5K people layed off today, and only 4.7b profit! :(

Answer 3

Here you go. This link is vs2005 specific rather than the more-recent 2008, but that's the version you asked about.

Some highlights:

• No Mobile Device support
• No Object Test Bench
• No Extensions
• No built-in source control support (they should really change this)
• No remote debugging
• No Office Development support
• No 64-bit compiler support
• No Visual Studio Package support
• No profiler
• No SQL Server debugging integration
• Limited deployment options

This list is actually quite lengthy, but with the notable exception of source control they are mostly things you might be able to do without as a single developer, if you really have to. Even the source control can be handled by a file-system-only tool like Tortoise.

Obviously if you're building something like a smart phone app or VS extension it's a non-starter, so you'll need to evaluate what you're really doing. Some of the other missing features like object test bench or the profiler can be partially replaced by third-party tools.

Answer 4

Here's a link to a downloadable Visual Studio 2008 Product Comparison Guide from Microsoft.

Answer 5

Depends on what you do. Look at the product matrix to see what features you gain with higher SKUs. Testing, Smart Devices, etc may or may not be relevant for you.

Answer 6

This really just requires a bit of Googling.

You can view a comparison of the paid versions here and an overview of the Express versions here

Answer 7

The full version of Visual studio supports some extra features and tools.

One of the big differences is more debugging options (You can specify break conditions for debugging, unlike the express version). That feature alone is probably worth it.

You can also install 3rd party addons to add extra featues.

Answer 8

Have a look at this:

http://blogshare.members.winisp.net/docs/VisualStudio2008-ProductComparison-v1.02-Revisions.xps

Answer 9

If you are doign any sort of professional development with Visual Studio you should buy the Standard edition at a bare minimum. Without it you will loose Source Control integration which IMHO is vital absolute must no questions asked must have for professional development.

Answer 10

I used VS2003 for a while, and am currently using VS2008 C# Express.

Personally, I miss the ability to set a conditional breakpoint instead of simply breaking when a line is hit, and the Threads window.

Answer 11

No Resharper.