In particular,
- what functionality is not available?
- what restrictions are there on its use?
views:
35321answers:
18
+7
A:
Visual Studio 2008 Product Comparison
As far as I know there are no restrictions on it's use, but I'm not a lawyer.
AviewAnew pointed out you can use Express Editions for commercial use: there are no licensing restrictions for applications built using Visual Studio Express Editions. See FAQ #7.
Tobi
2008-09-17 19:17:26
Can I use Express Editions for commercial use?Yes, there are no licensing restrictions for applications built using Visual Studio Express Editions.http://www.microsoft.com/express/support/faq/
Tom Ritter
2008-09-17 19:18:39
@Tobi It seems like the link you gave (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/products/cc149003.aspx) is not valid any more. Do you have a working one?
Piotr Dobrogost
2009-05-11 22:19:21
Tobi
2009-05-13 10:45:12
@Mitchel Sellers It seems like the link you gave (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/products/cc149003.aspx) is not valid any more. Do you have a working one?
Piotr Dobrogost
2009-05-11 22:23:15
+7
A:
Here's comparison chart of editions
Edit: didn't realize this was for 2005, not 2008
John Sheehan
2008-09-17 19:18:04
That is a nice overview for VS2005, shame the VS2008 comparison isn't so useful.
benefactual
2008-09-17 19:33:32
A:
I think in 2008 the express editions do not have the built in Testing features for one.
Kevin Sheffield
2008-09-17 19:18:56
+104
A:
The major areas where VS Express lacks features compared to VS Pro:
- No Add-in/macros
- some Win32 tools missing
- no Team Explorer support
- limited refactoring support
- Debugging is much more limited (particularly problematic for server development is no remote debugging)
- Lack of support for setup projects
- no report creation tools
- no Office development support
- no mobile platform support
- limited set of designers
- limited set of database tools
- no code profiling or test framework support
- No MFC/ATL support
- no support for compiling C++ to 64-bit images (workaround is to install Windows SDK which is free)
NOTE: it is often said that the Express EULA does not permit commercial development - that is not true (Visual Studio Express FAQ Item 7)
Michael Burr
2008-09-17 19:20:49
@George: interesting - my C++ Express installations (including VC++ 2010 Express) don't get any x64 compilers - are you getting x64 support by installing the Windows SDK?
Michael Burr
2010-04-17 20:59:01
@Michael: Yes. I installed the Windows SDK - but that's a free download too.
George Edison
2010-04-17 22:41:43
I've created Windows services using Express. It's a little more difficult than the paid-for editions because the Express IDE will not create all the code to install and run the services for you, but it is possible.
Jonathan Webb
2008-09-17 19:53:04
A:
You can build MFC apps if you download the libraires in the platform SDK. But there is no built in support for designing dialogs
Martin Beckett
2008-09-17 19:36:06
+42
A:
There's a handy set of comparison charts on microsoft.com.
It depends on the particular express edition, of course (since there are several and they have different features). The limitations you're most likely to run into are source control integration (and TFS client license), debugging limitations, limited refactorings, no unit testing support, and limited designer support.
For completeness sake, here's a list of features that are in Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition but are in none of the express editions:
- Add-Ins
- Macros and Macros IDE
- Visual Studio Add-in project template
- VSPackages
- Wizards
- ATL/MFC Trace Tool
- Create GUID
- Dotfuscator Community Edition
- Error Lookup
- Source Control Integration
- Spy++
- Team Explorer Integration
- Team Foundation Server Client Access License
- Visual Studio 2008 Image Library
- Add-Ins/Macro Security options
- Visual Studio Settings
- Class Designer
- Encapsulate Field Refactoring
- Extract Interface Refactoring
- Promote Local Variable to Parameter Refactoring
- Remove Parameters Refactoring
- Reorder Parameters Refactoring
- Debugging Dumps
- JIT Debugging
- Mini-dumps
- Multithreaded/Multiprocess Debugging
- NTSD Command Support
- Step-Into Web Services Debugging
- CAB Project Project Template
- Merge Module Project Template
- Publish Web Site Utility
- Setup Project Template
- Setup Wizard Project Template
- Smart Device CAB Project Template
- Web Setup Project Template
- Windows Installer Deployment
- 64-bit Visual C++ Tools
- Create XSD Schema from an XML Document
- Reports Application Project Template
- Visual Studio Report Designer
- Visual Studio Report Wizard
- Shared Add-in Project Template
- ASP.NET AJAX Server Control Extender Project Template
- ASP.NET AJAX Server Control Project Template
- ASP.NET Reports Web Site project template
- ASP.NET Server Control Project Template
- ASP.NET Web Application Project Template
- Generate Local Resources
- WCF Service Host
- WCF Service Library Project Template
- WF Activity Designer
- Custom Wizard Project Template
- WF Empty Workflow Project Template
- MFC ActiveX Control Project Template
- MFC Application Project Template
- MFC DLL Project Template
- WF Sequential Workflow Console Application Project Template
- WF Sequential Workflow Library Project Template
- WF Sequential Workflow Service Library Project Template
- WF State Machine Workflow Library Project Template
- WF State Machine Workflow Designer
- WF State Machine Workflow Service Library Project Template
- WCF Syndication Service Library Project Template
- Visual Studio Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Designer
- Windows Forms Control Library Project Template
- Windows Service Project Template
- WF Workflow Activity Library Project Template
- WPF Custom Control Library Project Template
- WPF User Control Library Project Template
- ASP.NET Server Control Item Template
- COM Class Item Template
- Configuration File Item Template
- Frameset Item Template
- Interface Item Template
- CLR Installer Class Item Template
- Local Database Cache Item Template
- Module-Definition File Item Template
- Nested Master Page Item Template
- ATL Registration Script Item Template
- MS Report Item Template
- Report Wizard Item Template
- .NET Resources File Item Template
- Win32 Resource File Item Template
- Static Discovery File (Web Services) Item Template
- Transactional Component Item Template
- Web Content Form Item Template
- Windows Script Host Item Template
- Windows Services Item Template
- XML Schema Item Template
Wedge
2008-09-17 19:45:15
It seems like the link you gave (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vs2008/products/cc149003.aspx) is not valid any more. Do you have a working one?
Piotr Dobrogost
2009-05-11 21:47:57
AgentConundrum
2009-06-08 05:51:49
A:
Other people have posted huge lists, but as a practical matter, speaking as someone who does mostly systems programming, the features I miss most when using the express edition are
the thread-aware parts of the debugger,and
the ability to open files with the built-in binary viewer.
If I did MFC programming more often I would probably miss the dialog designer as well.
AShelly
2008-09-17 20:16:49
A:
Add-ins are allowed in VS express. The most notable one is straight from Microsft: XNA Game Studio works as a VS express add-in.
There's even a project type (maybe only available in full VS) that lets you build your own VS express add-ins!
Jeff B
2008-10-07 22:02:38
+2
A:
One that is missing (which is nice to have) is:
Source Control Integration enables two options: source control solution based on the Source Control Plug-in API (formerly known as the MSSCCI API), or a source control VSPackage
This is particularly important especially if you're working with systems like Perforce where you must check out files before changing with them, particularly changing project settings for all team members.
Edmundito
2008-10-28 20:34:08
I think if I were expected to work with Perforce, I might investigate using local Mercurial repositories and the Perfarce extension to push/pull to the Perforce repos. That would also mean being able to use TortoiseHg in Windows Explorer rather than relying on a VS plug in for VCS.
Mark Booth
2010-03-24 13:37:07
+5
A:
These are the most significant for me :
- You cannot set breakpoint with condition
- Add-in support
- Refactoring is very limited (rename, extract method)
Daok
2008-11-28 13:21:08
+1
A:
"You can't create windows services for one" -- you CAN, you just don't have a template for it. Services are just normal applications with an extra twist.
See:
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/76477d2t(VS.80).aspx for C#
- for C++, the full API is described here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms685969(VS.85).aspx
A:
Note that currently, you can't get F# in an Express edition, though I imagine that this is likely to change at some point in time.
There is a workaround - you install the Visual Studio Shell and F# CTP separately and they work together.
Benjol
2009-10-01 06:38:55
A:
I had trouble with Visual Studio Express (C++) 2008 (with service pack 1) on Windows Vista, with debugging. Any time I did anything such as (a) break the program, (b) set focus from the app back to the IDE, (c) resume execution, the program hung for about 30 seconds. Task Manager showed "VSExpress.exe" consuming an entire CPU for the duration. Vista showed "Not responding" in the IDE's title bar during this time.
This was driving me bonkers so I bought a commercial copy of Visual Studio Professional 2008 ($150 from SoftwareSurplus) and this solved the problem.
Tim Cooper
2009-10-16 19:33:04