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Visual Studio 2008 Standard and Express Editions

A comprehensive development environment for individual professional developers.

Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition is a comprehensive, high productivity professional development environment (for devs working alone) for building high performance, multi-tier applications for Windows, Web, and common consumer mobile devices.

The ideal tool for the part-time or occasional developer.
Support for Visual Basic, C#, C++, and J# languages.
Develop and deploy client-server based Windows, Web, SmartPhone, and Pocket PC applications.
"Drag and drop" user interface designers for virtually every type of application
Includes a built-in Web server for testing Web applications, IIS is not needed

Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition

Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition provides a full-featured development environment for Windows and Web developers. It offers productivity enhancements for building data-driven client and Web applications. Individual developers looking to create connected applications with next-generation user experiences will find Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition a perfect fit.

Today’s developers face the challenge of targeting a broad range of platforms and crafting applications that quickly deliver value to the business. Integrated designers and language features in Visual Studio allow developers to build the connected applications demanded by today’s businesses while taking advantage of the .NET Framework 3.5 to reduce development time.

Design high-performance applications
Create and deploy compelling Windows and Web applications using new visual designers and more than 50 new controls.

Unleash the power of your data
Connect to the data you need, regardless of its location, and build datadriven applications using the Language Integrated Query (LINQ).

Deliver a great design experience
Provide a better user experience for graphic designers by employing new design surfaces and file formats that are compatible with Microsoft Expression.

What's New in 2008

Build applications that utilize the latest Web technologies with improved support for AJAX and Web Controls and the Microsoft AJAX Library

Create Web applications more easily with an improved design surface and standards support

Utilize data from any data source more smoothly with LINQ, a set of language extensions to Visual Basic and Visual C#

Manage and build applications that target multiple versions of the .NET Framework. For the first time, you can use one tool to work on applications that run on .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5

Ensure application correctness more easily with integrated unit testing in Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition

Discover the full power of the .NET Framework 3.5 with integrated tools which simplify building great user experiences and connected systems

Build stunning user experiences with integrated designers for Windows Presentation Foundation. Experiences built with WPF can interoperate seamlessly with Windows Forms

Create connected applications using new visual designers for Windows Communications Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation

Use Visual Studio’s professional development environment to build Microsoft Office-based solutions that are reliable, scalable, and easy to maintain (available in Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition only)

Enhance collaboration between developers and designers to create more compelling user experiences

Feature Highlights

Build applications for Windows, the Web, the Microsoft Office system, the .NET Framework, SQL Server, and Windows Mobile with integrated drag-and-drop designers

Visual Studio integrates Visual Basic, Visual C#, and Visual C++ to support a wide variety of development styles

Editor features such as Edit and Continue and Microsoft IntelliSense® simplify the cycle of designing, developing, and debugging an application

Deploy client applications easily with ClickOnce, which enables developers and IT Pros to deploy an application and its prerequisites and then ensure that the application remains up-to-date

Build applications which target the .NET Framework, shortening development time by reducing the need for infrastructure code and helping to enhance application security

Use ASP.NET to speed the creation of interactive, highly appealing Web applications and Web services. Master Pages allow developers to easily manage a consistent site layout in one place

A community of millions of developers ensures that developers can find partners and other community members addressing the same challenges

Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions

Software development today is out of the reach of most beginning and hobbyist programmers. When they use most professional development tools, they often appear too complicated, too confusing, too disjointed, and with too many buttons, menu items, and choices to comprehend all at once. While every individual possesses the potential to master these tools, the tool's complexity is often a barrier to both understanding and enjoying programming.

The new Express products expand significantly on Microsoft's demonstrated successes in delivering highly productive tools, by offering hobbyists, enthusiasts, and students the lightweight, easy to use, easy to learn tools to build dynamic Windows applications and Web sites.
With the Express products, users can:

Learn how to program using a streamlined, lightweight development environment with built in tutorial content
Evaluate the .NET Framework for Windows and Web development
Create fun and interesting applications for their personal enjoyment or to share with their friends

The Express products consist of:

Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition, a lightweight tool for building dynamic Web sites and Web services
Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition, a streamlined programming tool for beginning programmers to learn how to build exciting Windows applications
Visual C# 2005 Express Edition, Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition, and Visual J# 2005 Express Edition, targeted programming tools for students and enthusiasts who wish to learn the fundamentals of Computer Science
Microsoft also ships SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, an entry-level database for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and students developers

Each Express product is:

Lightweight, under 40MB including "Getting Started" documentation
Easy to use, with only the necessary features to help hobbyists, enthusiasts, and students learn and evaluate programming for Windows
Easy to learn, with Starter Kits, documentation, and more geared towards helping the hobbyist, enthusiast, or student learn the fundamentals of programming for Windows

The products are only the beginning. Microsoft has also worked with a number of content providers and community groups to build out a healthy ecosystem of content, forums, and resources to enable users to be more successful, including:

Content providers, delivering plug-ins and Starter Kits to the Express products
Community resources, offering users newsgroups and forums where they can congregate and exchange ideas and get assistance from fellow users
Training and learning partnerships with book publishers, training vendors, and more to assist users in taking the subsequent steps beyond being a tinkerer to becoming an IT professional