Free Development Tools from Microsoft

In case you're interested (and aren't already aware), Microsoft recently released a number of free development tools as part of their rollout of .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005. Until November of 2006, you can download "express editions" of the latest version of Visual Basic, C#, SQL Server, and others from their website.

I'm not certain if "express = suck" as I haven't looked at all the tools in-depth. I have installed Visual C# Express Edition and it's actually pretty slick. I haven't found any limitations in it for developing Windows applications so far. I've switched the development of TableSmith version 5 from SharpDevelop - a free, open source tool - to VCSEE and haven't had any problems yet. SharpDevelop is quite an accomplishment but it's not without it's problems. The biggest factor in my switch, though, is that SharpDevelop doesn't support the .NET Framework 2.0 yet.

The "express editions" are billed as being for "hobbyists, novices, and student developers", none of which describe me. I suspect that's partly to dissaude "real" coders from using them so they'll shell out for the full Visual Studio. But for what I'm doing at home, VCSEE is more than enough. And since I prefer to use legimate software, the fact that it's a free download is great.