Beginning ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB

1.1. Microsoft Visual Web Developer

Although you could theoretically write ASP.NET web applications with Notepad or another text editor alone, you really want to install a copy of Microsoft Visual Web Developer. VWD is developed specifically for building ASP.NET web sites, and as such, hosts an enormous amount of tools that will help you in rapidly creating complex ASP.NET web applications.

Visual Web Developer comes in two flavors: as a standalone and free version called Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition, and as part of the larger development suite called Visual Studio 2008, which is also available in different editions, each with its own price tag. Although the Express Edition of VWD is free, it contains all the features and tools you need to create complex and feature-rich web applications. All the examples you find in the book can be built with the free Express Edition so there's no need to shell out big bucks for the commercial versions of Visual Studio 2008 to follow along with this book.

Getting VWD is easy. You can download it from the Microsoft site as discussed next.

1.1.1. Getting Visual Web Developer

You can get the free version of VWD from the Microsoft site at www.microsoft.com/express/. On the Express home page, follow the Download Now link until you reach the page that offers the downloads for the Express products, including Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition. From this page, you can download Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition as ...