Chapter I.5. The Many Editions of Visual Studio 2008

Sorting out all the different editions of Visual Studio is mind-numbing. Microsoft provides a Visual Studio edition for developers at all levels of experience, from absolute beginners working on their own to large-scale development teams with thousands of members.

This chapter helps you make sense of the different editions of Visual Studio so that you can decide which one's right for you. Read on to discover the features of Visual Studio Team System and read about the future of Visual Studio.

Making Sense of the Visual Studio Editions

Although Microsoft still offers the stalwart Standard Edition and Professional Edition, the company expanded its offerings to reach out to everyone from novices all the way to high-end, large-scale development teams.

Visual Studio offers these editions, listed in order from the simplest to most complex features included in the edition:

  • Visual Studio Express Editions

  • Visual Studio Professional

  • Visual Studio Team System

One of the major goals of Microsoft with Visual Studio is to enable personal productivity for all software developers. This list describes which edition you should use if you're in one of these groups:

  • You're a hobbyist, student, or novice. Check out the Express Editions. You should also consider it if you don't know whether to upgrade from a previous version of Visual Studio.

  • You do occasional development work by yourself. You should appreciate the get-down-to-business features of Visual Studio ...

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