From Dan Mabbutt,
Your Guide to Visual Basic.
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Jan 12 2008

In part 1, I wrote that when Bill Gates introduced .NET, he described it as a "bet the company" move. That's no exaggeration! .NET is so fundamentally new and different - and it was such a huge investment - that if it had failed, Microsoft itself might have failed along with it. It's that important!

But we know now that .NET not only didn't fail, it has been an outsized, monumental success!

One of the biggest benefits of "starting over" with .NET was that Microsoft has been able to create a top-to-bottom architected environment where the pieces actually integrate and support each other. ASP.NET (the web piece) works hand-in-glove with ADO.NET (the data piece) and they're all supported by Visual Studio .NET (the developer environment). We dig into the details about the various pieces of the .NET Framework, including pieces of .NET like the CLR and the CLI, in the next lesson. But right now, let's look at Visual Studio .NET, Visual Basic .NET and Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition.

Back in VB6 days, it was possible to buy a version of Visual Studio that only included Visual Basic. But today, Visual Studio .NET includes all of the supported Microsoft languages. This makes sense because they're really not that much different after you get past the surface language syntax.

But with the Express editions - that's what we will use - each language (Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual C#, Visual J#) has a separate version. In addition, Microsoft has also created Visual Web Developer 2008 Express for creating ASP.NET web sites and SQL Server 2005 Express for database capability. So Microsoft has a fairly complete suite of products that you can use for development, all completely free.

Microsoft states that the Express versions are "designed for hobbyists, students, and novice developers" and that they "lack the full breadth of features found in higher-end ... editions." Maybe so, but they're still very capable, and Microsoft also states that you are free to use them for commercial purposes: "There are no licensing restrictions for applications built using the Express Editions." Furthermore, the source code and assemblies created with VB.NET Express are completely compatible with the rest of .NET, including the high end versions that cost lots of money.

This means one thing to me: Until you're certain that you need something more, don't spend the money!

The "Pro" Version of VB.NET

So ... what do you get in the "pro" version that you don't get with Express? Here's the scoop:

You don't get ...

• remote data access designers
• XSLT support (you have to move up to Visual Studio Pro to get it)
• Class Designer / Object Test Bench
• XSLT support in the XML editor
• deployment tools other than ClickOnce
• macros, add-ins or packages
• remote Debugging
• 64 bit compiler support
• source code control
• server explorer feature (you have to move up to Visual Studio Pro to get it)

Visual Studio .NET Team System

In an effort to go after the really big bucks in corporate systems development, Microsoft has created versions of .NET products that are really designed only for corporate scale development. The "top of the line" is Team System. The Microsoft source code control product, Visual SourceSafe, is only included at no extra charge in Team System. In fact, Team System is the only one that supports a bunch of advanced features:

• Code Profiling
• Static Analysis
• Unit Testing
• Code Coverage
• Project Management
• Test Case Management
• Offline Database Project
• Data Generation
• Database Refactoring
• Database Schema and Data Compare
• Database Deployment Tools

Got an extra $5,000 to $10,000? Then pick up a copy of Team System! But keep in mind that the compiler and .NET Framework for the free VB Express is exactly the same.

The bottom line is that if you're a business and you really need enterprise level capability, of course you're going to invest in Microsoft's professional software. But I'll bet that nearly all individuals and even small businesses just won't miss the "pro" features that much, but they will miss the money!

It's a lot more fun to talk about what you do get with Visual Basic Express! That's on the next page!