C# Express with SQL Server

[Laurent]

No amount of research will give me a definitive answer, so I turn to
this newsgroup.

For this project, I need to use SQL Server 2005 as the database
server.

Can I develop my application with C# Express?
Do I rather need the full Visual Studio 2005 Standard?
Or do I need to get the Visual Studio 2005 Professional?

It's all unclear. On Microsoft's website, it indicates that the
professional version comes with tightly integrated tools for SQL 2005
development, but maybe I don't need tightly integrated tools. Maybe
just a driver and some SQL queries will do the trick, I don't have a
particularly compilcated or heavy application.

Thanks for anyone sharing their thoughts on this.

 

[Jon Skeet [C# MVP]]

No amount of research will give me a definitive answer, so I turn to
this newsgroup.

For this project, I need to use SQL Server 2005 as the database
server.

Can I develop my application with C# Express?
Yes.

Do I rather need the full Visual Studio 2005 Standard?
Or do I need to get the Visual Studio 2005 Professional?
Neither.

It's all unclear. On Microsoft's website, it indicates that the
professional version comes with tightly integrated tools for SQL 2005
development, but maybe I don't need tightly integrated tools. Maybe
just a driver and some SQL queries will do the trick, I don't have a
particularly compilcated or heavy application.

Thanks for anyone sharing their thoughts on this.

If you were suitably suicidal, you could develop your application with
Notepad and just the .NET framework (which comes with compilers).

The "pay for" versions of VS may make it slightly *easier* (they have
more designers etc) but it'll all be doable within Express.

 

[thomasnguyencom]

No amount of research will give me a definitive answer, so I turn to
this newsgroup.

For this project, I need to use SQL Server 2005 as the database
server.

Can I develop my application with C# Express?

Yes, but with a lot of stuff stripped out from it.

Do I rather need the full Visual Studio 2005 Standard?
Or do I need to get the Visual Studio 2005 Professional?

Yes to both, but I'm not sure about the actual IDE differences between
the two.

It's all unclear. On Microsoft's website, it indicates that the
professional version comes with tightly integrated tools for SQL 2005
development, but maybe I don't need tightly integrated tools. Maybe
just a driver and some SQL queries will do the trick, I don't have a
particularly compilcated or heavy application.

Thanks for anyone sharing their thoughts on this.

The 2008 Expresss Editions are out, you should check these out!
http://www.microsoft.com/express/

 

[Duy Lam]

It's all unclear. On Microsoft's website, it indicates that the

professional version comes with tightly integrated tools for SQL 2005
development, but maybe I don't need tightly integrated tools. Maybe
just a driver and some SQL queries will do the trick, I don't have a
particularly compilcated or heavy application.

Thanks for anyone sharing their thoughts on this.

In VS 2005 Pro I notice about some nice features:
- Refactor: I always use this function when need to rename a field name,
especially when it was public and used in many other classes.
- Integrate with a add-in of source control like VSS or SVN.
- Work directly with SQL Server (in Server Toolbar) instead of using Sql
Management Studio Tool
- Remote debuger: I have been developing a SharePoint product so I use
it usually.

 

[Ignacio Machin ( .NET/ C# MVP )]

No amount of research will give me a definitive answer, so I turn to
this newsgroup.

For this project, I need to use SQL Server 2005 as the database
server.

How you reached that conclusion?

Can I develop my application with C# Express?

With VS Express, YES, there is no C# Express , the language is the
same are the features of the IDE what change from the Express to the
other versions

Do I rather need the full Visual Studio 2005 Standard?

See above

Or do I need to get the Visual Studio 2005 Professional?

See above

It's all unclear. On Microsoft's website, it indicates that the
professional version comes with tightly integrated tools for SQL 2005
development, but maybe I don't need tightly integrated tools. Maybe
just a driver and some SQL queries will do the trick, I don't have a
particularly compilcated or heavy application.

You do not need it in fact, just download (it's free too) the
management console

 

[Ignacio Machin ( .NET/ C# MVP )]

In VS 2005 Pro I notice about some nice features:
- Refactor: I always use this function when need to rename a field name,
especially when it was public and used in many other classes.
- Integrate with a add-in of source control like VSS or SVN.
- Work directly with SQL Server (in Server Toolbar) instead of using Sql
  Management Studio Tool
- Remote debuger: I have been developing a SharePoint product so I use
it usually.

Are the Refactor tools not available in the Express version?

 

[Laurent]

How you reached that conclusion?

Customer requirements, line 1: "Must integrate into our existing SQL
Server 2005"

You do not need it in fact, just download (it's free too) the
management console

Ahh thanks for the info!

If you were suitably suicidal, you could develop your application with
Notepad and just the .NET framework (which comes with compilers).

The "pay for" versions of VS may make it slightly *easier* (they have
more designers etc) but it'll all be doable within Express.

If it were up to me, I would load the registers one by one in the
processor by flipping switches! Seriously though, I assumed that in
order to differentiate their products, Microsoft may have put some
restrictions for "real server stuff" instead of "free express stuff".
Glad to see it's not required. The entire application is already
running with PostgreSQL, so if I could just "port" the SQL queries to
MS SQL, I'll be a happy camper.

In VS 2005 Pro I notice about some nice features:
- Refactor: I always use this function when need to rename a field name,
especially when it was public and used in many other classes.
- Integrate with a add-in of source control like VSS or SVN.
- Work directly with SQL Server (in Server Toolbar) instead of using Sql
Management Studio Tool
- Remote debuger: I have been developing a SharePoint product so I use
it usually.

The refactor is included in the Express edition and find the tool to
be one of the best improvements to IDEs in recent years. The SVN
plugin could be interesting though, we currently do it by hand with
TortoiseSVN (which is great).


Well, thanks everyone for your input. This newsgroup has been very
helpful to me.

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

Yes, but with a lot of stuff stripped out from it.


Yes to both, but I'm not sure about the actual IDE differences between
the two.

For a beginner then I am not sure all those wizards in the
expensive versions is a good thing.

I have seen so many beginner VS users that "code" VS rather than C#
and as a result were completely unable to troubleshoot their apps,
because they did not have a clue about how things were actually
working.

Arne

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

With VS Express, YES, there is no C# Express ,

Microsoft call it:

Visual C# 200x Express Edition

so I don't think we can claim that "C# Express" is not a used term.

Arne