Difference between VS2005 Standard and Professional

[Mike]

Hi,

I have read the Microsoft Product Feature Comparisons page many times over
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products/compare/default.aspx), as well
as Gregory's blog on the subject
(http://spaces.msn.com/members/gregorybeamer/Blog/cns!1ptsyfBgfiUmsaQCul95SOyg!141.entry)
however some things are still unclear to me.

Specifically:

- What is meant by a "Streamlined" vs. "Full" user experience in the IDE?
- What additional deployment tools (other than Click-Once) ship with the
Professional version?
- What is included in the "Extensibility: All" feature vs. "Extensibility:
consume extensions?"
- What is meant by "SQL Server 2005 integration?" Would it *still* not
available in the Standard version, even if we already have a copy of SQL
Server 2005 Standard/Enterprise, or is it not available in VS2005 Standard
version because SQL Server 2005 Developer does not ship with it?

I would appreciate any help you can provide, as I have been looking for this
information for a while now but have been unable to find any helpful
answers.

Thank you very much.

Mike

 

[james]

Hi,

I have read the Microsoft Product Feature Comparisons page many times over
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products/compare/default.aspx), as well as Gregory's blog on the subject
(http://spaces.msn.com/members/gregorybeamer/Blog/cns!1ptsyfBgfiUmsaQCul95SOyg!141.entry) however some things are still
unclear to me.

Specifically:

- What is meant by a "Streamlined" vs. "Full" user experience in the IDE?
- What additional deployment tools (other than Click-Once) ship with the Professional version?
- What is included in the "Extensibility: All" feature vs. "Extensibility: consume extensions?"
- What is meant by "SQL Server 2005 integration?" Would it *still* not available in the Standard version, even if we already
have a copy of SQL Server 2005 Standard/Enterprise, or is it not available in VS2005 Standard version because SQL Server 2005
Developer does not ship with it?

I would appreciate any help you can provide, as I have been looking for this information for a while now but have been unable
to find any helpful answers.

Thank you very much.

Mike

I cannot answer all of your questions, but, as I understand it, the Pro version and above, not only have "Click-Once" install,
but, also have the regular MSI installer. Reading Gregory's blog on the differences it would appear that the Express Versions
have no means of creating an install. But, Under the Build menu
there is a "Publish" selection that allows you to build a very basic install,,,,,,, Click-Once. And it works.
(well, it works on my copy)
james

 

[Sergey M]

Mike,

- What is included in the "Extensibility: All" feature vs.
"Extensibility: consume extensions?"

That means you can install 3rd party packages but you cannot develop
new packages. Packages are created with Visual Studio SDK (formerly
known as VSIP SDK). For instance, package could be a set of tools
(like DPack) or entirely new language for VS (like RemObject's
Chrome).

According to Microsoft, you can still install and develop add-ins with
Standard version.

Hope this helps.

 

[Olaf Baeyens]

I cannot answer all of your questions, but, as I understand it, the Pro
version and above, not only have "Click-Once" install,

but, also have the regular MSI installer.

Does the standard have no msi installer capabilitie?

 

[james]

No, the Standard version only has Click-Once installer. Check this link:
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products/compare/default.aspx

That should give you all the feature differences between each edition. But, I am
still waiting on the explaination of what a "Streamlined" User Experience really is.
To me that is a very open ended way to say some features may be missing.
One thing you might want to check out, if there is a Launch Event occurring in your
area, you might consider registering and attending. According to the Launch Event
info pages, one of the free handouts at the events will be a full, working copy of
Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition. That in itself makes attending the event worth
the time if it's not too far away from you. Not to mention all the other fun stuff you get
to see and hear.
james

 

[Mike]

Well... am I in the right newsgroups? 3 days and no answer from Microsoft...
How can I receive a reply to my inquiries below? We would like to buy their
software, but need to know which version is most appropriate for us. The
following questions are still unanswered:

- What is meant by a "Streamlined" vs. "Full" user experience in the IDE?
- What is meant by "SQL Server 2005 integration?" Would it *still* not
available in the Standard version, even if we already have a copy of SQL
Server 2005 Standard/Enterprise, or is it not available in VS2005 Standard
version because SQL Server 2005 Developer does not ship with it?

I truly appreciate the help of other VS2005 users who already chimed in, and
I was hoping to also get word from someone at Microsoft. Is this not the
proper channel for this type of inquiry?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[james]

Well... am I in the right newsgroups? 3 days and no answer from Microsoft... How can I receive a reply to my inquiries below?
We would like to buy their software, but need to know which version is most appropriate for us. The following questions are
still unanswered:

- What is meant by a "Streamlined" vs. "Full" user experience in the IDE?
- What is meant by "SQL Server 2005 integration?" Would it *still* not available in the Standard version, even if we already
have a copy of SQL Server 2005 Standard/Enterprise, or is it not available in VS2005 Standard version because SQL Server 2005
Developer does not ship with it?

I truly appreciate the help of other VS2005 users who already chimed in, and I was hoping to also get word from someone at
Microsoft. Is this not the proper channel for this type of inquiry?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, I cannot answer all your questions, (especially the one's about SQL) but, I asked a similar question about the Streamlined
User Experience on the MSDN forums at this link:

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=129697&SiteID=1


Here's the answer I received:

Hey Trucker,

Neils forwarded me your post and I wanted to quickly respond on what a "streamlined" IDE means. To explain it, you really need
to understand that Express is all about simplicity in design. What that means is that we evaluated all the features in the
product and removed anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. We call it streamlined because a lot of professional developers
will want to know where all the knobs and tweaks are. The Visual Studio Express team literally went through and removed any
unnecessary menu items (File, Edit), context menus, keyboard shortcuts, and of course features to simplify the development
experience. For example, the build menu may only have 2 options in Express while the higher level versions will have 10
different options and configurations. A beginning developer that isn't a "pro" won't need all of those options so we removed
them from the product.

I hope this helps!

Thanks,
Dan Fernandez
Product Manager






If you check out this link to the MSDN forums, you will find a lot of information that may just answer your questions.

http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/default.aspx?SiteID=1



They are geared towards Visual Studio 2005 and the Express Editions.

I think you will find the answers to your questions there. Or at the very least, have a better chance to ask
them from the developers of Visual Studio 2005.
james

 

[Kevin Spencer]

Hi Mike,

The "What's new" page
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products/newfeatures/Default.aspx)
details all of the features individually, and what version supports them.
Basically, if a feature description includes the words "Visual Studio"
(unqualified) it is available in all versions. The more specific the
version, the more specific the reference will be in the feature description.
Also, follow the links on each feature to get detailed information about it.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
There's a seeker born every minute.
- Dr. "Happy" Harry Cox