Free Microsoft developer products

[ChrisHunt]

Maybe this is old news to some of you guys, and I'm not sure how useful it is to dyed-in-the-wool Unix heads (like myself), but M$ have produced free versions of their Visual Studio and SQL Server tools. Take a look:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/default.aspx

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd

 

[TamedTech]

Ooh .. Gum Drops!

Thanks for that Chris, I'm a big M$ fan so i'm sure those little bits and pieces will come in handy.

Rob

 

[GUJUm0deL]

Before you install any member of the SQL Server 2005 Express Edition family, you must install the .NET Framework 2.0.

Ahhh, I knew there was a catch.

____________________________________
Just Imagine.

http://www.imajinarts.com

 

[blueark]

I've been using these products for a few weeks now. It took a while to download them all, and it wasn't always clear what order they had to be installed in, but once they're up and running, they're pretty good! I think I'm actually starting to warm to ASP.NET 2.0...

 

[coachdan]

blueark,

How did you determine what order to install them in and can you share some insight on it?

coachdan32

http://www.malehsbaseball.com

 

[ChrisHunt]

I think I'm actually starting to warm to ASP.NET 2.0...

OMG, what have I started?

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd

 

[blueark]

ChrisHunt
You're right, maybe I've been working too hard lately. I think M$ has worn me down!

coachdan
As far as I can remember, I started with the .NET Framework Version 2.0 Software Development Kit, then SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, and finally Visual Web Developer. I just had a quick look at their site, and it seems to be relatively easy to follow now. When I was downloading it, the instructions were very confusing, and there were lots of small components that I didn't know if I needed or not.