# Microsoft Visual Studio vs. Visual Studio Express **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197 "2009-06-18T17:32:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197/1 "2009-06-18T17:32:39Z")
I’m trying to quickly bone up on [ASP.NET](http://ASP.NET) in anticipation of some job interviews coming up. I am doing this using the free Microsoft Visual Web Express. How close is the functionality/user interface of this to the Microsoft Visual Studio Web Designer? Where do they differ? Etc. Any and all comments that might help me nail one of these interviews would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197/2 "2009-06-19T00:49:18Z")
Maybe I should have asked if anyone has ever used Microsoft Visual Web Express. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197/3 "2009-06-19T00:52:23Z")
It’s pretty good for basic stuff - I’ve used it on production servers for debugging in cases where we don’t want to pay for another license just for the occasional debugging session. My big complaint about it is that it doesn’t allow me to attach to a running process and debug. But that’s something that you don’t do very often, so it’s not a huge limitation. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197/4 "2009-06-19T12:41:29Z")
You can download a fully functional 90 day trial version of Visual Studio Professional from Microsoft: [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=83c3a1ec-ed72-4a79-8961-25635db0192b&displaylang=en](http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=83c3a1ec-ed72-4a79-8961-25635db0192b&displaylang=en) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197/5 "2009-06-19T13:00:28Z")
I’ve not used the Express version, so I can’t answer. You might find better answers at these two links: > **[CodeProject](https://www.codeproject.com/)** > > Free source code and tutorials for Software developers and Architects. > **[Stack Overflow - Where Developers Learn, Share, & Build Careers](https://stackoverflow.com/)** > > Stack Overflow | The World’s Largest Online Community for Developers I’ve found the StackOverflow crowd can be a little rough - so I would search before posting. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-visual-studio-vs-visual-studio-express/500197/6 "2009-06-19T20:38:04Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > You can download a fully functional 90 day trial version of Visual Studio Professional from Microsoft: > > [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=83c3a1ec-ed72-4a79-8961-25635db0192b&displaylang=en](http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=83c3a1ec-ed72-4a79-8961-25635db0192b&displaylang=en) Many thanks for this link! And thanks to all.