Microsoft Visual Studio Express is a set of integrated development environments (IDEs) that Microsoft developed and released free of charge. They are function-limited version of the non-free Visual Studio and require mandatory registration. Express editions started with Visual Studio 2005. In 2013, Microsoft began supplanting Visual Studio Express with the more feature-rich community edition of Visual Studio, which is available free of charge with a different license that disallow some scenarios in enterprise settings. The last version of the Express edition is the desktop-only 2017. 2005–2010: Language-centric editions History Visual Studio 2005 Express, the first version of the Express edition, was released in October 2005. It runs on Windows 2000 SP4 and later. The first service pack for 2005 Express was released in December 2006. This version is freeware and requires no registration. Visual Studio 2008 Express reached general availability in November 2007. Its first service pack was first publicly available in on 11 August 2008. This version requires Windows XP SP3, although it can develop apps compatible with Windows 2000. Microsoft introduced mandatory registration in this version. Visual Studio 2010 Express was released in April 2010, alongside Visual Studio 2010. While most of its components (see below) ran on Windows XP, its Windows Phone component needed Windows Vista. Characteristics The 2005, 2008, and 2010 versions of Visual Studio Express consist of several standalone IDEs, each of which is focused on a single programming language: Visual Basic Express (the Visual Basic .NET language) Visual C++ Express (the Visual C++ language) Visual C# Express (the C# language) Visual J# Express (the ill-fated J# language, 2005 only) Visual Web Developer Express (ASP.NET) Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone (2010 only) Visual Basic Express Visual Basic Express has the following limitations: No IDE support for databases other than SQL Server Express and Microsoft Access No support for web applications with ASP.NET (although, it is supported by Visual Web Developer Express) No support for developing for mobile devices (no templates or emulators) Absence of Crystal Reports Fewer project templates (e.g. Windows services template and Excel Workbook template are unavailable) Limited options for debugging and breakpoints No support for creating Windows Services (needs a separate project template) No support for OpenMP Limited deployment options for finished programs No code folding Visual Basic 2008 Express includes the following improvements over 2005: Includes the visual Windows Presentation Foundation designer codenamed "Cider" Debugs at runtime Better IntelliSense support