1.1. Versions

VS2010 is available in five main versions:

• Express (free)

• Professional ($799)

• Professional with MSDN ($1199 new or $799 renewal)

• Premium with MSDN ($5,469 new or $2,299 renewal)

• Ultimate with MSDN ($11,924 new or $3,841 renewal)

Note that these editions also come with free Azure time (Chapter 16).

It is likely that the Professional edition will fulfill most developers' needs, but to see what you are missing, I have summarized some of the additional functionality found in the Premium and Ultimate editions in Table 1-1. For a full comparison of features, please consult http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010/default.mspx.