Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition

Although C# applications can be created using a simple text editor like notepad, beginners would find it a difficult task. On the other hand, professional tools like Visual Studio 2005 are expensive and have many features not required for the beginner developer.

Using the Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition, a free tool from Microsoft, is a better solution. This trimmed down version of Visual Studio 2005 has everything needed to develop professional quality applications.

Please refer to the Appendix on how to download and install the Visual C# 2005 Express Edition. We will also need to install the .NET 2.0 Framework and SQL Server 2005 Express. The instructions for downloading and installing them are also covered in the Appendix.

After the complete installation of Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition, we are ready to explore the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and look at its features and functions.