What are the limitations of VS2010 C# Express Edition compared with the paid for versions? I was mostly looking into what sort of applications I can build, in VS Express I only have the option of Console, Winform and DLL, etc. I read that you can build services and add - ins for office programs, is this functionality available in Professional/Ultimate etc versions? Thanks.
There's a comparison chart here - You'll need VS Professional to develop Office Plugins.
Although previous version, there is a definitive overview of the VS2008 Express limitations in in this SO Question
Wikipedia also explains the differences.
Edit
The comparison chart link is dead. For 2012:
- Visual Studio 2012 (Web Only) comparison is here, and in this Programmer's post
- This SO post addresses the Desktop comparison.
The Express edition does not come with, nor does it grant you permission to distribute, the Microsoft C++ runtime redistributable packages. So the users of the software you build with the Express edition will have to download & run the installers themselves.
来源：https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7431409/visual-studio-2010-express-limitations