Ideal for creating .exe files for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. 2. VS Express 2013 for Web Tailored specifically for web developers. Focus: ASP.NET, HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript development.
When comparing against anything released after 2016, the result is a unanimous defeat. Microsoft deliberately sunset the Express brand because it was confusing (four editions!) and technologically gimped.
Community Edition was essentially the Professional tier made completely free for individuals, students, and small open-source teams. It dissolved the walls between Web, Desktop, and Mobile development, and crucially, it unlocked full extension support.
If you are looking to work with , let me know: vs express 2013
Unless you are working on a legacy project specifically tied to this version, it is highly recommended to use . It is free for individuals and small teams, supports all project types in a single IDE, and receives modern security updates.
Express 2013 has . While you could manually compile test projects using a third-party runner (e.g., NUnit console), there is no red/green test UI, no continuous test runner, and no code coverage highlighting. This made Test-Driven Development (TDD) impractical.
| Feature | VS Express 2013 | VS Community 2022 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Free for anyone | Free for students, OSS, up to 5 devs (small teams) | | Target Framework | .NET 4.5.1 (max), C++11 | .NET 8/9, C++23 | | Solution Limit | 1 solution at a time | Unlimited | | Extensions | No | Yes (Thousands) | | IntelliCode (AI) | No | Yes | | Live Share | No | Yes | | 64-bit IDE | No (32-bit, 4GB memory cap) | Yes (Native 64-bit) | Ideal for creating
By 2013, Git and Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) were standard. Both versions support basic source control integration. However:
For specific SDKs (like 3DS Max or AutoCAD), you may need older compilers (e.g., Visual C++ 10.0) installed alongside VS 2013 to ensure binary compatibility. Critical Recommendation
Visual Studio Express 2013 represents the end of an era. Shortly after its lifecycle, Microsoft released . Focus: ASP
: The IDE did not support "Shared Items Projects," though they could still be compiled via the command line.
Visual Studio Express 2013: A Comprehensive Guide to the Free IDE Era