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If you have ever considered getting into programming for Windows or the Pocket PC, you'll quickly realize what an expensive journey that can mean. With some of Microsoft's Visual Studio Suites hitting $1500 or more, you may abandon your dream of coding before you ever get started. As such, Microsoft-Watch is reporting a new set of low-priced tools that will be geared toward the "weekend warrior" or "non-professional" programmer. It will be called the "Express family" of programming tools. Sort of like Outlook Express I suppose. "Visual Studio 2005 (code-named "Whidbey"), SQL Server 2005 (code-named "Yukon") and the Express family of tools are due to ship by mid-2005.
The Express tools are an outgrowth of Microsoft's ASP.Net Web Matrix hobbyist tool, which Microsoft introduced a couple of years ago.
Microsoft estimates the non-professional programmer pool to be about 18 million strong, or three times the size of the professional programming one. Via Web Matrix, Microsoft learned that this community was interested in tools for absolute beginners, said John Montgomery, director of marketing for Microsoft's developer division. Microsoft also learned that these hobbyists and entry-level programmers wanted a product that looked and felt like Visual Studio, so that they could maintain a familiar environment if and when they "traded up."
As such, Microsoft-Watch is reporting a 
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