What I would recommend doing in this case is to give the Express editions a
try and see if they suit your needs. I've been doing some occasional
programming in my spare time and have used Visual Studio 2005 Professional
Edition, Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition, and the Express editions and to
be quite honest the express editions have been absolutely great.

You can obtain trial versions of the full Visual Studio 2005 suites from
MSDN, a link is included at the end of the post for your convenience. Also,
Visual Studio 2008 (along with the corresponding Express editions) are just
around the corner, so you may want to keep an eye out for those -- a beta is
available now if you wish to evaluate further before the final version is
made available.

Visual C++ 5.0 and Visual Basic 5.0 do not work under Windows Vista to the
best of my knowledge. However, if for whatever reason you do wish to develop
using these older languages, you can download Virtual PC from the Microsoft
Download Center (link included at the end of post for your convenience) and
load Windows XP or another Windows operating system within a virtual
environment (note that you must have a seperate license to use another
operating system in Virtual PC -- for example if you do not have a copy of
Windows XP you would need to purchase a copy or obtain it through another
distribution method such as an MSDN subscription). Once you have set up the
virtual machine you could then install Visual C++ or Visual Basic 5.0 within
the environment.

Visual Studio 2005 edition comparison:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700921.aspx

Visual Studio 2005 hosted experience and 180-day trial software:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/bb188238.aspx

Virtual PC 2007 download link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/i...splayLang%3den

--
Regards,
Kristan M. Kenney
Microsoft MVP [Windows - Shell/User]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


"DaleB" wrote:

> Hi Kristen:
> Thank you for your detailed reply.
> And now, I have a related question.
>
> Several years ago, I purchased Visual C++ 5.0 and Viusal Basic 5.0.
> IThey wer running under Windows 95 at the time.
> Do you know if there is a current "full-blown" edition of VC++ or VBasic that
> runs under WIndopws Vista Home Premium Edition or if these older versions
> will. I do not know hopw complete the "express" version are relative to the
> version you buy (or bought at that time). Any ideas ?
>
> "Kristan M. Kenney [MVP]" wrote:
>
> > Hello DaleB,
> >
> > It sounds like the development environments mentioned in the book may be
> > Microsoft's Visual Studio Express Editions, which are free of charge.
> >
> > To download the Visual Studio Express Editions, visit the MSDN Visual Studio
> > Express Download Center at
> > http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/express/aa975050.aspx.
> >
> > You will see several Visual Studio Express editions listed on the page:
> >
> > - Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition
> > - Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition
> > - Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition
> > - Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition
> > - Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
> > - Microsoft Visual J# 2005 Express Edition
> >
> > Click on the drop-down below "Visual Basic" and select the language you wish
> > to use and then click on Download. Save the installation program to your hard
> > drive, and do the same for Visual C++.
> >
> > To run the installation programs, click on Start, then click on your user
> > name in the Start menu, and then double click on the "Downloads" folder.
> > Double click on the first installation program, and if user account control
> > prompts you for consent, provide the appropriate credentials or provide
> > consent to run the installation. Repeat this for each edition of Visual
> > Studio Express that you have chosen to download.
> >
> > Once you have installed the Express Editions, download and install Service
> > Pack 1 for the Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions that you have installed.
> > For quick reference, here are the links for Visual Basic and Visual C++ SP1
> > Updates:
> >
> > Visual Basic 2005 Express SP1:
> > http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...7-x86-intl.exe
> >
> > Visual C++ Express SP1:
> > http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...8-x86-intl.exe
> >
> > You will also want to install the SP1 Update for Windows Vista to ensure
> > maximum compatibility and a seamless development experience. I have included
> > the link for that update here as well (please note that these links are all
> > available on the Visual Studio Express download center on the MSDN web site):
> >
> > Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update for Windows Vista:
> > http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...e-4acc0aace5b6
> >
> > In regards to your question about the Java Runtime Environment, I have not
> > encountered any issues with Java 6.0 on Windows Vista 32-bit or 64-bit. You
> > can download the Java Runtime Environment from
> > http://java.com/java/download/index.jsp.
> >
> > I hope that this helps, have a great day
> >
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Kristan M. Kenney
> > Microsoft MVP [Windows - Shell/User]
> >
> > This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
> >
> >
> > "DaleB" wrote:
> >
> > > Hi:
> > > I have a new HP laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit OS.
> > > Microsoft has programming languages / compilers / IDEs for Visual C++ 5 and
> > > 6, and Visual Basic 5 and 6. These IDE's (Integrated Development
> > > Environments) are usually included on a CDs in the back of most popular books
> > > on the topic.
> > > Deitel's latest VB book does not contain any disk, but they say that the
> > > software
> > > can be downloaded from Microsoft's web site.
> > >
> > > 1) Can you direct me to links for these IDE's ?
> > > 2) Will the IDE's / languages work under Vista Home Premium Edition ?
> > > 3) Are there any problems running Java under Vista Home Premium Edition ?
> > >
> > > Thank you
> > > DaleB