Tools

Despite the new .NET Framework being open source, many of the tools are not. Some editions of Visual Studio and SQL Server can be very expensive. With the new licensing practice of subscriptions, you will lose access if you stop paying, and you are required to sign in to develop. Previously, you could keep using existing versions licensed from a Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) or BizSpark subscription after it expired and you didn't need to sign in.

With this in mind, we will try to stick to the free (community) editions of Visual Studio and the Express version of SQL Server, unless there is a feature that is essential to the lesson, which we will highlight when it occurs. We will also use as many free and open source libraries, frameworks, and tools as possible.

There are many alternative options for lots of the tools and software that augments the ASP.NET ecosystem, and you don't just need to use the default Microsoft products. This is known as the alternative .NET (ALT.NET) movement, which embraces practices from the rest of the open source world.