Windows 开发环境值得付出这样的代价吗？
我最近从 Linux 开发转向 Windows 开发。作为一名 Linux 爱好者，我不得不说 - C# 是一门美丽的语言，Visual Studio 非常棒，现在我已经给自己买了一个 轨迹球 我的手腕不再因为频繁使用鼠标而感到疼痛。
但有一件事我无法克服：成本。 Windows 7、Visual Studio、SQL Server、Expression Blend、ViEmu、Telerik、MSDN - 我们正在为项目中的每个开发人员谈论数千个！你肯定会得到一些东西——我的问题是，值得吗？ [并非每个开发人员都需要上述所有工具 - 但您听说过有人在没有 Visual Studio 的情况下编写 C# 代码吗？我曾在 Linux 上开发过相当大的软件项目，而无需支付任何开发工具的费用。]
现在显然，如果您已经是一家 Windows 商店，那么重新培训所有开发人员是不值得的。如果您想要开发 Windows 桌面应用程序，则无法在 Linux 中做到这一点。但是，如果您正在启动一个新的 Web 应用程序项目，并且可以聘请精通任何语言的开发人员，尽管成本很高，您是否仍然会选择 Windows 作为您的开发平台？如果是，为什么？
更新：我无意发起任何争论。我从答案/评论中获得了一些有价值的见解：
- 在 Windows 中设置开发环境的成本不必那么高。
- 与开发人员本身的成本相比，开发环境的成本实际上只是九牛一毛。 （但这对小型初创公司或自由程序员没有帮助）。
I recently made the move from Linux development to Windows development. And as much of a Linux enthusiast that I am, I have to say - C# is a beautiful language, Visual Studio is terrific, and now that I've bought myself a trackball my wrist has stopped hurting from using the mouse so much.
But there's one thing I can't get past: the cost. Windows 7, Visual Studio, SQL Server, Expression Blend, ViEmu, Telerik, MSDN - we're talking thousands for each developer on the project! You're definitely getting something for your money - my question is, is it worth it? [Not every developer needs all the aforementioned tools - but have you ever heard of anyone writing C# code without Visual Studio? I've worked on pretty large software projects in Linux without having to pay for any development tool whatsoever.]
Now obviously, if you're already a Windows shop, it doesn't pay to retrain all your developers. And if you're looking to develop a Windows desktop app, you just can't do that in Linux. But if you were starting a new web application project and could hire developers who are experts in whatever languages you want, would you still choose Windows as your development platform despite the high cost? And if yes, why?
UPDATE: I did not intend to start any arguments. And I gained some valuable insights from the answers/comments:
- The cost of setting up a dev environment in Windows does not have to be so great.
- The cost of the dev environment is really just a drop in the bucket when compared to the cost of the developers themselves. (This doesn't help a small startup or a freelance programmer, though).
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Microsoft 提供许多免费的 Visual Studio 和 SQL Server Express 版本，甚至可以用于商业用途。在DreamSpark这样的程序中，学生可以免费下载例如Visual Studio 2010 Professional（完整版！），所以并不是说开发Windows应用程序需要花费数十万。
其他 IDE（例如 SharpDevelop）也可以免费使用，但它们不如 Visual Studio 那么出色。然而，即使使用 Express 版本，也可以提高工作效率。
MSDN 库也是免费的。我不能说 Telerik 控件是否值得其成本，因为我从未觉得有必要使用它们。
Microsoft offers lots of express editions of Visual Studio and SQL Server that are free of charge and may even be used commercially. In programs like DreamSpark, students can download e.g. Visual Studio 2010 Professional (full edition!) for free, so it is not said that you need to pay hundreds of thousands to develop Windows applications.
Other IDEs like SharpDevelop are available for free, too, but they are not nearly as terrific as Visual Studio. However, even when using the express editions, one can be very productive.
The MSDN library is free of charge, too. I cannot say whether the Telerik controls justify their costs as I have never felt the need to use them.
与您花在开发人员身上的费用相比，这些工具的成本很小。例如，您提到的大多数工具都包含在 Visual Studio Professional 和 MSDN 中，费用约为 800 美元/年。
那么，真正的问题是你是否能从这笔成本中获得任何好处。这个问题很难回答，我怀疑取决于您的开发人员以及您开发的软件类型。因此，不可能给出一揽子答案。尽管如此，从雇主的角度来看，两者之间的差异几乎不足以引起注意。
The cost of the tools is tiny compared to what you spend on the developers themselves. For example, most of the tools you've mentioned are included in Visual Studio Professional with MSDN, which runs about $800/year.
The real question, then, is whether you get any benefit from that cost. That's harder to answer, and I suspect depends on your developers and what kind(s) of software you develop. As such, it's impossible to give a blanket answer. Nonetheless, from the employer's viewpoint there's hardly enough difference between the two to notice.
成本可能没有您想象的那么高（取决于很多因素）。有 BizSpark 程序，还有 Visual Studio、SQL Server 的“快速”版本，等，可用。
The cost might not be as high as you think (depending on a lot of factors). There is the BizSpark program, and there are also 'express' versions of Visual Studio, SQL Server, etc, available.
考虑到 Windows 7 的成本，您可以使用 Visual Studio Express、SQL Server Express 来创建应用程序。当然，这个版本的功能比“更大”的版本少，但具有编译器、IntelliSense 和许多其他功能，是一个可靠的选择。
既然您提到了 Blend，我认为您对使用 WPF 感兴趣，我认为 Mono 替代品还没有完全成熟。
Taking Windows 7 cost a side, you can use Visual Studio Express, SQL Server Express to create your applications. Of course this version has less features than the "bigger" ones but has the compiler, IntelliSense and many other stuff that makes a solid option.
Since you mentioned Blend, I think you are interested working with WPF, I don't think the Mono alternative is completely mature.
自 2002 年以来，我一直是桌面和 Web 应用程序的全职 .NET/C# 开发人员，在您列出的昂贵项目中，我作为专业开发人员唯一付费购买的项目是 Visual Studio。
当前版本 Windows 的成本实际上与新 PC 的成本密不可分。 SQL Server Express 是免费的，并且绝对足以满足几乎所有与开发相关的数据库需求。不需要或使用 Expression Blend。维埃穆？我不可能为像 vi 这样糟糕的东西付钱。我已经能够在不使用 Telerik 任何东西的情况下度过难关。
当考虑到生产力的提高时，购买 Visual Studio 的副本远不是一项非凡的工具投资。
I have been a full-time .NET/C# developer of desktop and web applications since 2002, and of the pricey items that you list, the only one that I have ever paid money for as a professional deveoper is Visual Studio.
The cost of a current version of Windows is virtually inseparable from the cost of a new PC. SQL Server Express is free and is absolutely sufficient for virtually all development-related database needs. Don't need or use Expression Blend. ViEmu? Not a chance I'd pay for something as awful as vi. I've been able to get by without every using anything from Telerik.
Buying a copy of Visual Studio is far from an extraordinary investment in tools when one considers the productivity gains.
嗯，它始终取决于您的项目具体情况，但在某种程度上，它可能不适合网络应用程序。有很多人可以编写 HTML/CSS、Javascript、SQL 以及至少 PHP、Python 或 Perl 之一，因此开发人员应该相当充足。每个框架、库和免费代码都有一大堆，您可以按照自己喜欢的任意组合使用它们，无需支付首付，每月也无需支付费用。
就 IDE 而言，如果您正在考虑雇用那些不愿意在 IDE 之外工作的 Web 和 Web 应用程序开发人员，那么您可能找错了地方。如果您不能没有 IDE，那么 Eclipse 也可以，假设您有一些规格非常好的开发盒，但我不得不说，我遇到的最好的代码忍者都使用 emacs 或 vim！
此外，在具有无限虚拟桌面和适当命令行的系统上进行编码也很不错。话虽如此，我听说微软在最近几个版本中在这些方面取得了一些进展，因此它们现在可能更加一致。如果没有确保有良好的构建或 tail、grep、systemtap/dtrace 等可用的等效版本，我将不愿意开始在 Windows 上编写一个大项目。
有趣的是，虽然我要做的最后一个 Web 应用程序主要是在 Windows 中，因为它是基于 Flash 的。 Flash IDE 纯粹是痛苦，但值得庆幸的是，大部分工作都在课堂上，所以我必须使用可爱的 Notepad++ 来完成大部分工作，无论如何，这与我们关于 MS 工具链价值的讨论并不真正相关，所以我会移动 重要提示：
如果您在 Linux 上工作之后又在 Windows 上进行开发，请确保安装 Kat-Mouse 和“始终在最上面”的程序（如 deskpins），否则您可能很快就会毁掉您的开发机器！
Well it always depends on your projects specifics but to the extent that it doesn't no, probably not for a web app. There's plenty of people out there who can code HTML/CSS, Javascript, SQL and at least one of PHP, Python or Perl so devs should be reasonably abundant. There's a whole bunch of frameworks, libraries and free code for each and you can use them all in any combination you like for no dollars down, no dollars per month.
As far as IDEs go if you're considering hiring web and web app developers who are uncomfortable working outside an IDE you're probably looking in the wrong place for developers. If you can't live without an IDE then Eclipse is OK assuming you have some pretty well specced dev boxen but I have to say the best code ninjas I've encountered all use either emacs or vim!
Also it's nice to code on a system with unlimited virtual desktops and a proper command line. Having said that I hear MS have made some progress with these in the last couple of versions so they may be more aligned now. I'd be loath to start coding a big project on Windows without making sure there were good builds or equivalents of tail, grep, systemtap/dtrace etc available though.
Funnily enough though the last web app I had to do was mostly in Windows as it was Flash based. The flash IDE was pure pain but thankfully most of the donkeywork was in the classes so I got to use the lovely Notepad++ for the bulk of that, anyway that's not really relevant to our discussion on the worth of the MS toolchain so I'll move along!...
Top tip if you're developing on Windows after working on Linux make sure to install Kat-Mouse and an "Always-on-top" program like deskpins or you may quickly end up defenestrating your dev machine!
你在这里混淆了两个问题。
如果我（为自己）制定一个新项目，我会选择 Windows 平台吗？
作为目标？是的。作为开发平台？不会。
如果我（为自己）制定一个新项目，我会选择 C# 作为我的语言吗？
是的。绝对是。 Mono 项目有一组很棒的工具，可用于构建桌面、Silverlight 和 Web 应用程序。 Web 应用程序在 Apache 内部运行，因此您可以坚持使用所有常见的开源工具。
如果操作正确，您甚至可以在 Linux 上使用 Mono 将 Windows 客户端作为桌面应用程序的目标（使用 Mono 包含的 Windows.Forms 的可用子集）。
如果我（为一家公司）制定一个新项目，我会选择 Windows 平台吗？
是的。所获得的生产力是值得付出额外成本的。 Microsoft 还有多个计划，例如 BizSpark，旨在降低 Windows 平台上的开发入门成本。
You're mixing two questions here.
If I was spec'ing a new project (for myself), would I go with the Windows platform?
As a target? Yes. As the development platoform? No.
If I was spec'ing a new project (for myself), would I choose C# as my language?
Yes. Most definitely. The Mono project has a great set of tools that you can use to build Desktop, Silverlight, and Web applications. The web apps run inside of Apache, so you get to stick with all the common Open Source tools.
If you do things right, you can even use Mono on Linux to target Windows clients for a Desktop application (using the available subset of Windows.Forms that Mono includes).
If I was spec'ing a new project (for a company) would I choose the Windows platform?
Yes. The productivity gained is worth the extra cost. Microsoft also has several programs like BizSpark that are targeted at reducing the entry cost to development on the Windows platform.
我认为这是一个很好的问题！主要是因为你问这个问题时没有带任何判断力。以下是我的一些想法：
Visual Studio 和所有工具都非常好。它相当昂贵，但微软有一些程序可以帮助解决这些成本。例如，在较小的商店中，您可能会考虑订阅 TechNet。或者 Microsoft 的众多小型企业帮助程序之一，例如 BizSpark。
您雇用的许多 .Net 开发人员都会要求或需要 Visual Studio，这是有充分理由的！他们已经使用它多年并且对此感到满意。所以要做好准备。不是每个人都会这样，但大多数人都会这样。他们了解他们的工具并且使用他们的工具。
话虽这么说，c# 和 .Net 开发仍然只是文本:) 我个人使用 VIM 进行 .Net 开发，因为我觉得 Visual Studio 中的很多工具阻碍了我。我在这方面遇到了一些障碍，有时我仍然使用 Visual Studio，因为它有我需要的东西。这是我使用的一个很棒的资源：c# with Vim Blog posts< /a>
所以我想说，两种方式都尝试一下，并保持开放的心态:)这是一门很棒的语言，尝试起来很有趣。
I think this is a great question! Mostly because you asked it without being judgmental. Here are some thoughts from me:
Visual Studio and all of the tools are quite good. It is quite expensive but there are programs from Microsoft which can help with those costs. For example, in a smaller shop you might consider a TechNet subscription. Or one of the many small business helper programs from Microsoft like BizSpark.
Many .Net developers you hire will ask for or require Visual Studio and for good reason! They have used it for years and they are comfortable with it. So be ready for that. Not everyone will be that way but most will be that way. They know their tools and they use their tools.
That being said c# and .Net development is still just text :) I personally use VIM for my .Net development because I felt that a lot of the tools in Visual Studio just got in my way. I have had some bumps with that, I still use Visual Studio some of the time, because it has something I need. This is a great resource I use: c# with Vim Blog posts
So I would say try it both ways and be open minded :) it's a great language and a lot of fun to try.
为了回答这个问题，这是我值得+1的问题，近年来，自 Visual Studio 2003 之后，随着 Express 版本的出现，Microsoft 开发人员堆栈的成本降低了，我们正在谈论 Visual Studio 2005，这就是Express 版本似乎开始提高 Visual Studio 对更广泛受众的渗透率，使用简单的版本，让更广泛的受众更加欣赏学习 Visual Studio 环境并反映在专业行业中。
现在，如果您是学生，则可以订阅 Dreamspark，并使用专业版本（只要您的学生证已签出）。对于使用 BizSpark 计划的企业来说，对于想要在互联网上推出 Microsoft 平台的企业来说也是如此。
您的问题或多或少集中在 Visual Studio 之外的额外功能，注意，我不是在谈论 MSDN（事实上，这是一个极其重要的部分，因为它是知识、诀窍等的雷区 - 现在可以免费获得），归结为 - 仅使用工具来完成工作！对于专业开发人员来说，从这些额外功能开始是没有意义的，因为它们几乎没有真正的区别，更重要的是，他们的钱包和银行账户非常沉重，这更是徒劳的行为！
您在这里谈论的那些额外功能，例如 Telerik 等额外功能，让我们说清楚一点，当然它可以为您的应用程序增添一张漂亮的面孔，但谁在乎呢？只要你使用可视化工具来绘制界面，添加事件处理程序，添加逻辑，测试它并调试它，你就会意识到这些额外的东西并不值得，即使最终用户也不会关心。只要最终用户简单有效地完成工作，它就有一个漂亮的界面。
现在，在过去的几年里，我们已经看到了 Mono 的实力增长并符合 .NET 2 标准，我不是 Mono 的传教士，已经看到并尝试过它，当然你可以拼接一个应用程序来使用在 Linux 上运行的 Mono ，也许是与 MySQL 通信的后端，将结果转发到简单的 Windows 表单，让我强调一下，作为开发人员，您将拥有选择和自由这样做。也许，可以将其作为工作时间之外的兼职工作，进行调查和学习。当然，WinForms 在 Linux 上有些合理，但只是不要依赖 Win API 调用，因为这会在 GUI 应用程序的上下文中产生未定义和意外的行为，如果它是没有 DllImports 的纯 WinForms，那么它很可能会在 Mono 下工作。
当然，当有 SharpDevelop、MonoDevelop、Mono for Windows 可供您使用时，您不一定要依赖 Visual Studio 平台，您需要仔细思考，看看最终是否值得，没有坏处，使用 Visual Studio Express 版本来执行此操作，甚至使用 SharpDevelop 也可以。
简而言之，只要您只使用完成工作的工具，就可以调查您的选择！
To answer this question, which is a worthy +1 from me, in recent years the Microsoft developers stack has reduced in cost with the advent of the Express editions since after Visual Studio 2003, we're talking about Visual Studio 2005, this is where the Express editions started appearing to increase penetration of the Visual Studio to a wider audience, using a bare bones version which gave the wider audience a much bigger appreciation of learning the Visual Studio environment and reflected in the professional trade.
Now you can subscribe to Dreamspark if you are a student and avail of the professional version provided your student id checks out. Likewise the same for businesses using the BizSpark programme for businesses who wants to roll out a Microsoft platform onto the internet.
Your question more or less focuses on the extras outside of Visual Studio, Note, I am not talking about MSDN (in fact, that is an extremely vital part to have as it is a gem of a minefield of knowledge, know hows etc - that is now freely available) which boils down to this - use only the tools to get the job done first! No point for a professional developer starting out on these extras as they hardly make a real difference, not alone that, hitting their wallet and bank account very hard which is all the more a futile exercise!
Those extras you're talking about here, those extras such as Telerik and so on, lets get one point straight, sure it may add a pretty face to your app, but who cares? As long as you use the Visual tools to draw up the interface, add event handlers, add logic, test it and debug it, you will realize that those extras are not really worth it, even the end-users are not going to care if it has a pretty eye candy of an interface, as long as the end-users gets the job done simply and efficiently.
Now, over the last few years we have seen Mono's strength grow and conforming to the .NET 2 standards, I am not a preacher for Mono, have seen it and tried it, sure you can splice up an app to use Mono running on Linux, perhaps a back-end that communicates with MySQL, that relays results to a simple Windows forms, let me emphasize the words, you as a developer would have the choice and freedom to do so. Perhaps, work on that as a part-time thing outside of working hours, to investigate and learn. Sure, WinForms is somewhat reasonable on Linux, but just do not rely on Win API calls as that will produce undefined and unexpected behaviour in the context of a GUI application, if its a pure WinForms with no DllImports, the chances are good that it will work under Mono.
Of course, you are not necessarily tied to the Visual Studio platform when there's SharpDevelop, MonoDevelop, Mono for Windows available at your disposal, you need to think long and hard and see if it's worth it at the end of it all, no harm, in using the Visual Studio Express edition to do so, or even use SharpDevelop either.
Put simply, investigate your choices as long as you use only the tools to get the job done!
我将尽力做到客观。让我们从一些背景开始。我偶尔会做一些 VBA 和 VB Script 工作，但这种情况很少见。我没有使用过最新的 MS 开发堆栈，但几年前就使用过它。从那时起，我开始主要使用 PHP 和 Ruby on Rails。我在 Windows 上执行此操作，因为那是我熟悉的。在过去的几年里，我和很多使用 Ruby on Rails 和 PHP 做事情的人交谈过，有一点让我印象深刻，那就是我很少遇到 C# 或 VB (.net ）街上的开发商。当我这样做时，通常是一个不太优秀的人。也许这是一个地区性的事情。也许 .NET 人员生活在朝九晚五的开发者洞穴里，只在一年中的特定时间出来。我不知道为什么会这样，但确实如此。事实上，.NET 人员（尤其是优秀的人员）很难找到，这一成本在该线程中尚未有人讨论过。有人确实提到了这样一个事实：依赖 IDE 进行开发的人可能不是最好的人，这支持了这种有点随机的假设。
不要误会我的意思 - 我不支持 PHP 或 Ruby on Rails，因为最终一切都是如此。我在这里想说的是，人员成本是很大的。如果您使用的工具是那些可以说并不总是城里最聪明的人喜欢的工具，那么一般来说，工具的好处可能不太重要。如果您的团队规模较大，那么工具集的额外成本可能最好用于为团队成员提供更具竞争力的奖金或薪水。这再次证明了您希望首先获得最好的团队的想法。
所有这些都假设您从一开始就可以选择自己正在做什么。如果您不这样做，那么 MS 开发社区提供了一些非常有用的非常好的工具。还有像 VMWare Server 这样的工具可以平衡 Windows/Linux 的鸿沟。一个拥有良好工具的聪明团队将会很好地完成工作。
I'm going to do my best to be objective here. Let's start off the with some background. I do some occasional VBA and VB Script work, but that is pretty rare. I haven't worked with the more recent MS dev stack, but worked with it a few years back. Since then I made the transition to working with PHP and Ruby on Rails primarily. I do it from Windows because that is what I am familiar with. I have talked to a TON of people who are doing stuff with Ruby on Rails and PHP over the last couple of years and one thing that strikes me as a pattern is the fact that it is rare that I encounter a C# or VB (.net) developers on the street. When I do it is usually someone who is not that good. Maybe this is a regional thing. Maybe .NET people live inside 9-5 developer caves and only come out at certain times of the year. I don't know why it is, but it is. The fact that .NET people, especially good ones, are hard to find is a cost that nobody on this thread has discussed yet. Someone did make mention to the fact that people who are dependent on IDE's for development might not be the best people out there which supports this somewhat random hypothesis.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not supporting PHP or Ruby on Rails as the end all be all. All I am saying here is that the people cost is a big one. If you are working with tools that are preferred by the people who are arguably not always the sharpest ones in town then the benefits of tools may be less relevant in general. If you have a larger team then the extra cost of the tool set might be better spent on a more competitive bonus or salary for people on the team. Again, this supports the idea that you want the best team you can get first.
All of this assumes you have a choice of what you are doing from the onset. If you don't then there are some really good tools put out there by the MS dev community that are very useful. There are also tools like VMWare Server that balance the Windows/Linux divide. A smart team armed with good tools will get the job done well.
抛开关于结果质量的争论不谈，与习惯使用 VS 的人相比，在新初创公司中填补开发人员职位比在 Linux 中舒适工作的开发人员要容易得多。
Debates about the quality of the result aside, you'd have a much easier time filling the developer positions on a new startup with people who are used to working with VS as opposed to developers comfortable working in Linux.
总体而言，设置一台 Windows 开发计算机的成本并不算高。假设获得所有软件的成本为 10,000 美元（可能太高），而开源设置则为 0 美元（假设硬件成本相同）。我想说，您的选择将更多地取决于您的开发人员如果您的项目经理熟悉并更喜欢 Windows，您是否宁愿多花 40 或 5 万美元（假设团队有四人或五人）来获得与他们的薪水相比他/她感到满意的东西？和其他就业成本，如果你没有钱投资，5 万美元显然并不算多。
The cost of getting a Windows development computer setup is not that great in the grand scheme of things. Say it costs $10,000 (probably too high)( to get all of the software compared to $0 for an open source setup (assuming the cost of the hardware is the same). I would say your choice would depend a lot more on the developers you could find. If your project manager is familiar with and prefers Windows, wouldn't you rather spend the extra forty or fifty thousand dollars (assuming a team of four or five) to get something he/she is comfortable with? Compared to their salaries and others costs of employment, $50K is not a lot. Obviously that would change if you didn't have the money to invest.
您已经明白了，但我认为您还没有真正了解情况：
*1 Visual Studio Express 版本可免费用于商业开发。 VS Express 可能被称为“Express”，但它们是比我在开源社区中找到的任何 IDE 更好的 IDE（至少对于我的需要而言）。还有很多其他免费工具，因此您可以解决 Express 版本的一些限制（例如，未集成源代码控制，但在项目文件夹中设置 Git 存储库同样容易）
如果您如果想在 Windows 上继续使用 C# 的开源 IDE，可以使用 SharpDevelop 或 MonoDevelop（有 Windows 版本），但我发现它们都不如 VS Express 版本。 （虽然有一段时间没有检查，事情可能已经改变了）。
所以实际上，建立一个基本的Windows开发环境并不便宜，它是免费的。
我是一个用 C# 从事小型项目的普通人。 Express 版本很好地满足了我的需求，我现在正在考虑使用 BizSpark https: //www.microsoft.com/BizSpark/Startup/Signup.aspx
*2 这里缺少的是 BizSpark。 BizSpark 是 Microsoft 的启动计划。如果您的初创公司成立不到 3 年，收入不到 100 万美元并且是私人控股，微软将为您提供完整的 Windows 开发环境的下载，包括几乎所有内容（VS Pro、所有 SQL 版本、MSDN premium、Vista 、XP、Windows Server、Ms Office、SDK...他们甚至还提供一些免费技术支持）。这持续了3年。当您退出该计划时，您必须支付 100 美元，并且可以保留除订阅之外的所有内容。 （此外，非开发产品的许可证仅允许作为开发过程的一部分使用，不适用于常规使用）
换句话说，如果您是一家小型初创企业，您可以获得一切，但退出时将花费您 100 美元程序。
为 Windows 进行开发根本不是一个昂贵的提议，而且工具也非常出色。微软可能有很多东西，但愚蠢并不是其中之一。他们知道他们的业务主要取决于开发生态系统，并且他们使人们可以轻松地进行 Windows 开发。
You are getting there, but I don't think you really have the picture yet:
*1 Visual Studio Express editions are free for commercial development. VS Express may be called "Express", but they are better IDEs than anything I have been able to find in the Open Source community (for my needs, at least). There are a lot of other free tools too, so you can work around several of the limits of the express editions (for instance, source control is not integrated, but it's just as easy to setup a Git repo in your project's folders)
If you want to keep working with open source IDEs for C# on Windows, you can use SharpDevelop or MonoDevelop (There is a windows version), but I find both of them to be inferior to the VS Express editions. (Haven't checked in a while though, things could have changed).
So in actual fact, setting up a basic Windows development environment is not cheap, it's free.
I am a regular guy working on small projects in C#. The Express editions filled my needs pretty well and I am now considering the full versions using BizSpark https://www.microsoft.com/BizSpark/Startup/Signup.aspx
*2 What you are missing here is BizSpark. BizSpark is Microsoft start-up initiative. If your start up is less than 3 years old, generating less that a million $ in revenue and privately held, Microsoft will give you downloads of a full Windows Development environment, including almost everything (VS Pro, all SQL versions, MSDN premium, Vista, XP, Windows Server, Ms office, SDKs...and they even throw in a bit of free tech support). This lasts 3 years. When you exit the program, you have to pay $100 and you get to keep everything, except for the subscriptions. (Also, the license for non dev products allows only for usage as part of the dev process, not for regular usage)
In other words, if you are a small start-up, you get everything and it will cost you $100 when you exit the program.
Developing for Windows is not an expensive proposition at all, and the tools are excellent. Microsoft may be a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. They know that their business depends mostly on the development's ecosystem and they have made it very easy for people to develop for Windows.