Visual C++ Express is a development environment from Microsoft. It is a stripped-down version of the Visual Studio software suite. Although it is freely available and well-suited to new users, it lacks many of the features of its "big brother." Visual C++ Express ships with a number of books that deal with learning to program in the C and C++ languages. It is typically included on CD-ROM along with sample code and applications. It can also be downloaded from this directory or Microsoft's official website.

Visual C++ Express includes a text editor that automatically highlights known identifier types with distinct colors, a compiler and linker output pane, debugging functionality, compiler and linker configuration settings and a number of other useful tools. After a program is written, it can be compiled and linked from within the program. In the event that compilation or linking errors occur, the user can see the output in the pane at the bottom of the screen. Problems, when possible, are marked with a line number. Double-clicking the error will bring up and highlight the offending line in the source code so that the user can correct it.

Visual C++ Express, like most integrated development environments, is based on upon a project system. For each program that a user wishes to create, they are prompted for the application type, source documents and libraries that are needed. This information is grouped together into one cohesive and portable project file. These files are intercompatible with the full version of Microsoft Visual Studio. This makes migration from the free version to the full edition quite simple.

Developers who are just getting started will likely find that Visual C++ Express is easy to learn and reasonably feature-rich. Developers who find that they need more features down the road can easily upgrade to a full version of Visual Studio.