Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows与Desktop版本差异及大小疑问咨询

Great question—this is one of those counterintuitive details about the old VS Express lineup that trips up a lot of people. Let’s break down the differences between these two 2013 Express editions and why the Desktop version ends up being larger despite seeming like a subset:

Core Target Platforms #

• Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows Desktop: Built exclusively for traditional desktop application development. This includes Win32 native apps, WPF, Windows Forms, and .NET desktop projects, targeting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 desktop environments.
• Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows: Focused on the modern "Windows Runtime (WinRT)" ecosystem of the time. This meant developing Windows Store apps (for Windows 8/8.1) and Windows Phone 8.x apps—Microsoft’s then-unified mobile/tablet/desktop app model (pre-UWP).

Preinstalled Component Breakdown (Why the Size Difference) #

The volume discrepancy boils down to what each edition includes by default:

• Desktop Edition: Packed with full-featured tools for legacy desktop development:
  • Complete Win32 SDK with all headers, libraries, and debugging tools for native C++ desktop apps
  • Support for MFC/ATL (limited in Express, but still included—these are large, mature libraries)
  • Full .NET Framework desktop toolchains for C#/VB Windows Forms/WPF projects
    These components are inherently larger because they cover decades of desktop API history and support a wider range of legacy application types.
• Windows Edition: Prioritizes modern WinRT and mobile development tools:
  • Windows Runtime SDK for Windows Store app development
  • Windows Phone 8.x SDK (emulators, templates, and mobile-specific APIs)
  • Stripped-down tooling that only supports WinRT-based projects (no legacy desktop templates)
    While it includes mobile-specific components, the WinRT SDK is far smaller than the full desktop-focused SDK stack, and the edition excludes all the bulky legacy desktop libraries that bloat the Desktop version.

Feature & Template Restrictions #

• Desktop Edition: Lets you create every type of traditional desktop app (C++ native, .NET desktop, etc.) but cannot build Windows Store/Phone apps.
• Windows Edition: Only supports Windows Store and Windows Phone app creation—you won’t find any templates for Win32, WPF, or Windows Forms here.

So even though it feels like the "Windows" edition should be a superset, it’s actually a completely separate toolchain focused on a newer, smaller ecosystem. The Desktop edition’s legacy desktop support is what drives its larger file size.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Basj