Expression Web vs. Visual Studio 2008

Today I was asked of the differences between Expression Web and Visual Studio 2008. I took a guess at the direction Microsoft was heading with this product, in short, I compared it to Front Page, or a Dreamweaver in functionality... Thats a massive generalisation, but until Microsoft is paying me millions to say differently, im sticking to it.

Someone who is/was getting paid millions by Microsoft is Mikhail Arkhipov. I've picked up 2 of his blog posts which cover some of the significant differences between the products Expression vs. Visual Studio and Visual Web Developer, and What is not in the VS Orcas Web designer compared to the Expression Web?.

"Primary difference is in a set of tools provided in each product. Visual
Studio and VWD come with full set of code tools that always have been part of
the Visual Studio: compilers, code intellisense, debugger, class libraries,
testing tools, etc. On the other hand, Expression has different design surface
with more advanced CSS and visual layout tools, Direct Style
Application, imaging tools, spell checker, site management with link fixup
and more." Mikhail Arkhipov

...another interesting article that pits Expression Web against Dreamweaver (I can almost hear the symphony of disgruntled Adobe fans groaning) Microsoft's Expression Web Designer vs. Adobe's Dreamweaver First look: Let the rumble begin.

cheers.