MSDE & SQL Express use?

I know this may have been asked in the past, and I've tried to search the forum, but didn't find any clear responses.

The question is about MSDE and SQL Express being "Free".

Can MSDE or SQL Server express be used for the backend DB for an application for a private (for profit) company? A COTS that we are planning to puchase can work with either commercial version of SQL server or MSDE / Express. Any input would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Yes - absolutely free, even for commercial use. But use Express - MSDE has a query governor, Express doesn't.

If this post answers your question, make sure you mark it "answered" so others can find it quickly.

Thanks -

Buck Woody
http://www.buckwoody.com

|||Hi,

I don′t know what COTS means, but they are both free for use. You can use them within your applications. There are limitations on the free versions which you might encounter in the future. But its quite easy to "migrate" from the free versions to the full blown versions of SQL Server.

HTH, Jens K. Suessmeyer.

http://www.sqlserver2005.de