Local database with Visual Basic Express 2010

Visual Basic 2010 Express, lets the 开发者_如何学Cuser to add a Local Database with .sdf extension. These databases needs MICROSOFT SQL Server to be created or they can run in the user's pc without any additional software? What are the limit of these databases unlike an external database?

You need Sql Server Compact Edition. Compact Edition is an in-process/desktop/embedded/file-based database — like Access or sqlite. It's free, and much easier to deploy than a full Sql Server edition.

You will need a installation of Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 Express, which is free to download. Download can be found at MSDN.

Comparison between Express and compact version can be found here, this also shows the given limits of the express version:

• Max 1 CPU/Server
• 1 GB RAM usage
• 4 GB DB size

EDIT: You can find a wider comparison from Enterprise to Express editions here.

EDIT 2: My mistake. Of course SDF is indeed for Compact version, not for Express. The compact version is free to download and available at Microsoft here.