SQL Express and ASP.NET v2: wow!

Scott Guthrie pointed me in the right direction in my last post regarding the use of SQL Express databases in ASP.NET v2. What I thought most incredible was that in e-mail he said that a box with SQL Express on it will create a database file in your /data folder, ready to go, for Membership, Profile and such, just as it did with the Access provider (which is going away for beta 2)! How cool is that?

The thing that surprises me the most is that SQL Server 2005 Express is going to be free, and its own really substantial limitation (if I'm reading the specs right) is the 4 gig cap on databases. This lifts yet another barrier for people that think using Microsoft's platform is too expensive. Well done!