[ILUG] Mono

[Stephen Holmes]

On Thu, 2006-04-13 at 11:47 +0000, David  wrote:
> Again reading LXF May (this is my last posting comming from the mag, 
> promise I just want to keep the threads seperate) MONO has been bundled 
> into FC5.
> 
> Now Ive been thinking (and nothing more!!) about trying to look and 
> learn what I can about the .NET environment and it appears to be a bit 
> of a beast.  Not least as the pc that I have is not able to take the M$ 
> version adequately and in fact I discovered that it doesnt uninstall 
> cleanly either!!.
> 
Windows, 'nuff said.

> Is MONO a direct equivalent of the M$ .NET stuff?  Im just wondering is 
> it worthwhile investing time and effort into it and if it is worthwhile 
> is there any recommendations for websites and documentation that I could 
> peruse?
> 

No, Mono is an implementation of the CLR/CIL specification with the Mono
compiler component  implementing the ECMA specification of the C#
language.  The Mono framework also supports a limited implementation of
the VB.NET, Nemerle and Boo languages.  Microsoft, in a rare fit of
goodness put the specifications out there for others to use and
implement.  Purists describe C# as a blatant attempt to kill Java - but
hey, it's an open market.

That said, Mono as it exists today, implements a large body of the
Microsoft .NET classes (WinForms, ADO.NET, ASP.NET etc), but in parallel
to this effort, the teams have also implemented a rich set of classes
(such as Gtk#) that are specific to Linux and opensource - this dual
strategy was pursued in case Microsoft start playing patent games - so
there's essentially two development stacks in play.  With minimal
tweaking (sometimes none), it's possible to run applications on all
platforms.  The main issues arise when platform specific functions are
called (i.e., p/invoking GDI functions on Windows that just don't exist
anywhere else).

I've found C#/Gtk# to very worthwhile and far more productive than raw
C/GTK - but you do need to lean the nuances of the language.  If you
have any Java background this will help for sure.

Many great apps out there are now Mono powered (Banshee, iFolder,
Beagle, F-Spot etc...)

From a web-site/learning perspective, you can't beat mono-project.com as
a starting point - some nice tutorials there.  If you like IDE's, then
get a hold of Monodevelop (most dists have it now). If you're looking
for books, then any basic .NET reference will be useful and there are
book recommendations on the site.  The two books I use are "Practical
Mono, Mark Malone, APRESS" and "Mono: A developers notebook, Dumbhill &
Bornstein, O'Reilly"


HTH, Steve.

> Cheers
> 
> David

-- 

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