Mono Tool for .NET Released -- Visual Studio Magazine

Mono Tool for .NET Released

Novell releases MonoDevelop 1.0, a tool that allows developers to port Visual Studio .NET apps to Linux and Mac environments.

By Kurt Mackie
04/15/2008

Novell Inc., the key sponsor of the open source Mono project, released a new tool that lets developers build C# and .NET code for non-Windows-based platforms.

Mono is an open source development solution that allows developers to create cross-platform .NET applications. It supports Linux, Mac OS X, Sun Solaris, BSD and Microsoft Windows operating systems, as well as a broad array of architectures, including x86, x86-64, IA64, SPARC (32) and others.

Also released was a beta version of Mono 2.0, which supports the Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework. The beta will also include a .NET 3.5 Framework preview, according to Novell. Another feature in the Mono 2.0 beta is a "Mono migration-analysis tool" to determine one's readiness to migrate to .NET.

The new MonoDevelop 1.0 dev tool supports Microsoft Visual Studio project formats, as well as C# and other programming languages. Developers can create ASP.NET Web apps on Linux and Mac OS X using the tool.

In addition, MonoDevelop 1.0 is designed to make it easier for developers to port .NET apps created in Visual Studio to environments using Linux and Mac OS X operating systems. Developers can maintain a single code base while porting their apps. Novell maintains some of Mono's core components, but the company also depends on open source community involvement in the project.

Novell collaborates with Microsoft to some degree on the project through Ecma International committee meetings. Microsoft's shared-source licensing of .NET is "tightly restricted" for commercial use, unlike Mono, according to the group. Novell makes money in the Mono project by offering commercial development support for Mono, as well as consulting services.

MonoDevelop 1.0 and the Mono 2.0 beta can both be downloaded at go-mono.com.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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