1 <a href="#basics">Basics</a><br>
2 <a href="#ximian">The Ximian Role in the Mono project</a><br>
3 <a href="#gnome">Mono and GNOME</a><br>
4 <a href="#gui">Building GUI applications with Mono</a><br>
5 <a href="#msft">Mono and Microsoft</a><br>
6 <a href="#platforms">Mono platforms</a><br>
7 <a href="#compatibility">Compatibility</a></br>
8 <a href="#pnpproject">Mono and the Portable.NET Project</a><br>
9 <a href="#webservices">Web Services</a><br>
10 <a href="#asp">Mono and ASP.NET</a><br>
11 <a href="#ado">Mono and ADO.NET</a><br>
12 <a href="#monodoc">MonoDoc</a><br>
13 <a href="#devel">Development Tools and Issues</a><br>
14 <a href="#java">Mono and Java</a><br>
15 <a href="#extending">Extending Mono</a><br>
16 <a href="#portability">Portability</a><br>
17 <a href="#reuse">Reusing Existing Code</a><br>
18 <a href="#gcc">Mono and GCC</a><br>
19 <a href="#performance">Performance</a><br>
20 <a href="#licensing">Licensing</a><br>
21 <a href="#patents">Patents</a><br>
22 <a href="#etc">Miscellaneous Questions</a><br>
23 <a href="#problems">Mono Common Problems</a><br>
26 href="http://www.es.gnome.org/documentacion/articulos/mono-puf/mono-puf/">Spanish
27 translation</a> is also available
32 Q: What is Mono exactly?
34 A: The Mono Project is an open development initiative sponsored by
35 Ximian that is working to develop an open source, Unix
36 version of the Microsoft .NET development platform. Its objective
37 is to enable Unix developers to build and
38 deploy cross-platform .NET Applications. The project will
39 implement various technologies developed by Microsoft that have now
40 been submitted to the ECMA for standardization.
42 Q: What is the difference between Mono and the .NET Initiative?
44 A: The ".NET Initiative" is a somewhat nebulous company-wide effort by
45 Microsoft, one part of which is a cross-platform development
46 framework. Mono is an implementation of the development framework,
47 but not an implementation of anything else related to the .NET
48 Initiative, such as Passport, software-as-a-service, or
49 corporate re-branding.
51 Q: What technologies are included in Mono?
53 A: Mono contains a number of components useful for building new
57 * A Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) virtual
58 machine that contains a class loader, Just-in-time
59 compiler, and a garbage collecting runtime.
61 * A class library that can work with any language
62 which works on the CLR.
64 * A compiler for the C# language. In the future we
65 might work on other compilers that target the Common
70 Windows has compilers that target the virtual machine from <a
71 href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/thirdparty/default.asp#lang">a
72 number of languages:</a> Managed C++, Java Script, Eiffel,
73 Component Pascal, APL, Cobol, Perl, Python, Scheme,
74 Smalltalk, Standard ML, Haskell, Mercury and Oberon.
76 The CLR and the Common Type System (CTS) enables applications and
77 libraries to be written in a collection of different languages that
80 This means for example that if you define a class to do algebraic
81 manipulation in C#, that class can be reused from any other
82 language that supports the CLI. You could create a class in C#,
83 subclass it in C++ and instantiate it in an Eiffel program.
85 A single object system, threading system, class libraries, and
86 garbage collection system can be shared across all these languages.
88 Q: Where can I find the specification for these technologies?
90 A: You can find the information here:
93 C# <a href="http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-334.htm">http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-334.htm</a>
95 CLI <a href="http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-335.htm">http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-335.htm</a>
97 Q: Will you implement the .NET Framework SDK class libraries?
99 A: Yes, we will be implementing the APIs of the .NET Framework SDK
102 Q: Will you offer an ECMA-compliant set of class libraries?
104 A: Eventually we will. Our current focus is on inter-operating
105 with the Microsoft SDK, but we will also offer an ECMA compliant
108 Q: What does the name "Mono" mean?
110 A: Mono is the word for `monkey' in Spanish. We like monkeys.
114 A: The JIT engine is usable on Intel x86 machines. An interpreter
115 can be used on other non-Intel x86 machines.
117 The class libraries are mature enough to run some real applications
118 (the compiler for instance, and every day more and more applications
119 are natively developed with Mono).
121 Q: When will you ship it?
123 A: Different parts of Mono will achieve usability at different stages,
124 once we are comfortable with the compiler, we will release "Mono Core",
125 which contains everything needed to develop applications with the base
126 class libraries, this will happen soon and in the meantime you can
127 download daily snapshots of our work. Also the full ASP.NET support is
130 Other higher level class libraries (ASP.NET, ADO.NET, WinForms) will
131 be released when they become stable.
133 Q: When will Mono 1.0 ship?
135 A: We are planning on releasing Mono 1.0 (Mono Core) which will ship all the
136 components of Mono that are known to be stable in Q4 2003.
138 This release will lack System.Windows.Forms and
139 Enterprise.Services, as they will not be production ready on this timeframe.
141 Mono 1.2 should come in Q2 2004 and include the missing components
142 libraries that will make Mono feature-compatible with .NET 1.0
144 Q: What major components will you include in Mono?
146 A: Hopefully everything that Microsoft ships on their Framework
147 (ADO.NET, ASP.NET, WinForms), and we encourage third party developers to
148 create reusable components that work on both Mono and Windows.
150 Q: How can I contribute?
152 A: Check the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section.
154 Q: Aren't you just copying someone else's work?
156 A: We are interested in providing the best tools for programmers to
157 develop applications for Free Operating Systems. We also want to help
158 provide the interoperability that will allow those systems to fit in
159 with other standards.
161 For more background, read the <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/rationale.html">Mono
162 Project white paper</a>.
165 Q: Miguel said once that Mono was being implemented in COBOL. Is that true?.
167 A: No. It was a joke.
170 <a name="ximian"></a>
172 ** The Ximian Role in the Mono Project
174 Q: Why is Ximian working on .NET?
176 A: Ximian is interested in providing the best tools for programmers to
177 develop applications for Free Operating Systems.
179 For more information, read the project <a
180 href="rationale.html">rationale</a> page.
182 Q: Will Ximian be able to take on a project of this size?
184 A: Of course not. Ximian a supporter of the Mono project, but the only way
185 to implement something of this size is for the entire free software
186 community to get involved. Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a>
187 page if you'd like to help out.
189 Q: What pieces will Ximian be working on?
191 A: We will devote most of our resources to work on the pieces which are
192 on the critical path to release a development and execution
193 environment. Once the project is at a stage where it is useful in
194 the real world, it will achieve a critical mass of developers to
197 Q: Will Ximian offer Mono commercially?
199 A: When Mono is ready to be shipped Ximian will offer a commercial
200 support and services for Mono.
202 Q: Does Ximian provide consulting services around Mono?
204 A: Yes, Ximian does provide consulting services around Mono to
205 make it suitable to your needs. Porting the runtime engine,
206 customizing it, working on specific classes or tuning the code
207 for your particular needs.
209 Q: Will you wait until Mono is finished?
211 A: Mono will ship on various stages as they mature. Some people
212 require only a subset of the technologies, those will ship first.
214 More advanced features will take more time to develop. A support
215 time line will be available in June 2002.
220 Q: How is Mono related to GNOME?
222 A: In a number of ways. This project was born out of the need of
223 providing improved tools for the GNOME community, and will use
224 existing components that have been developed for GNOME when they
225 are available. For example, we plan to use Gtk+ and Libart to
226 implement Winforms and the Drawing2D API and are considering
229 Q: Has the GNOME Foundation or the GNOME team adopted Mono?
231 A: Mono is too new to be adopted by those groups. We hope that the
232 tools that we will provide will be adopted by free software
233 programmers including the GNOME Foundation members and the GNOME
236 Q: Should GNOME programmers switch over to Mono now?
238 A: It is still far to early for discussions of "switching over." No
239 pieces of Mono will be ready within the next six months, and a
240 complete implementation is roughly one year away.
242 We encourage GNOME developers to continue using the existing tools,
243 libraries and components. Improvements made to GNOME will have an
244 impact on Mono, as they would be the "back-end" for various classes.
246 Q: Will Mono include compatibility with Bonobo components? What is the
247 relationship between Mono and Bonobo?
249 A: Yes, we will provide a set of classes for implementing and using
250 Bonobo components from within Mono. Mono should allow you to write
251 Bonobo components more easily, just like .NET on Windows allows you
252 to export .NET components to COM.
254 Q: Does Mono depend on GNOME?
256 A: No, Mono does not depend on GNOME. We use a few packages produced by
257 the GNOME team like the `glib' library.
259 Q: But will I be able to build GNOME applications?
261 A: Yes, we will enable people to write GNOME applications using Mono.
263 Q: Do you have C# bindings for GNOME?.
265 A: Yes, we currently bind libgnome, libgnomecanvas, and libgnomeui --
266 although I dare say I have no idea how functional the bindings are
267 outside of what I tested in the sample app. I imagine other libraries
268 under the GNOME framework will be added on an as-needed (and as-requested)
269 basis...although a truly good bonobo binding will have to wait on the CORBA
270 remoting support which has been started recently.
275 Q: Will Mono enable GUI applications to be authored?
277 A: Yes, you will be able to build GUI applications. Indeed, that is our
278 main focus. We will provide both the Windows.Forms API and the Gtk# API.
280 Q: What is the difference between Gtk# and System.Windows.Forms?
282 A: Gtk# is a set of bindings for the Gtk+ toolkit for C# (and other
283 CIL-enabled languages). System.Windows.Forms is an API defined
284 by Microsoft to build GUI applications.
286 Q: Why not implement System.Windows.Forms on top of Gtk# or Qt#?
288 A: There are several reasons for this.
290 First of all, Gtk+ and Qt are standard toolkits on Linux, and their
291 proponents want to use their favorite toolkits when writing
294 Related to this is the idea that System.Windows.Forms is
295 brain-dead in certain areas, such as internationalization.
296 System.Windows.Forms uses explicit sizes for all controls, as opposed
297 to Gtk+ and Qt which use a box/packing model, which can better deal with
298 the different string lengths different languages will have.
300 Next is compatibility. It is not possible to implement
301 System.Windows.Forms on top of Gtk+/Qt and have 100% compatibility,
302 because System.Windows.Forms exposes some Win32-isms, such as the
303 Win32 message loop. In order to maintain compatibility, Wine must be used,
304 and this is being done; see the
305 <a href="/winforms.html">System.Windows.Forms effort page</a>.
307 Additionally, Wine apps don't currently fit in -- visually -- with
310 Q: Will I be able to run my smart clients on systems powered by Mono?
312 A: As long as your applications are 100% .NET and do not make use
313 of P/Invoke to call Win32 functions, your smart client applications
314 will run on Mono platforms.
316 Q: Where can I learn more about Gtk#?
318 A: The following <a href="http://gtk-sharp.sourceforge.net>link</a> sends you to the page of the project.
320 Q: What can I do with Gtk#?.
322 A: Gtk# is becoming very usable and you can create applications and
323 applets like those you see in a GNOME desktop environment. It's
324 easy to install so it's worth a try.
326 Q: How can I compile my HelloWorld.cs which uses Gtk#?.
328 A: Try: mcs --unsafe -o HelloWorld.exe -r glib-sharp -r pango-sharp -r
329 atk-sharp -r gdk-sharp -r gtk-sharp -r gdk-imaging-sharp
332 Q: Is there any way how to connect DataAdapter to some GTK# controls?
334 A: There is a sample file called `DbClient' in gtk-sharp/samples that you
335 might to look at. It is a sample program in Gtk# that adds/updates/deletes
336 information on a Postgress database. When we have the new table/tree widgets,
337 I am sure someone would write an adapter for System.Data (in Gtk2 the
338 tree/list widgets are written using a view/model, so you only need to write
339 a model that maps to the database). You can have a look at
340 gtk-sharp/sample/DbClient, where there is a GTK# application that uses
341 System.Data. It does not use DataAdapter, but DataReader though.
343 Q: Do you have an estimate for when Windows.Forms will be released?
345 A: We do not know, volunteers are working on this, but there is no set
346 date yet. The current approach is using the Wine Library to implement
350 ** Mono and Microsoft
352 Q: Is Microsoft helping Ximian with this project?
354 A: There is no high level communication between Ximian and Microsoft
355 at this point, but engineers who work on .NET or the ECMA groups
356 have been very friendly, and very nice to answer our questions, or
357 clarify part of the specification for us.
359 Microsoft is interested in other implementations of .NET and are
360 willing to help make the ECMA spec more accurate for this purpose.
362 Ximian was also invited to participate in the ECMA committee
363 meetings for C# and the CLI.
365 Q: Is Microsoft or Corel paying Ximian to do this?
369 Q: Do you fear that Microsoft will change the spec and render Mono
372 A: No. Microsoft proved with the CLI and the C# language that it was
373 possible to create a powerful foundation for many languages to
374 inter-operate. We will always have that.
376 Even if changes happened in the platform which were undocumented,
377 the existing platform would a value on its own.
379 Q: Are you writing Mono from the ECMA specs?
381 A: Yes, we are writing them from the ECMA specs and the published
382 materials in print about .NET.
384 Q: If my applications use Mono, will I have to pay a service fee?
386 A: No. Mono is not related to Microsoft's initiative of
387 software-as-a-service.
389 Q: Is the Mono Project is related to the Microsoft Hailstorm effort? Is
390 Ximian endorsing Hailstorm?
392 A: No. The Mono Project is focused on providing a compatible set of
393 tools for the Microsoft .NET development platform. It does not
394 address, require, or otherwise endorse the MS Passport-based
395 Hailstorm single sign-on system that is part of Windows XP and
398 Q: Will Mono or .NET applications depend on Microsoft Passport?
400 A: No. MS Passport is unrelated to running .NET compatible applications
401 produced with the Mono tools. The only thing you will need is a
402 just-in-time compiler (JIT).
404 Q: What is a 100% .NET application?
406 A: A `100% .NET application' is one that only uses the APIs defined
407 under the System namespace and does not use PInvoke. These
408 applications would in theory run unmodified on Windows, Linux,
409 HP-UX, Solaris, MacOS X and others.
411 Q: If Microsoft will release a port of their .NET platform under the
412 `Shared Source' license, why should I bother with anything else?
414 A: The Shared Source implementation will be expensive and its uses
415 will be tightly restricted, especially for commercial use. We are
416 working towards an implementation that will grant a number of
417 important rights to recipients: use for any purpose,
418 redistribution, modification, and redistribution of modifications.
420 This is what we call <a
421 href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software</a>
423 Q: Is Mono a free implementation of Passport?
425 A: No. Mono is just a runtime, a compiler and a set of class
428 Q: Will the System.Web.Security.PassportIdentity class mean
429 that my software will depend on Passport?
431 A: No. Applications may use that API to contact a Passport site, but
432 are not required to do so.
434 As long as your application does not use Passport, you will not
437 Q: Will Mono running on Linux make Passport available for Linux?
439 A: No. However, the Passport toolkit for Linux-based web servers is
440 available from Microsoft.
442 Q: Will Mono allow me to run Microsoft Office on Linux?
444 A: No, it will not. Microsoft Office is a Windows application. To
445 learn more about running Windows applications on Intel Unix systems
446 refer to <a href="http://www.winehq.com">the Wine Project</a>.
448 Q: Will I be able to compile a Microsoft VB.NET application and execute
449 the resultant MSIL file under MONO on Linux without converting to C#
452 A: Once we have a complete VisualBasic runtime, yes.
454 Q: Can mono run the WebMatrix?
456 A: No. That requires System.Windows.Forms support which is not
457 currently implemented.
459 Q: Does mono have something like Passport?
460 Will mono have a server side Passport/Similar framework for XSP as well as client classes?
462 A: Not yet, but the client side API for authentication is not the problem.
463 We will likely have a lot of other authentication APIs, like the Liberty
464 Alliance APIs. The problem is people on the web provider end that might use
465 this for authentication.
467 <a name="platforms"></a>
470 Q: What operating systems does Mono run on?
472 A: Mono is known to run on Linux, Unix and Windows systems.
474 Q: What architectures does Mono support?
476 A: Mono today ships with a Just-in-Time compiler for x86-based
477 systems. It is tested regularly on Linux, FreeBSD and Windows
478 (with the XP/NT core).
480 There is also an interpreter, which is slower that runs on the
481 s390, SPARC and PowerPC architectures.
483 Q: Can Mono run on Windows 9x, or ME editions?
485 A: Mono requires Unicode versions of Win32 APIs to run,
486 and only a handful of *W functions is supported under Win9x.
488 There is Microsoft Layer for Unicode that provides implementation
489 of these APIs on 9x systems.
491 Unfortunately it uses linker trick for delayed load that is not
492 supported by ld, so some sort of adapter is necessary.
494 You will need MSLU and one of the following libs to link Mono to
496 href="http://mono.eurosoft.od.ua/files/unimono.zip">http://mono.eurosoft.od.ua/files/unimono.zip</a>
497 or alternatively search the net for "libunicows".
499 No changes to Mono source code required, the only thing is to make
500 sure that linker will resolve imports to adapter library instead of
501 Win32 libs. This is achieved by inserting -lunimono before
502 -lkerner32/user32 in the linker's specs file.
504 <a name="compatibility"></a>
507 Q: Can Mono run applications developed with the Microsoft.NET fraemwork?
509 A: Yes, Mono can run applications developed with the Microsft .NET Framework
510 on Unix. There are a few caveats to keep in mind: Mono has not
511 been completed yet, so a few API calls might be missing; And in
512 some cases the Mono behavior *might* be incorrect.
514 Q: Will missing API entry points be implemented?
516 A: Yes, the goal of Mono is to implement precisely the .NET Framework
517 API (as well as compile-time selectable subsets, for those
518 interested in a lighter version of Mono).
520 Q: If the behavior of an API call is different, will you fix it?
522 A: Yes, we will. But we will need your assistance for this. If you find a bug
523 in the Mono implementation, please fill a bug report in <a
524 href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com">http://bugzilla.ximian.com</a>.
525 Do not assume we know about the problem, we might not, and using the bug tracking
526 system helps us organize the development process.
528 Q: Can I develop my applications on Windows, and deploy on a supported
529 Mono platform (like Linux)?
533 As of today, Mono is not 100% finished, so it is sometimes useful
534 to compile the code with Mono, to find out if your application
535 depends on unimplemented functionality.
537 Q: Will applications run out the box with Mono?
539 A: Sometimes they will. But sometimes a .NET application might invoke
540 Win32 API calls, or assume certain patterns that are not correct
541 for cross-platform applications.
543 <a name="pnpproject"></a>
544 ** Mono and Portable.NET
546 Q: What are the differences between Mono and Portable.NET?
548 A: Most of Mono is being written using C#, with only
549 a few parts written in C (The JIT engine, the runtime, the
550 interfaces to the garbage collection system).
552 It is easier to describe what is unique about Mono:
554 <li> An advanced native-code compilation engine: Both
555 just-in-time compilation (JIT) and pre-compilation of CIL
556 bytecodes into native code are supported.
558 <li> A foundation for code optimization: The new code generator in
559 Mono builds on the experience of our first JIT engine, and enables
560 us to implement various advanced compiler optimization
561 tricks. With an SSA-framework, plenty of new optimizations are possible.
563 The current list of optimizations are: Peephole postpass,
564 Branch optimizations, Inline method calls, Constant folding, Constant
565 propagation, Copy propagation, Dead code elimination, Linear scan
566 global reg allocation, Conditional moves, Emit per-domain code,
567 Instruction scheduling, Intrinsic method implementations, Tail
568 recursion and tail calls, Loop related optimizations, Fast x86 FP
569 compares, Leaf procedures optimizations
571 <li> A self-hosting C# compiler written in C#, which is clean, easy
574 <li> Focus on the .NET Framework: we are tracking down the .NET
575 Framework API definition, as we believe it is the API people
576 will be most familiar with.
578 <li> A multi-platform runtime engine: both a JIT engine and an
579 interpreter exist. The JIT engine runs currently on x86
580 systems, while the interpreter works on SPARC, StrongARM,
581 s390 and PowerPC systems.
583 Our new compilation engine is being ported to the PowerPC.
585 <li> Supports Linux, BSD, Windows and Solaris at this point.
587 <li> The JIT engine is written using a portable instruction
588 selector which not only generates good code but
589 is also the foundation to re-target the JIT engine to other
592 <li> Full support for remoting in the runtime.
594 <li> The C# compiler, the JIT engine and the class libraries are
595 mature enough that the whole system has been self-hosting
596 since April 2002. This means that we develop Mono
597 completely with itself at this point.
599 By forcing ourselves to use our own code to develop our
600 tools, we bug fix problems rapidly, and the system is
601 overall more robust and tested than if we did not.
603 <li> We have a great community of developers, without which Mono
604 would not be possible.
607 In general, Mono is more mature and complete since it has been used
608 to develop itself, which is a big motivator for stability and
609 correctness, while Portable.NET remains pretty much an untested
612 Q: I hear Mono keeps changing the P/Invoke API, why?
614 A: We are just fixing our implementation to be compatible with the
615 Microsoft implementation. In other words, the Mono P/Invoke API is
616 more complete when compared to the Portable.NET version, hence
617 various pieces of software that depend on this extended
618 functionality fail to work properly with Portable.NET.
620 <a name="webservices"></a>
623 Q: How is Mono related to Web Services?
625 A: Mono is only related to Web Services in that it will implement the
626 same set of classes that have been authored in the .NET Framework
627 to simplify and streamline the process of building Web Services.
629 But most importantly, Mono is an Open Source implementation of the
632 Q: Can I author Web Services with Mono?
634 A: You will be able to write Web Services on .NET that run on Mono and
637 Q: If Mono implements the SDK classes, will I be able to write and
638 execute .NET Web Services with it?
640 A: Yes. When the project is finished, you will be able to use the
641 same technologies that are available through the .NET Framework SDK
642 on Windows to write Web Services.
644 Q: What about Soup? Can I use Soup without Mono?
646 A: Soup is a library for GNOME applications to create SOAP servers and
647 SOAP clients, and can be used without Mono. You can browse the
648 source code for soup using <a
649 href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">GNOME's Bonsai</a>.
653 A: Yes. The CLI contains enough information about a class that
654 exposing it to other RPC systems (like CORBA) is really simple, and
655 does not even require support from an object.
657 <a href="http://remoting-corba.sourceforge.net/">Remoting.CORBA</a> is
658 a CORBA implementation that is gaining momentum.
660 Building an implementation of the Bonobo interfaces once this is ready
661 should be relatively simple.
663 Q: Can I serialize my objects to other things other than XML?
665 A: Yes, although the serializing tools have not yet been planned, and
666 you would probably have to implement them yourself.
668 Q: Will Mono use ORBit?
670 A: There are a few advantages in using ORBit, like reusing existing code
671 and leveraging all the work done on it. Michael Meeks has posted
672 a few <a href="http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2002-September/008592.html">reasons</a>,
673 as well as some <a href="http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2002-September/008657.html">ideas</a>
674 that could be used to reuse ORBit.
676 Most users are likely to choose a native .NET solution, like <a href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">Remoting.CORBA</a>
679 <a name="monodoc"></a>
684 A: MonoDoc is a graphical documentation browser for the Mono class
685 libraries. Currently, monodoc consists of a Gtk# application and is
686 in heavy development.
689 ** Development Tools and Issues
691 Q: I am having trouble compiling a new version of Mono from CVS, it
692 complains about my runtime being out of sync.
694 A: Jonathan Pryor has provided the following answer:
696 To upgrade your class libraries and compiler, see the See
697 README.building in the MCS directory.
699 The single biggest source of confusion seems to be the "Your
700 runtime is out of sync" messages. Realize that this is *normal*
701 while BUILDING. Think about it: you're building a new class
702 library with the old runtime. If the new class library references
703 a function that the old runtime knows nothing about, the runtime
704 system issues this warning.
706 Basically what needs to happen is for a new mono runtime to be
707 compiled, then the corlib class library be compiled, and once this
708 is done, install the new runtime, followed by corlib.
710 Once this is done, you can continue building your entire
713 Q: Will it be possible to use the CLI features without using byte codes
716 A: Yes. The CLI engine will be made available as a shared library.
717 The garbage collection engine, the threading abstraction, the
718 object system, the dynamic type code system and the JIT will be
719 available for C developers to integrate with their applications if
722 Q: Will you have new development tools?
724 A: With any luck, Free Software enthusiasts will contribute tools to
725 improve the developer environment. These tools could be developed
726 initially using the Microsoft implementation of the CLI and then
727 executed later with Mono.
729 We are recommending people to use and contribute to existing
730 projects like SharpDevelop, Anjuta and Eclipse.
732 Q: What kind of rules make the Common Intermediate Language useful for
735 A: The main rule is that the stack in the CLI is not a general purpose
736 stack. You are not allowed to use it for other purposes than
737 computing values and passing arguments to functions or return
740 At any given call or return instruction, the types on the stack
741 have to be the same independently of the flow of execution of your
744 Q: Is it true that the CIL is ideal for JITing and not efficient for
747 A: The CIL is better suited to be JITed than JVM byte codes, but you
748 can interpret them as trivially as you can interpret JVM byte
751 Q: Isn't it a little bit confusing to have the name of "XSP" (the same
752 as in the Apache Project) for the ASP.NET support in Mono?.
754 A: In Mono, xsp is just the name of the C# code generator for ASP.NET
755 pages. In the Apache Project, it is a term for the "eXtensible Server
756 Pages" technology so as they are very different things, they don't
759 Q: Is there any plan to develop an aspx server for Mono?.
761 A: The XSP reference server is available and you can also use mod_mono
764 Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
766 A: Yes. Mono has been self hosting since May 2002.
768 Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
769 and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
770 their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
773 A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
775 Q: How should I write tests or a tests suite?
777 A: If you do a test suite for C#, you might want to keep it
778 independent of the Mono C# compiler, so that other compiler
779 implementations can later use it.
781 Q: Would it be too terrible to have another corlib signed as mscorlib?
783 A: We rename corlib to mscorlib also when saving the PE files, in fact,
784 the runtime can execute program created by mono just fine.
786 Q: Is it possible to build a C# file to some sort of intermediate format which
787 can linked into a final module, like the traditional .c -> .o -> .so path?
791 mcs /target:library file1.cs, mcs /target:library file2.cs,
792 mcs /target:exe file1.dll file2.dll /out:mybin.exe
794 Q: Is there any plans for implementing remoting in the near future?
796 A: The remoting infrastructure is in place. We have implementations
797 of the TcpChannel, HttpChannel and the Soap and Binary Formatters.
798 They are compatible with .NET.
800 However, some classes from the library may have a different binary
801 representation, because they may have a different internal data
802 structure, so for example you won't be able to exchange a Hastable
803 object between Mono and MS.NET. It should not be a problem if you
804 are using primitive types, arrays or your own classes. In any case,
805 could you post a test case?
808 Q: My C code uses the __stdcall which is not availble on Linux, how can I
809 make the code portable Windows/Unix across platforms?
811 A: Replace the __stdcall attribute with the STDCALL macro, and include this
812 in your C code for newer gcc versions:
815 #define STDCALL __attribute__((stdcall))
818 Q: I want to be able to execute Mono binaries, without having to use the "mono"
819 command. How can I do this?
821 A: From Carlos Perelló:
823 <i>I think that the best solution is the binfmt feature with the
824 wrapper that exists with Debian packages at:
826 <a href="http://www.debianplanet.org/mono/dists/unstable/main/source/admin/">http://www.debianplanet.org/mono/dists/unstable/main/source/admin/</a>
828 If you want use it with Big endian machines, you should apply a patch
829 (<a href="http://carlos.pemas.net/debian/mono/binfmt-detector-cli.c.diff">http://carlos.pemas.net/debian/mono/binfmt-detector-cli.c.diff</a>)
831 It works really good and lets you use wine also, it reads the .exe file
832 headers and check if it's a .net executable.
834 This way you just execute: ./my-cool-mono-application.exe and it works
835 without the need of any wrapper.</i>
837 Q: I see funny characters when I run programs, what is the problem?
839 A: (From Peter Williams and Gonzalo Paniagua):
841 This is Red Hat 9 (probably) using UTF8 on its console; the bytes are
842 the UTF8 endianness markers. You can do:
844 LC_ALL=C mono myexe.exe
846 And they wont show up.
848 Alternatively, you can do:
852 to enable UTF-8 on the console.
857 Q: Does Mono support ASP.NET?
861 Mono supports ASP.NET, we have shown an unmodified IBuySpy
862 installation running on Mono as well as various other programs. You can
863 try it yourself downloading the XSP server.
865 Q: Do I need install cygwin to work on ASP.NET in mono or Linux is enough since
866 it is self host right now.
870 Q: How can I run ASP.NET-based applications with Mono?
872 A: You need the Mono runtime and a hosting web server. Currently we distribute a
873 small web server called `xsp' which is used to debug applications, or you can choose
874 to use Daniel's Apache 2 module.
876 Q: Any plan to make ASP.NET in mono works with Apache in Linux?.
878 A: Daniel has authored an Apache2 Module for Mono that hosts the ASP.NET runtime
879 and is available here: <a
880 href="http://apacheworld.org/modmono/">http://apacheworld.org/modmono/</a>
882 Q: Will you support Apache 1?
884 A: Modules developed for Apache 2 are not compatible with Apache 1.3
885 Daniel plans to support Apache 1.3 in the future but the current focus is on
886 Apache 2, because of the better support for threading and Windows.
888 Q: Can I run Apache 1 and Apache 2 on the same machine?
890 You can always keep a copy of Apache 2 running in paralell with your Apache
891 1.3 (either different port or using a reverse proxy).
893 You can also bind the two servers to different IP addresses on the
894 same physical machine.
899 Q: What is the status of ADO.NET support?. Could I start migrating
900 applications from MS.NET to Mono?.
902 A: You could start right now using the ADO.NET support in mono, of course,
903 if you want to help filling the missing gaps while you develop your app
904 :-) Well, what I mean is that we're not that far to having full ADO.NET
905 support in Mono, and we've got a lot of working things, so if we could
906 get more help, we'd finish it really soon :-)
908 Q: In developing the data architecture for the application are there and
909 objects I should stay away from in order to insure the smoothest possible
910 transition (minimum code rewrite) to Mono's ADO.NET implementation? (For
911 example, strongly typed datasets versus untyped datasets, etc...)
913 A: We are implementing all the classes in Microsoft .NET's System.Data, so
914 you can be sure that things will work the same in Mono as with the Microsoft
917 Q: Does Mono can to connect to Sybase by using Mono.Data.*?
919 A: Yes. use Mono.Data.SybaseClient. First of all you have to create a
920 SybaseConnection, and then, from it, use it as any other
921 IDbConnection-based class.
926 Q: Why don't you use Java? After all, there are many languages that
929 A: You can get very good tools for doing Java development on free
930 systems right now. <a href="http://www.redhat.com">Red Hat</a> has
931 contributed a <a href="http://gcc.gnu.org">GCC</a> <a
932 href="http://gcc.gnu.org/java">front-end for Java</a> that can take
933 Java sources or Java byte codes and generate native executables; <a
934 href="http://www.transvirtual.com">Transvirtual</a> has implemented
935 <a href="http://www.kaffe.org">Kaffe</a> a JIT engine for Java;
936 Intel also has a Java VM called <a
937 href="http://www.intel.com/research/mrl/orp">ORP</a>.
939 The JVM is not designed to be a general purpose virtual machine.
940 The Common Intermediate Language (CIL), on the other hand, is
941 designed to be a target for a
942 wide variety of programming languages, and has a set of rules
943 designed to be optimal for JITers.
945 Q: Could Java target the CLI?
947 A: Yes, Java could target the CLI, Microsoft's J# compiler does that.
949 The <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net/">IKVM</a> project builds a
950 Java runtime that works on top of .NET and on top of Mono. IKVM is
951 essentially a JIT compiler that translates from JVM bytecodes into
952 CIL instructions, and then lets the native JIT engine take over.
954 Q: Is it possible to write a JVM byte code to CIL converter?
956 A: Yes, it is possible. Here are a few starting point:
959 * A byte code representation is really a flattened forest of
960 trees. Look at the Mono JIT engine to see how we compute
961 the basic blocks (this is used to figure out the "trees").
963 The forest is just an array of trees.
965 Indeed, run the JIT engine with -d (mono -d prog.exe) and
966 you will see how these trees look like.
968 You will have to do something similar for Java.
970 * Each "forest of trees" has a meaning. This meaning can now
971 be translated into the equivalent "meaning" in CLR-land.
974 See also the <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net/">IKVM project</a>
976 Q: Could mono become a hybrid CIL/java platform?
978 A: No. It is quite far from the philosophy of the project. The idea of Mono
979 is, to have only _one_ VM, on which all can run. And if there existing a
980 binary-converter from Java-.class to IL and if there existing something
981 like J-Sharp on Mono, you can write programs in Java, which than can run
982 on Mono. You do not need two bindings (like your example: GTK-Sharp _and_
983 Java-Gnome). You need only _one_ of it (GTK-Sharp). Thats the idea of Mono.
984 An other point is, that there are no people, who use Open Source-JVMs. They
985 all prefer Suns original. But for Unix there don't exist a .NET-Framework.
986 So it is possible, that in the future Mono is the standard .NET for Unixes.
988 Q: Do you plan to implement a Javascript compiler?
990 A: Yes. The beginnings of the JScript compiler can be found on CVS.
991 Cesar coordinates this effort.
993 Q: Can Mono or .NET share system classes (loaded from mscore.dll and other
994 libs) or will it behave like Sun's Java VM?
996 A: What you can do with mono is to load different applications in their own
997 application domain: this is a feature of the CLR that allows sandboxing
998 applications inside a single process space. This is usualy exploited to
999 compartmentalize different parts of the same app, but it can also be
1000 effectively used to reduce the startup and memory overhead.
1001 Using different appdomains the runtime representation of types and
1002 methods is shared across applications.
1004 <a name="extending"></a>
1007 Q: Would you allow other classes other than those in the
1010 A: Yes. The Microsoft class collection is very big, but it is by no
1011 means complete. It would be nice to have a port of `Camel' (the
1012 Mail API used by Evolution inspired by Java Mail) for Mono
1015 You might also want to look into implementing CORBA for Mono. Not
1016 only because it would be useful, but because it sounds like a fun
1017 thing to do, given the fact that the CLI is such a type rich
1020 For more information on extending Mono, see our <a
1021 href="ideas.html">ideas</a> page.
1023 Q: Do you plan to Embrace and Extend .NET?
1025 A: Embracing a good technology is good. Extending technologies in
1026 incompatible ways is bad for the users, so we do not plan on
1027 extending the technologies.
1029 If you have innovative ideas, and want to create new classes, we
1030 encourage you to make those classes operate correctly well in both
1033 Today Mono ships with a number of extra libraries that were
1034 developed either by members of the Mono community, or other
1037 Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
1039 A: Yes. Mono has been selfhosting since March 2002.
1041 Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
1042 and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
1043 their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
1046 A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
1049 <a name="portability"></a>
1052 Q: Will Mono only work on Linux?
1054 A: Currently, we are doing our work on Linux-based systems and
1055 Windows. We do not expect many Linux-isms in the code, so it
1056 should be easy to port Mono to other UNIX variants.
1058 Q: What about Mono on non Linux-based systems?
1060 A: Our main intention at Ximian is to be able to develop GNOME
1061 applications with Mono, but if you are interested in providing a
1062 port of the Winforms classes to other platforms (frame buffer or
1063 MacOS X for example), we would gladly integrate them, as long
1064 they are under an open source license.
1066 Q: What operating systems/CPUs do you support
1068 A: Mono currently runs on Linux, Windows, Solaris and FreeBSD.
1069 There is a JIT engine available for x86 processors that can
1070 generate code and optimizations tailored for a particular CPU.
1072 Interpreters exist for the SPARC, PowerPC and StrongARM CPUs.
1074 Q: Does Mono run on Windows?
1076 A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
1077 binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
1079 Q: Does Mono run on Linux?
1081 A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
1082 binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
1084 Q: Will I require Cygwin to run mono?
1086 A: No. Cygwin is only required to build Mono.
1088 Q: Will Mono depend on GNOME?
1090 A: It will depend only if you are using a particular assembly (for
1091 example, for doing GUI applications). If you are just interested
1092 in Mono for implementing a `Hello World Enterprise P2P Web
1093 Service', you will not need any GNOME components.
1095 Q: Is anyone working on porting Mono to IA-64?
1097 A: Nobody is working on such port.
1099 Q: If I were about to start a Mono port to IA-64,would the same lburg code
1100 generator work for IA-64 also? or anything else need to be used for code
1101 generation(as the processor architecture is totally different from IA32)
1103 A: The lburg approach can be use for any processor architecture. But you might
1104 think in another better approach.
1106 Q: Do you plan to port Rhino to C#?.
1108 A: Eto Demerzal has started a Rhino port to C#.
1110 Q: Has anyone succeeded in building a Mac version of the C# environment.
1111 If so can you explain how?
1113 A: You could try to check with the Darwin people, or the Fink people.
1114 Mono/C# is self hosting on Linux/PPC which is the hard part, so it
1115 should be relatively simple to get it to work on MacOS
1117 <a name="reuse"></a>
1118 ** Reusing Existing Code
1120 Q: What projects will you reuse or build upon?
1122 A: We want to get Mono in the hands of programmers soon. We are
1123 interested in reusing existing open source software.
1125 Q: What about Intel's research JIT framework, ORP?
1127 A: At this time, we are investigating whether we can use elements of
1128 ORP for Mono. ORP is a research JIT engine that has a clearly
1129 defined API that splits the JIT from the GC system and the actual
1130 byte code implementation.
1132 We are using some pieces of ORP (Their code generation interface)
1133 and we use it as a source of inspiration for optimizations. Paolo
1134 and Dietmar consider ORP as being one of the best JIT engines out
1135 there (and their research work and papers are very useful if you are
1136 interested in JIT technology).
1138 Q: What about using GNU Lightning?
1140 A: We are not using GNU Lightning. Our JIT is using an instruction
1141 selector based on tree-pattern matching, and a code generation
1142 interface that is very tied to the current architecture.
1144 Q: Will I be able to use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or will I need to switch
1145 to a specific Open Source Database. Will I need to recode?
1147 A: There should not be any need to recode.
1149 Q: What do I need to watch out for when programming in VB.NET so that I'm
1150 sure to be able to run those apps on Linux?
1152 A: Not making any PInvoke or DLL calls should and not using anything in
1153 the Microsoft.* namespaces should suffice. Also do not use any
1154 Methods/Classes marked as "This type/method supports the .NET Framework
1155 infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code."
1156 even if you know what these classes/methods do.
1158 Q: Will built-in reporting be supported for crystal reports? This is a
1159 heavily used part of our system.
1161 A: Probably not. Crystal Reports are propriety. Someone may try to emulate
1162 the behavior, but no-one has yet volunteered.
1164 Q: Who about writing to the registry? As I understand it, Linux does not have
1165 a counterpart to the registry. Should I avoid relying on that feature?
1167 A: Try to avoid it. Although there would be a emulation for registry in
1168 Mono too. GNOME does have a registry like mechanism for configuration. But
1169 Even if gnome has a configuration system similar to the registry, the keys
1170 will not be equal, so you will probably end up having to do some runtime
1171 detection, and depending on this load an assembly that has your
1172 platform-specific hacks.
1174 Q: System.Data.SqlClient with FreeTDS, will you port parts of these to C# and
1177 A: if their license is compatible with mono's, yes, we'd think about porting
1178 them. If not, we'll continue with the plan of using FreeTDS.
1183 Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#? A GCC back-end that will
1184 generate CIL images? What about making a front-end to GCC that
1185 takes CIL images and generates native code?
1187 A: We are currently seeking volunteers for those projects.
1188 Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section if
1191 Q: But would this work around the GPL in the GCC compiler and allow
1192 people to work on non-free front-ends?
1194 A: People can already do this by targeting the JVM byte codes (there
1195 are about 130 compilers for various languages that target the JVM).
1197 Q: Why are you writing a JIT engine instead of a front-end to GCC?
1199 A: We want the JIT engine and runtime engine because they will be able
1200 to execute CIL executables generated on Windows, and so no recompilation
1203 <a name="performance"></a>
1206 Q: How fast will Mono be?
1208 A: We can not predict the future, but a conservative estimate is that
1209 it would be at least `as fast as other JIT engines'.
1211 We would like to ship various JIT engines with Mono, just like
1212 Microsoft has done with their .NET development platform. We could
1213 provide a faster, JIT for fast load times but lower performance,
1214 and an and an optimizing JIT that would be slower at generating
1215 code but produce more optimal output.
1217 The CIL has some advantages over the Java byte code: it is really
1218 an intermediate representation and there are a number of
1219 restrictions on how you can emit CIL code that simplify creating
1222 For example, on the CIL, the stack is not really an abstraction
1223 available for the code generator to use at will. Rather, it is a
1224 way of creating a postfix representation of the parsed tree. At
1225 any given call point or return point, the contents of the stack are
1226 expected to contain the same object types independently of how the
1227 instruction was reached.
1229 <a name="licensing"></a>
1232 Q: Will I be able to write proprietary applications that run with
1235 A: Yes. The licensing scheme is planned to allow proprietary
1236 developers to write applications with Mono.
1238 Q: What license or licenses are you using for the Mono Project?
1240 A: The C# Compiler is released under the terms of the <a
1241 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.html">GNU GPL</a>. The runtime
1242 libraries are under the <a
1243 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-license.html">GNU
1244 Library GPL</a>. And the class libraries are released
1245 under the terms of the <a
1246 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html">MIT X11</a>
1249 The Mono runtime and the Mono C# Compiler are also available under
1250 a proprietary license for those who can not use the LGPL and the
1253 For licensing details, contact <a
1254 href="mailto:mono-licensing@ximian.com">mono-licensing@ximian.com</a>
1257 Q: I would like to contribute code to Mono under a particular
1258 license. What licenses will you accept?
1260 A: We will have to evaluate the licenses for compatibility first,
1261 but as a general rule, we will accept the code under the same
1262 terms of the "container" module.
1264 <a name="patents"></a>
1267 Q: Could patents be used to completely disable Mono (either submarine
1268 patents filed now, or changes made by Microsoft specifically to
1269 create patent problems)?
1271 A: First some background information.
1273 The .NET Framework is divided in two parts: the ECMA/ISO covered
1274 technologies and the other technologies developed on top of it like
1275 ADO.NET, ASP.NET and Windows.Forms.
1277 Mono implements the ECMA/ISO covered parts, as well as being a
1278 project that aims to implement the higher level blocks like
1279 ASP.NET, ADO.NET and Windows.Forms.
1281 The Mono project has gone beyond both of those components and has
1282 developed and integrated third party class libraries, the most
1283 important being: Debugging APIs, integration with the Gnome
1284 platform (Accessibility, Pango rendering, Gdk/Gtk, Glade, GnomeUI),
1285 Mozilla, OpenGL, extensive database support (Microsoft only
1286 supports a couple of providers out of the box, while Mono has
1287 support for 11 different providers), our POSIX integration
1288 libraries and finally the embedded API (used to add scripting to
1289 applications and host the CLI, or for example as an embedded
1292 The core of the .NET Framework, and what has been patented by
1293 Microsoft falls under the ECMA/ISO submission. Jim Miller at
1294 Microsoft has made a statement on the patents covering ISO/ECMA,
1295 (he is one of the inventors listed in the patent): <a
1296 href="https://mailserver.di.unipi.it/pipermail/dotnet-sscli/msg00218.html">here</a>.
1298 Basically a grant is given to anyone who want to implement those
1299 components for free and for any purpose.
1301 The controversial elements are the ASP.NET, ADO.NET and
1302 Windows.Forms subsets. Those are convenient for people who need
1303 full compatibility with the Windows platform, but are not required
1304 for the open source Mono platform, nor integration with today's
1305 Mono's rich support of Linux.
1307 The Mono strategy for dealing with these technologies is as
1308 follows: (1) work around the patent by using a different
1309 implementation techinque that retains the API, but changes the
1310 mechanism; if that is not possible, we would (2) remove the pieces
1311 of code that were covered by those patents, and also (3) find prior
1312 art that would render the patent useless.
1314 Not providing a patented capability would weaken the
1315 interoperability, but it would still provide the free software /
1316 open source software community with good development tools, which
1317 is the primary reason for developing Mono.
1319 The patents do not apply in countries where software patents are
1322 For Linux server and desktop development, we only need the ECMA
1323 components, and things that we have developed (like Gtk#) or Apache
1327 ** Miscellaneous Questions
1329 Q: You say that the CLI allows multiple languages to execute on the
1330 same environment. Isn't this the purpose of CORBA?
1332 A: The key difference between CORBA (and COM) and the CLI is that the
1333 CLI allows "data-level interoperability" because every
1334 language/component uses the same data layout and memory management.
1336 This means you can operate directly upon the data types that someone
1337 else provides, without having to go via their interfaces. It also
1338 means you don't have to "marshal" (convert) parameters (data
1339 layouts are the same, so you can just pass components directly) and
1340 you don't have to worry about memory management, because all
1341 languages/components share the same garbage collector and address
1342 space. This means much less copying and no need for reference
1345 Q: Will you support COM?
1347 A: The runtime will support XPCOM on Unix systems and COM on Windows.
1348 Most of the code for dynamic trampolines exists already.
1350 Q: Will Ximian offer certifications on Mono or related technologies?.
1352 A: It's possible. But there is no plan about this. So the short answer is no.
1354 Q: Are there any Boehm's GC binaries?
1356 A: Yes. You can find RPMs <a href="http://java.thn.htu.se/~toor/">here</a>, though
1357 if your distribution provides the correct packages, you should use those.
1358 The suggested version of the Boehm GC is 6.1.
1360 Q: How can I report a bug?
1362 A: The best thing is to track down the bug and provide a simple test to
1363 reproduce the bug. You can then add the bug to the
1364 <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bugtracking system</a>.
1366 Please provide information about what version of mono you're using
1367 and any relevant details to be able to reproduce the bug. Note that
1368 bugs reported on the mailing-list may be easily forgotten, so it's
1369 better to file them in the <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bug tracking system</a>.
1371 Q: Does mcs support the same command line options as the MS C#
1374 A: The Mono C# compiler now supports the same command line
1375 arguments as the Microsoft C# compiler does.
1377 Q: How about getting searchable archives on lists.ximian.com?
1379 A: You can perform a search on the mono-related mailing lists
1380 <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/mailing-lists.html">here</a>.
1382 Q: When using mono from cvs or from a snapshot, I get an error messaage
1383 saying that Mono and the runtime are out of sync. How do I fix that?
1385 A: If you use mono from cvs, you need to be prepared for changes in the
1386 runtime internals. This means that you should keep a working setup
1387 before blindling updating (a working setup may just be the last released
1388 tarball or a recent binary snapshot).
1389 Usually, compiling corlib with mcs before recompiling the C runtime does
1390 the right thing (but occasionally you may need to do it the other
1393 Q: Why are you going for a GtkHtml implementation?
1395 A: GtkHTML is just a lightweight HTML rendering engine that does not
1396 support CSS, so we need it to look decent for those of us that will
1397 be using the documentation in our day-to-day work on Linux. The
1398 Web-based interfaces lack the agility that you get from a native GUI
1399 tool to browse your documentation. Probably later on, we will write
1400 scripts and generate a full documentation set that is web-browsable,
1401 but we need a command-line and GUI tools that we can use natively on
1402 Linux when disconnected from the Web (and that has better
1403 interactions than a web page).
1405 Q: Is there a command-line tool that allows me to access .NET interactively?
1407 A: There are several but one that is free software and uses MCS is the one
1408 Dennis Lu from Rice University is working on; a REPL C# interpreter.
1410 Q: Is it possible to use Visual C++ with Mono?.
1412 A: It's possible to run VC++ generated apps under Mono, but we do not
1413 provide a Manager C++ compiler ourselves.
1415 <a name="problems"></a>
1416 ** Mono Common Problems
1418 If you are having problems compiling or running Mono software
1419 or if you think that you found a bug, etc. Please visit the
1420 <a href="http://geneura.ugr.es/~jaime/deploy/mono-common-problems.html">Mono Common Problems</a> document and try there.
1424 The FAQ contains material contributed by Miguel de Icaza, Jaime Anguiano, Lluis Sánchez.
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