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="#pnpproject">Mono and the Portable.NET Project</a><br>
7 <a href="#webservices">Web Services</a><br>
8 <a href="#asp">Mono and ASP.NET</a><br>
9 <a href="#ado">Mono and ADO.NET</a><br>
10 <a href="#monodoc">MonoDoc</a><br>
11 <a href="#devel">Development Tools and Issues</a><br>
12 <a href="#java">Mono and Java</a><br>
13 <a href="#extending">Extending Mono</a><br>
14 <a href="#portability">Portability</a><br>
15 <a href="#reuse">Reusing Existing Code</a><br>
16 <a href="#gcc">Mono and GCC</a><br>
17 <a href="#performance">Performance</a><br>
18 <a href="#licensing">Licensing</a><br>
19 <a href="#patents">Patents</a><br>
20 <a href="#etc">Miscellaneous Questions</a><br>
21 <a href="#problems">Mono Common Problems</a><br>
24 href="http://www.es.gnome.org/documentacion/articulos/mono-puf/mono-puf/">Spanish
25 translation</a> is also available
30 Q: What is Mono exactly?
32 A: The Mono Project is an open development initiative sponsored by
33 Ximian that is working to develop an open source, Unix
34 version of the Microsoft .NET development platform. Its objective
35 is to enable Unix developers to build and
36 deploy cross-platform .NET Applications. The project will
37 implement various technologies developed by Microsoft that have now
38 been submitted to the ECMA for standardization.
40 Q: What is the difference between Mono and the .NET Initiative?
42 A: The ".NET Initiative" is a somewhat nebulous company-wide effort by
43 Microsoft, one part of which is a cross-platform development
44 framework. Mono is an implementation of the development framework,
45 but not an implementation of anything else related to the .NET
46 Initiative, such as Passport, software-as-a-service, or
47 corporate re-branding.
49 Q: What technologies are included in Mono?
51 A: Mono contains a number of components useful for building new
55 * A Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) virtual
56 machine that contains a class loader, Just-in-time
57 compiler, and a garbage collecting runtime.
59 * A class library that can work with any language
60 which works on the CLR.
62 * A compiler for the C# language. In the future we
63 might work on other compilers that target the Common
68 Windows has compilers that target the virtual machine from <a
69 href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/thirdparty/default.asp#lang">a
70 number of languages:</a> Managed C++, Java Script, Eiffel,
71 Component Pascal, APL, Cobol, Perl, Python, Scheme,
72 Smalltalk, Standard ML, Haskell, Mercury and Oberon.
74 The CLR and the Common Type System (CTS) enables applications and
75 libraries to be written in a collection of different languages that
78 This means for example that if you define a class to do algebraic
79 manipulation in C#, that class can be reused from any other
80 language that supports the CLI. You could create a class in C#,
81 subclass it in C++ and instantiate it in an Eiffel program.
83 A single object system, threading system, class libraries, and
84 garbage collection system can be shared across all these languages.
86 Q: Where can I find the specification for these technologies?
88 A: You can find the information here:
91 C# <a href="http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-334.htm">http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-334.htm</a>
93 CLI <a href="http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-335.htm">http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-335.htm</a>
95 Q: Will you implement the .NET Framework SDK class libraries?
97 A: Yes, we will be implementing the APIs of the .NET Framework SDK
100 Q: Will you offer an ECMA-compliant set of class libraries?
102 A: Eventually we will. Our current focus is on inter-operating
103 with the Microsoft SDK, but we will also offer an ECMA compliant
106 Q: What does the name "Mono" mean?
108 A: Mono is the word for `monkey' in Spanish. We like monkeys.
112 A: The JIT engine is usable on Intel x86 machines. An interpreter
113 can be used on other non-Intel x86 machines.
115 The class libraries are mature enough to run some real applications
116 (the compiler for instance, and every day more and more applications
117 are natively developed with Mono).
119 Q: When will you ship it?
121 A: Different parts of Mono will achieve usability at different stages,
122 once we are comfortable with the compiler, we will release "Mono Core",
123 which contains everything needed to develop applications with the base
124 class libraries, this will happen soon and in the meantime you can
125 download daily snapshots of our work. Also the full ASP.NET support is
128 Other higher level class libraries (ASP.NET, ADO.NET, WinForms) will
129 be released when they become stable.
131 Q: What major components will you include in Mono?
133 A: Hopefully everything that Microsoft ships on their Framework
134 (ADO.NET, ASP.NET, WinForms), and we encourage third party developers to
135 create reusable components that work on both Mono and Windows.
137 Q: How can I contribute?
139 A: Check the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section.
141 Q: Aren't you just copying someone else's work?
143 A: We are interested in providing the best tools for programmers to
144 develop applications for Free Operating Systems. We also want to help
145 provide the interoperability that will allow those systems to fit in
146 with other standards.
148 For more background, read the <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/rationale.html">Mono
149 Project white paper</a>.
152 Q: Miguel said once that Mono was being implemented in COBOL. Is that true?.
154 A: No. It was a joke.
157 <a name="ximian"></a>
159 ** The Ximian Role in the Mono Project
161 Q: Why is Ximian working on .NET?
163 A: Ximian is interested in providing the best tools for programmers to
164 develop applications for Free Operating Systems.
166 For more information, read the project <a
167 href="rationale.html">rationale</a> page.
169 Q: Will Ximian be able to take on a project of this size?
171 A: Of course not. Ximian a supporter of the Mono project, but the only way
172 to implement something of this size is for the entire free software
173 community to get involved. Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a>
174 page if you'd like to help out.
176 Q: What pieces will Ximian be working on?
178 A: We will devote most of our resources to work on the pieces which are
179 on the critical path to release a development and execution
180 environment. Once the project is at a stage where it is useful in
181 the real world, it will achieve a critical mass of developers to
184 Q: Will Ximian offer Mono commercially?
186 A: When Mono is ready to be shipped Ximian will offer a commercial
187 support and services for Mono.
189 Q: Does Ximian provide consulting services around Mono?
191 A: Yes, Ximian does provide consulting services around Mono to
192 make it suitable to your needs. Porting the runtime engine,
193 customizing it, working on specific classes or tuning the code
194 for your particular needs.
196 Q: Will you wait until Mono is finished?
198 A: Mono will ship on various stages as they mature. Some people
199 require only a subset of the technologies, those will ship first.
201 More advanced features will take more time to develop. A support
202 time line will be available in June 2002.
207 Q: How is Mono related to GNOME?
209 A: In a number of ways. This project was born out of the need of
210 providing improved tools for the GNOME community, and will use
211 existing components that have been developed for GNOME when they
212 are available. For example, we plan to use Gtk+ and Libart to
213 implement Winforms and the Drawing2D API and are considering
216 Q: Has the GNOME Foundation or the GNOME team adopted Mono?
218 A: Mono is too new to be adopted by those groups. We hope that the
219 tools that we will provide will be adopted by free software
220 programmers including the GNOME Foundation members and the GNOME
223 Q: Should GNOME programmers switch over to Mono now?
225 A: It is still far to early for discussions of "switching over." No
226 pieces of Mono will be ready within the next six months, and a
227 complete implementation is roughly one year away.
229 We encourage GNOME developers to continue using the existing tools,
230 libraries and components. Improvements made to GNOME will have an
231 impact on Mono, as they would be the "back-end" for various classes.
233 Q: Will Mono include compatibility with Bonobo components? What is the
234 relationship between Mono and Bonobo?
236 A: Yes, we will provide a set of classes for implementing and using
237 Bonobo components from within Mono. Mono should allow you to write
238 Bonobo components more easily, just like .NET on Windows allows you
239 to export .NET components to COM.
241 Q: Does Mono depend on GNOME?
243 A: No, Mono does not depend on GNOME. We use a few packages produced by
244 the GNOME team like the `glib' library.
246 Q: But will I be able to build GNOME applications?
248 A: Yes, we will enable people to write GNOME applications using Mono.
250 Q: Do you have C# bindings for GNOME?.
252 A: Yes, we currently bind libgnome, libgnomecanvas, and libgnomeui --
253 although I dare say I have no idea how functional the bindings are
254 outside of what I tested in the sample app. I imagine other libraries
255 under the GNOME framework will be added on an as-needed (and as-requested)
256 basis...although a truly good bonobo binding will have to wait on the CORBA
257 remoting support which has been started recently.
262 Q: Will Mono enable GUI applications to be authored?
264 A: Yes, you will be able to build GUI applications. Indeed, that is our
265 main focus. We will provide both the Windows.Forms API and the Gtk# API.
267 Q: What is the difference between Gtk# and System.Windows.Forms?
269 A: Gtk# is a set of bindings for the Gtk+ toolkit for C# (and other
270 CIL-enabled languages). System.Windows.Forms is an API defined
271 by Microsoft to build GUI applications.
273 Q: Will I be able to run my smart clients on systems powered by Mono?
275 A: As long as your applications are 100% .NET and do not make use
276 of P/Invoke to call Win32 functions, your smart client applications
277 will run on Mono platforms.
279 Q: Where can I learn more about Gtk#?
281 A: The following <a href="http://gtk-sharp.sourceforge.net>link</a> sends you to the page of the project.
283 Q: What can I do with Gtk#?.
285 A: Gtk# is becoming very usable and you can create applications and
286 applets like those you see in a GNOME desktop environment. It's
287 easy to install so it's worth a try.
289 Q: How can I compile my HelloWorld.cs which uses Gtk#?.
291 A: Try: mcs --unsafe -o HelloWorld.exe -r glib-sharp -r pango-sharp -r
292 atk-sharp -r gdk-sharp -r gtk-sharp -r gdk-imaging-sharp
295 Q: Is there any way how to connect DataAdapter to some GTK# controls?
297 A: There is a sample file called `DbClient' in gtk-sharp/samples that you
298 might to look at. It is a sample program in Gtk# that adds/updates/deletes
299 information on a Postgress database. When we have the new table/tree widgets,
300 I am sure someone would write an adapter for System.Data (in Gtk2 the
301 tree/list widgets are written using a view/model, so you only need to write
302 a model that maps to the database). You can have a look at
303 gtk-sharp/sample/DbClient, where there is a GTK# application that uses
304 System.Data. It does not use DataAdapter, but DataReader though.
306 Q: Do you have an estimate for when Windows.Forms will be released?
308 A: We do not know, volunteers are working on this, but there is no set
309 date yet. The current approach is using the Wine Library to implement
313 ** Mono and Microsoft
315 Q: Is Microsoft helping Ximian with this project?
317 A: No. Ximian CTO Miguel de Icaza had a friendly conversation with
318 Microsoft software architect David Stutz, but that's about the
319 extent of the contact. Microsoft is interested in other
320 implementations of .NET and are willing to help make the ECMA spec
321 more accurate for this purpose.
323 Ximian representatives have also spoken with Sam Ruby at the ECMA
324 TG3 committee to discuss the same issues.
326 Q: Is Microsoft or Corel paying Ximian to do this?
330 Q: Do you fear that Microsoft will change the spec and render Mono
333 A: No. Microsoft proved with the CLI and the C# language that it was
334 possible to create a powerful foundation for many languages to
335 inter-operate. We will always have that.
337 Even if changes happened in the platform which were undocumented,
338 the existing platform would a value on its own.
340 Q: Are you writing Mono from the ECMA specs?
342 A: Yes, we are writing them from the ECMA specs and the published
343 materials in print about .NET.
345 Q: If my applications use Mono, will I have to pay a service fee?
347 A: No. Mono is not related to Microsoft's initiative of
348 software-as-a-service.
350 Q: Is the Mono Project is related to the Microsoft Hailstorm effort? Is
351 Ximian endorsing Hailstorm?
353 A: No. The Mono Project is focused on providing a compatible set of
354 tools for the Microsoft .NET development platform. It does not
355 address, require, or otherwise endorse the MS Passport-based
356 Hailstorm single sign-on system that is part of Windows XP and
359 Q: Will Mono or .NET applications depend on Microsoft Passport?
361 A: No. MS Passport is unrelated to running .NET compatible applications
362 produced with the Mono tools. The only thing you will need is a
363 just-in-time compiler (JIT).
365 Q: What is a 100% .NET application?
367 A: A `100% .NET application' is one that only uses the APIs defined
368 under the System namespace and does not use PInvoke. These
369 applications would in theory run unmodified on Windows, Linux,
370 HP-UX, Solaris, MacOS X and others.
372 Q: If Microsoft will release a port of their .NET platform under the
373 `Shared Source' license, why should I bother with anything else?
375 A: The Shared Source implementation will be expensive and its uses
376 will be tightly restricted, especially for commercial use. We are
377 working towards an implementation that will grant a number of
378 important rights to recipients: use for any purpose,
379 redistribution, modification, and redistribution of modifications.
381 This is what we call <a
382 href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software</a>
384 Q: Is Mono a free implementation of Passport?
386 A: No. Mono is just a runtime, a compiler and a set of class
389 Q: Will the System.Web.Security.PassportIdentity class mean
390 that my software will depend on Passport?
392 A: No. Applications may use that API to contact a Passport site, but
393 are not required to do so.
395 As long as your application does not use Passport, you will not
398 Q: Will Mono running on Linux make Passport available for Linux?
400 A: No. However, the Passport toolkit for Linux-based web servers is
401 available from Microsoft.
403 Q: Will Mono allow me to run Microsoft Office on Linux?
405 A: No, it will not. Microsoft Office is a Windows application. To
406 learn more about running Windows applications on Intel Unix systems
407 refer to <a href="http://www.winehq.com">the Wine Project</a>.
409 Q: Will I be able to compile a Microsoft VB.NET application and execute
410 the resultant MSIL file under MONO on Linux without converting to C#
413 A: Once we have a complete VisualBasic runtime, yes.
415 Q: Can mono run the WebMatrix?
417 A: No. That requires System.Windows.Forms support which is not
418 currently implemented.
420 Q: Does mono have something like Passport?
421 Will mono have a server side Passport/Similar framework for XSP as well as client classes?
423 A: Not yet, but the client side API for authentication is not the problem.
424 We will likely have a lot of other authentication APIs, like the Liberty
425 Alliance APIs. The problem is people on the web provider end that might use
426 this for authentication.
428 <a name="pnpproject"></a>
429 ** Mono and Portable.NET
431 Q: What are the differences between Mono and Portable.NET?
433 A: Most of Mono is being written using C#, with only
434 a few parts written in C (The JIT engine, the runtime, the
435 interfaces to the garbage collection system).
437 It is easier to describe what is unique about Mono:
439 <li> A self-hosting C# compiler written in C#, which is clean, easy
442 <li> A multi-platform runtime engine: both a JIT engine and an
443 interpreter exist. The JIT engine runs currently on x86
444 systems, while the interpreter works on SPARC, StrongARM and
447 <li> Supports Linux, Windows and Solaris at this point.
449 <li> The JIT engine is written using a portable instruction
450 selector which not only generates good code (we are told
451 that we are faster than Rotor, but it is hard to tell) but
452 is also the foundation to re-target the JIT engine to other
455 The system employed is described in various compiler
456 books and it is very similar to what is described in the
457 book that covers LCC, the ANSI C retargetable C compiler.
459 <li> The JIT engine supports in-lining, constant folding and propagation,
461 <li> Full support for remoting in the runtime, but the class
462 libraries are still behind.
464 <li> The C# compiler, the JIT engine and the class libraries are
465 mature enough that the whole system is self-hosting. This means that
466 we develop Mono completely with itself at this point.
468 <li> We are not yet done, and there is a lot of work left to be
471 <li> We have a great community of developers, without which Mono
472 would not be possible.
474 <li> We will provide an ahead of time compilation mode in the
478 <a name="webservices"></a>
481 Q: How is Mono related to Web Services?
483 A: Mono is only related to Web Services in that it will implement the
484 same set of classes that have been authored in the .NET Framework
485 to simplify and streamline the process of building Web Services.
487 But most importantly, Mono is an Open Source implementation of the
490 Q: Can I author Web Services with Mono?
492 A: You will be able to write Web Services on .NET that run on Mono and
495 Q: If Mono implements the SDK classes, will I be able to write and
496 execute .NET Web Services with it?
498 A: Yes. When the project is finished, you will be able to use the
499 same technologies that are available through the .NET Framework SDK
500 on Windows to write Web Services.
502 Q: What about Soup? Can I use Soup without Mono?
504 A: Soup is a library for GNOME applications to create SOAP servers and
505 SOAP clients, and can be used without Mono. You can browse the
506 source code for soup using <a
507 href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">GNOME's Bonsai</a>.
511 A: Yes. The CLI contains enough information about a class that
512 exposing it to other RPC systems (like CORBA) is really simple, and
513 does not even require support from an object.
515 We will be implementing CORBA inter-operation as an extension to the
516 Mono classes so that we can integrate with Bonobo, just like
517 Microsoft provides COM inter-operation classes and support
520 Q: Can I serialize my objects to other things other than XML?
522 A: Yes, although the serializing tools have not yet been planned, and
523 you would probably have to implement them yourself.
525 Q: Will Mono use ORBit?
527 A: No. Mono will be using a new implementation of CORBA that isn't still started.
529 <a name="monodoc"></a>
534 A: MonoDoc is a graphical documentation editor and viewer. Currently, MonoDoc
535 consists of a Gtk# application and is in heavy development. There is also a
540 ** Development Tools and Issues
542 Q: Will it be possible to use the CLI features without using byte codes
545 A: Yes. The CLI engine will be made available as a shared library.
546 The garbage collection engine, the threading abstraction, the
547 object system, the dynamic type code system and the JIT will be
548 available for C developers to integrate with their applications if
551 Q: Will you have new development tools?
553 A: With any luck, Free Software enthusiasts will contribute tools to
554 improve the developer environment. These tools could be developed
555 initially using the Microsoft implementation of the CLI and then
556 executed later with Mono.
558 Q: What kind of rules make the Common Intermediate Language useful for
561 A: The main rule is that the stack in the CLI is not a general purpose
562 stack. You are not allowed to use it for other purposes than
563 computing values and passing arguments to functions or return
566 At any given call or return instruction, the types on the stack
567 have to be the same independently of the flow of execution of your
570 Q: Is it true that the CIL is ideal for JITing and not efficient for
573 A: The CIL is better suited to be JITed than JVM byte codes, but you
574 can interpret them as trivially as you can interpret JVM byte
577 Q: Isn't it a little bit confusing to have the name of "XSP" (the same
578 as in the Apache Project) for the ASP.NET support in Mono?.
580 A: In Mono, xsp is just the name of the C# code generator for ASP.NET
581 pages. In the Apache Project, it is a term for the "eXtensible Server
582 Pages" technology so as they are very different things, they don't
585 Q: What about using something like Jabber instead of the System.Messaging
588 A: In short, MSMQ is not something like Jabber, but asynchronous messaging
589 through queues. Useful queues do more than serialize messages, they are
590 also platform bridges.
592 Q: Are you supporting XMLDocument and relatives?.
594 A: Currently, we aren't implementing them yet. It would require updates to
595 most of the XmlNode derivatives so it's not a trivial task. We are
596 currently focusing on getting XPath support working.
598 Q: Is there any plan to develop an aspx server for Mono?.
600 A: The web server turned out to be very simple compared to the rest of the
601 work. Gonzalo has got the page generator mostly done (a module called
602 xsp, who has nothing to do with the XSP term used in the Apache Project).
603 Patrik has done a lot of the work to get the ProcessRequest to work.
604 You can try to help in the final touches to the System.Web classes and
605 writing regression tests for the widgets we have.
607 Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
609 A: Yes. Some class libraries can be developed on Linux. Search for
610 Paolo's post (he lists which classes can be compiled fine now).
612 Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
613 and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
614 their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
617 A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
619 Q: How should I write tests or a tests suite?
621 A: If you do a test suite for C#, you might want to keep it
622 independent of the Mono C# compiler, so that other compiler
623 implementations can later use it.
625 Q: Would it be too terrible to have another corlib signed as mscorlib?
627 A: We rename corlib to mscorlib also when saving the PE files, in fact,
628 the runtime can execute program created by mono just fine.
630 Q: Is there a relatively straightforward way to repeat the steps taken
631 by Paolo to get Mono completely self-hosted on Linux?
633 A: To build the compiler and class libraries in Linux, run:
634 <ul><li>make -f makefile.gnu. To install them, run: </li>
635 <li>make -f makefile.gnu install prefix=/opt/mono</li>
638 If you want to produce and distribute a monocharge tarball, run:
639 make -f makefile.gnu dist
640 Of course you have to run these in the top level mcs directory.
642 Q: Is it possible to build a C# file to some sort of intermediate format which
643 can linked into a final module, like the traditional .c -> .o -> .so path?
645 A: You could do: mcs /target:module file1.cs, mcs /target:module file2.cs,
646 mcs /target:exe file1.dll file2.dll /out:mybin.exe
648 Q: Is there any plans for implementing remoting in the near future?, When will
649 work in System.Runtime.Remoting.dll start?
651 A: The remoting infrastructure is in place. Some of the channels and
654 Q: I'm wondering if there are any plans to start using nant to build the
655 class lib + test lib. i think that every project need/should use an
656 automated build process and nant + a couple of tools enables this. is
657 the problem that the compiler can't run nant yet?
659 A: Maybe well be doing some sort of automated build process + testing when
665 Q: Is Mono supporting ASP.NET?
667 A: Yes. The development of the support for ASP.NET comes in various stages,
668 here is what Gonzalo has been working on: 1. The Parser. 2. Getting the
669 parser to generate output compatible with ASP.NET. 3. Running the sample
670 output with the real Microsoft runtime but using our generated page. 4.
671 Running the sample with our classes with the .NET runtime. 5. Running
672 our sample code with our classes with our runtime. This is the process
673 we are following. Currently Gonzalo has reached point 5.
675 Q: Do I need install cygwin to work on ASP.NET in mono or Linux is enough since
676 it is self host right now.
680 Q: Any plan to make ASP.NET in mono works with Apache in Linux?.
682 A: Yes, we have plans to do so, but we need to wait for Patrik's patches to
683 HttpRuntime. Once that is there, writing a mod_mono should be trivial
684 (look at mono/samples/embed for a sample embedded application).
689 Q: What is the status of ADO.NET support?. Could I start migrating
690 applications from MS.NET to Mono?.
692 A: You could start right now using the ADO.NET support in mono, of course,
693 if you want to help filling the missing gaps while you develop your app
694 :-) Well, what I mean is that we're not that far to having full ADO.NET
695 support in Mono, and we've got a lot of working things, so if we could
696 get more help, we'd finish it really soon :-)
698 Q: In developing the data architecture for the application are there and
699 objects I should stay away from in order to insure the smoothest possible
700 transition (minimum code rewrite) to Mono's ADO.NET implementation? (For
701 example, strongly typed datasets versus untyped datasets, etc...)
703 A: We are implementing all the classes in Microsoft .NET's System.Data, so
704 you can be sure that things will work the same in Mono as with the Microsoft
710 Q: Why don't you use Java? After all, there are many languages that
713 A: You can get very good tools for doing Java development on free
714 systems right now. <a href="http://www.redhat.com">Red Hat</a> has
715 contributed a <a href="http://gcc.gnu.org">GCC</a> <a
716 href="http://gcc.gnu.org/java">front-end for Java</a> that can take
717 Java sources or Java byte codes and generate native executables; <a
718 href="http://www.transvirtual.com">Transvirtual</a> has implemented
719 <a href="http://www.kaffe.org">Kaffe</a> a JIT engine for Java;
720 Intel also has a Java VM called <a
721 href="http://www.intel.com/research/mrl/orp">ORP</a>.
723 The JVM is not designed to be a general purpose virtual machine.
724 The Common Intermediate Language (CIL), on the other hand, is
725 designed to be a target for a
726 wide variety of programming languages, and has a set of rules
727 designed to be optimal for JITers.
729 Q: Could Java target the CLI?
731 A: Yes, Java could target the CLI. We have details on a <a
732 href="ideas.html#guavac">project</a> that someone could take on to
735 Microsoft has an implementation of the Java language called J# that
736 can target the CIL execution engine.
738 Q: Is it possible to write a JVM byte code to CIL converter?
740 A: Yes, it is possible. Here are a few starting point:
743 * A byte code representation is really a flattened forest of
744 trees. Look at the Mono JIT engine to see how we compute
745 the basic blocks (this is used to figure out the "trees").
747 The forest is just an array of trees.
749 Indeed, run the JIT engine with -d (mono -d prog.exe) and
750 you will see how these trees look like.
752 You will have to do something similar for Java.
754 * Each "forest of trees" has a meaning. This meaning can now
755 be translated into the equivalent "meaning" in CLR-land.
758 Q: Could mono become a hybrid CIL/java platform?
760 A: No. It is quite far from the philosophy of the project. The idea of Mono
761 is, to have only _one_ VM, on which all can run. And if there existing a
762 binary-converter from Java-.class to IL and if there existing something
763 like J-Sharp on Mono, you can write programs in Java, which than can run
764 on Mono. You do not need two bindings (like your example: GTK-Sharp _and_
765 Java-Gnome). You need only _one_ of it (GTK-Sharp). Thats the idea of Mono.
766 An other point is, that there are no people, who use Open Source-JVMs. They
767 all prefer Suns original. But for Unix there don't exist a .NET-Framework.
768 So it is possible, that in the future Mono is the standard .NET for Unixes.
770 Q: Do you plan to implement a Javascript compiler?
772 A: Yes. Eto Demerzal has started a Rhino port to C#.
773 After this is completed, we will begin developing
774 the JavaScript compiler.
776 <a name="extending"></a>
779 Q: Would you allow other classes other than those in the
782 A: Yes. The Microsoft class collection is very big, but it is by no
783 means complete. It would be nice to have a port of `Camel' (the
784 Mail API used by Evolution inspired by Java Mail) for Mono
787 You might also want to look into implementing CORBA for Mono. Not
788 only because it would be useful, but because it sounds like a fun
789 thing to do, given the fact that the CLI is such a type rich
792 For more information on extending Mono, see our <a
793 href="ideas.html">ideas</a> page.
795 Q: Do you plan to Embrace and Extend .NET?
797 A: Embracing a good technology is good. Extending technologies in
798 incompatible ways is bad for the users, so we do not plan on
799 extending the technologies.
801 If you have innovative ideas, and want to create new classes, we
802 encourage you to make those classes operate correctly well in both
805 Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
807 A: Yes. Some class libraries can be developed on Linux. Search for
808 Paolo's post (he lists which classes can be compiled fine now).
810 Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
811 and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
812 their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
815 A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
818 <a name="portability"></a>
821 Q: Will Mono only work on Linux?
823 A: Currently, we are doing our work on Linux-based systems and
824 Windows. We do not expect many Linux-isms in the code, so it
825 should be easy to port Mono to other UNIX variants.
827 Q: What about Mono on non Linux-based systems?
829 A: Our main intention at Ximian is to be able to develop GNOME
830 applications with Mono, but if you are interested in providing a
831 port of the Winforms classes to other platforms (frame buffer or
832 MacOS X for example), we would gladly integrate them, as long
833 they are under an open source license.
835 Q: What operating systems/CPUs do you support
837 A: Mono currently runs on Linux, Windows, Solaris and FreeBSD.
838 There is a JIT engine available for x86 processors that can
839 generate code and optimizations tailored for a particular CPU.
841 Interpreters exist for the SPARC, PowerPC and StrongARM CPUs.
843 Q: Does Mono run on Windows?
845 A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
846 binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
848 Q: Does Mono run on Linux?
850 A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
851 binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
853 Q: Will I require Cygwin to run mono?
855 A: No. Cygwin is only required to build Mono.
857 Q: Will Mono depend on GNOME?
859 A: It will depend only if you are using a particular assembly (for
860 example, for doing GUI applications). If you are just interested
861 in Mono for implementing a `Hello World Enterprise P2P Web
862 Service', you will not need any GNOME components.
864 Q: Is anyone working on porting Mono to IA-64?
866 A: Nobody is working on such port.
868 Q: If I were about to start a Mono port to IA-64,would the same lburg code
869 generator work for IA-64 also? or anything else need to be used for code
870 generation(as the processor architecture is totally different from IA32)
872 A: The lburg approach can be use for any processor architecture. But you might
873 think in another better approach.
875 Q: Do you plan to port Rhino to C#?.
877 A: Eto Demerzal has started a Rhino port to C#.
879 Q: Has anyone succeeded in building a Mac version of the C# environment.
880 If so can you explain how?
882 A: You could try to check with the Darwin people, or the Fink people.
883 Mono/C# is self hosting on Linux/PPC which is the hard part, so it
884 should be relatively simple to get it to work on MacOS
887 ** Reusing Existing Code
889 Q: What projects will you reuse or build upon?
891 A: We want to get Mono in the hands of programmers soon. We are
892 interested in reusing existing open source software.
894 Q: What about Intel's research JIT framework, ORP?
896 A: At this time, we are investigating whether we can use elements of
897 ORP for Mono. ORP is a research JIT engine that has a clearly
898 defined API that splits the JIT from the GC system and the actual
899 byte code implementation.
901 We are using some pieces of ORP (Their code generation interface)
902 and we use it as a source of inspiration for optimizations. Paolo
903 and Dietmar consider ORP as being one of the best JIT engines out
904 there (and their research work and papers are very useful if you are
905 interested in JIT technology).
907 Q: What about using GNU Lightning?
909 A: We are not using GNU Lightning. Our JIT is using an instruction
910 selector based on tree-pattern matching, and a code generation
911 interface that is very tied to the current architecture.
913 Q: Will I be able to use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or will I need to switch
914 to a specific Open Source Database. Will I need to recode?
916 A: There should not be any need to recode.
918 Q: What do I need to watch out for when programming in VB.NET so that I'm
919 sure to be able to run those apps on Linux?
921 A: Not making any PInvoke or DLL calls should and not using anything in
922 the Microsoft.* namespaces should suffice. Also do not use any
923 Methods/Classes marked as "This type/method supports the .NET Framework
924 infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code."
925 even if you know what these classes/methods do.
927 Q: Will built-in reporting be supported for crystal reports? This is a
928 heavily used part of our system.
930 A: Probably not. Crystal Reports are propriety. Someone may try to emulate
931 the behavior, but no-one has yet volunteered.
933 Q: Who about writing to the registry? As I understand it, Linux does not have
934 a counterpart to the registry. Should I avoid relying on that feature?
936 A: Try to avoid it. Although there would be a emulation for registry in
937 Mono too. GNOME does have a registry like mechanism for configuration. But
938 Even if gnome has a configuration system similar to the registry, the keys
939 will not be equal, so you will probably end up having to do some runtime
940 detection, and depending on this load an assembly that has your
941 platform-specific hacks.
943 Q: System.Data.SqlClient with FreeTDS, will you port parts of these to C# and
946 A: if their license is compatible with mono's, yes, we'd think about porting
947 them. If not, we'll continue with the plan of using FreeTDS.
952 Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#? A GCC back-end that will
953 generate CIL images? What about making a front-end to GCC that
954 takes CIL images and generates native code?
956 A: We are currently seeking volunteers for those projects.
957 Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section if
960 Q: But would this work around the GPL in the GCC compiler and allow
961 people to work on non-free front-ends?
963 A: People can already do this by targeting the JVM byte codes (there
964 are about 130 compilers for various languages that target the JVM).
966 Q: Why are you writing a JIT engine instead of a front-end to GCC?
968 A: We want the JIT engine and runtime engine because they will be able
969 to execute CIL executables generated on Windows, and so no recompilation
972 <a name="performance"></a>
975 Q: How fast will Mono be?
977 A: We can not predict the future, but a conservative estimate is that
978 it would be at least `as fast as other JIT engines'.
980 We would like to ship various JIT engines with Mono, just like
981 Microsoft has done with their .NET development platform. We could
982 provide a faster, JIT for fast load times but lower performance,
983 and an and an optimizing JIT that would be slower at generating
984 code but produce more optimal output.
986 The CIL has some advantages over the Java byte code: it is really
987 an intermediate representation and there are a number of
988 restrictions on how you can emit CIL code that simplify creating
991 For example, on the CIL, the stack is not really an abstraction
992 available for the code generator to use at will. Rather, it is a
993 way of creating a postfix representation of the parsed tree. At
994 any given call point or return point, the contents of the stack are
995 expected to contain the same object types independently of how the
996 instruction was reached.
998 <a name="licensing"></a>
1001 Q: Will I be able to write proprietary applications that run with
1004 A: Yes. The licensing scheme is planned to allow proprietary
1005 developers to write applications with Mono.
1007 Q: What license or licenses are you using for the Mono Project?
1009 A: The C# Compiler is released under the terms of the <a
1010 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.html">GNU GPL</a>. The runtime
1011 libraries are under the <a
1012 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-license.html">GNU
1013 Library GPL</a>. And the class libraries are released
1014 under the terms of the <a
1015 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html">MIT X11</a>
1018 The Mono runtime and the Mono C# Compiler are also available under
1019 a proprietary license for those who can not use the LGPL and the
1022 For licensing details, contact <a
1023 href="mailto:mono-licensing@ximian.com">mono-licensing@ximian.com</a>
1026 Q: I would like to contribute code to Mono under a particular
1027 license. What licenses will you accept?
1029 A: We will have to evaluate the licenses for compatibility first,
1030 but as a general rule, we will accept the code under the same
1031 terms of the "container" module.
1036 <a name="patents"></a>
1039 Q: Could patents be used to completely disable Mono (either submarine
1040 patents filed now, or changes made by Microsoft specifically to
1041 create patent problems)?
1043 A: No. First, its basic functional capabilities have pre-existed too
1044 long to be held up by patents. The basic components of Mono are
1045 technologically equivalent to Sun's Java technology, which has been
1048 Mono will also implement multi-language and
1049 multi-architecture support, but there are previous technologies
1050 such as UCSD p-code and ANDF that also support multiple languages
1051 using a common intermediate language. The libraries are similar
1052 to other language's libraries, so again, they're too similar to
1053 be patentable in large measure.
1055 However, if Microsoft does patent some technology, then our plan is
1056 to either (1) work around it, (2) chop out patented pieces, (3)
1057 find prior art that would render the patent useless.
1059 Not providing a patented capability would weaken the
1060 interoperability, but it would still provide the free software /
1061 open source software community with good development tools, which
1062 is the primary reason for developing Mono.
1065 ** Miscellaneous Questions
1067 Q: You say that the CLI allows multiple languages to execute on the
1068 same environment. Isn't this the purpose of CORBA?
1070 A: The key difference between CORBA (and COM) and the CLI is that the
1071 CLI allows "data-level interoperability" because every
1072 language/component uses the same data layout and memory management.
1074 This means you can operate directly upon the data types that someone
1075 else provides, without having to go via their interfaces. It also
1076 means you don't have to "marshal" (convert) parameters (data
1077 layouts are the same, so you can just pass components directly) and
1078 you don't have to worry about memory management, because all
1079 languages/components share the same garbage collector and address
1080 space. This means much less copying and no need for reference
1083 Q: Will you support COM?
1085 A: The runtime will support XPCOM on Unix systems and COM on Windows.
1086 Most of the code for dynamic trampolines exists already.
1088 Q: Will Ximian offer certifications on Mono or related technologies?.
1090 A: It's possible. But there is no plan about this. So the short answer is no.
1092 Q: Are there any Boehm's GC binaries?
1094 A: Yes. You can find RPMs <a href="http://java.thn.htu.se/~toor/">here</a>, though
1095 if your distribution provides the correct packages, you should use those.
1096 The suggested version of the Boehm GC is 6.1.
1098 Q: How can I report a bug?
1100 A: The best thing is to track down the bug and provide a simple test to
1101 reproduce the bug. You can then add the bug to the
1102 <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bugtracking system</a>.
1104 Please provide information about what version of mono you're using
1105 and any relevant details to be able to reproduce the bug. Note that
1106 bugs reported on the mailing-list may be easily forgotten, so it's
1107 better to file them in the <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bug tracking system</a>.
1109 Q: Does mcs support the same command line options as the MS C#
1112 A: The Mono C# compiler now supports the same command line
1113 arguments as the Microsoft C# compiler does.
1115 Q: How about getting searchable archives on lists.ximian.com?
1117 A: You can perform a search on the mono-related mailing lists
1118 <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/mailing-lists.html">here</a>.
1120 Q: When using mono from cvs or from a snapshot, I get an error messaage
1121 saying that Mono and the runtime are out of sync. How do I fix that?
1123 A: If you use mono from cvs, you need to be prepared for changes in the
1124 runtime internals. This means that you should keep a working setup
1125 before blindling updating (a working setup may just be the last released
1126 tarball or a recent binary snapshot).
1127 Usually, compiling corlib with mcs before recompiling the C runtime does
1128 the right thing (but occasionally you may need to do it the other
1131 Q: Why are you going for a GtkHtml implementation?
1133 A: GtkHTML is just a lightweight HTML rendering engine that does not
1134 support CSS, so we need it to look decent for those of us that will
1135 be using the documentation in our day-to-day work on Linux. The
1136 Web-based interfaces lack the agility that you get from a native GUI
1137 tool to browse your documentation. Probably later on, we will write
1138 scripts and generate a full documentation set that is web-browsable,
1139 but we need a command-line and GUI tools that we can use natively on
1140 Linux when disconnected from the Web (and that has better
1141 interactions than a web page).
1143 <a name="problems"></a>
1144 ** Mono Common Problems
1146 If you are having problems compiling or running Mono software
1147 or if you think that you found a bug, etc. Please visit the
1148 <a href="http://geneura.ugr.es/~jaime/deploy/mono-common-problems.html">Mono Common Problems</a> document and try there.