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: If Microsoft will release a port of their .NET platform under the
405 `Shared Source' license, why should I bother with anything else?
407 A: The Shared Source implementation will be expensive and its uses
408 will be tightly restricted, especially for commercial use. We are
409 working towards an implementation that will grant a number of
410 important rights to recipients: use for any purpose,
411 redistribution, modification, and redistribution of modifications.
413 This is what we call <a
414 href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software</a>
416 Q: Is Mono a free implementation of Passport?
418 A: No. Mono is just a runtime, a compiler and a set of class
421 Q: Will the System.Web.Security.PassportIdentity class mean
422 that my software will depend on Passport?
424 A: No. Applications may use that API to contact a Passport site, but
425 are not required to do so.
427 As long as your application does not use Passport, you will not
430 Q: Will Mono running on Linux make Passport available for Linux?
432 A: No. However, the Passport toolkit for Linux-based web servers is
433 available from Microsoft.
435 Q: Will Mono allow me to run Microsoft Office on Linux?
437 A: No, it will not. Microsoft Office is a Windows application. To
438 learn more about running Windows applications on Intel Unix systems
439 refer to <a href="http://www.winehq.com">the Wine Project</a>.
441 Q: Can mono run the WebMatrix?
443 A: No. That requires System.Windows.Forms support which is not
444 currently implemented.
446 Q: Does mono have something like Passport?
447 Will mono have a server side Passport/Similar framework for XSP as well as client classes?
449 A: Not yet, but the client side API for authentication is not the problem.
450 We will likely have a lot of other authentication APIs, like the Liberty
451 Alliance APIs. The problem is people on the web provider end that might use
452 this for authentication.
454 <a name="platforms"></a>
457 Q: What operating systems does Mono run on?
459 A: Mono is known to run on Linux, Unix and Windows systems.
461 Q: What architectures does Mono support?
463 A: Mono today ships with a Just-in-Time compiler for x86-based
464 systems. It is tested regularly on Linux, FreeBSD and Windows
465 (with the XP/NT core).
467 There is also an interpreter, which is slower that runs on the
468 s390, SPARC and PowerPC architectures.
470 Q: Can Mono run on Windows 9x, or ME editions?
472 A: Mono requires Unicode versions of Win32 APIs to run,
473 and only a handful of *W functions is supported under Win9x.
475 There is Microsoft Layer for Unicode that provides implementation
476 of these APIs on 9x systems.
478 Unfortunately it uses linker trick for delayed load that is not
479 supported by ld, so some sort of adapter is necessary.
481 You will need MSLU and one of the following libs to link Mono to
483 href="http://mono.eurosoft.od.ua/files/unimono.zip">http://mono.eurosoft.od.ua/files/unimono.zip</a>
484 or alternatively search the net for "libunicows".
486 No changes to Mono source code required, the only thing is to make
487 sure that linker will resolve imports to adapter library instead of
488 Win32 libs. This is achieved by inserting -lunimono before
489 -lkerner32/user32 in the linker's specs file.
491 <a name="compatibility"></a>
494 Q: Can Mono run applications developed with the Microsoft.NET framework?
496 A: Yes, Mono can run applications developed with the Microsoft .NET Framework
497 on Unix. There are a few caveats to keep in mind: Mono has not
498 been completed yet, so a few API calls might be missing; And in
499 some cases the Mono behavior *might* be incorrect.
501 Q: Will missing API entry points be implemented?
503 A: Yes, the goal of Mono is to implement precisely the .NET Framework
504 API (as well as compile-time selectable subsets, for those
505 interested in a lighter version of Mono).
507 Q: If the behavior of an API call is different, will you fix it?
509 A: Yes, we will. But we will need your assistance for this. If you find a bug
510 in the Mono implementation, please fill a bug report in <a
511 href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com">http://bugzilla.ximian.com</a>.
512 Do not assume we know about the problem, we might not, and using the bug tracking
513 system helps us organize the development process.
515 Q: Can I develop my applications on Windows, and deploy on a supported
516 Mono platform (like Linux)?
520 As of today, Mono is not 100% finished, so it is sometimes useful
521 to compile the code with Mono, to find out if your application
522 depends on unimplemented functionality.
524 Q: Will applications run out the box with Mono?
526 A: Sometimes they will. But sometimes a .NET application might invoke
527 Win32 API calls, or assume certain patterns that are not correct
528 for cross-platform applications.
530 Q: What is a 100% .NET application?
532 A: A `100% .NET application' is one that only uses the APIs defined
533 under the System namespace and does not use P/Invoke. These
534 applications would in theory run unmodified on Windows, Linux,
535 HP-UX, Solaris, MacOS X and others.
537 Note that this requirement also holds for all assemblies used by the
538 application. If one of them is Windows-specific, then the entire program
539 is not a 100% .NET application.
541 Furthermore, a 100% .NET application must not contain non-standard data
542 streams in the assembly. For example, Visual Studio .NET will insert a
543 <tt>#-</tt> stream into assemblies built under the "Debug" target.
544 This stream contains debugging information for use by Visual Studio .NET;
545 however, this stream can not be interpreted by Mono (unless you're willing
548 Thus, it is recommended that all Visual Studio .NET-compiled code be
549 compiled under the Release target before it is executed under Mono.
551 Q: Can I execute my Visual Studio .NET program (Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#,
552 Managed Extensions for C++, etc.) under Mono?
554 A: Yes, with some reservations.
556 The .NET program must either be a 100% .NET application, or (somehow) have
557 all dependent assemblies available on all desired platforms. (How to do so
558 is outside the bounds of this FAQ.)
560 For example, since Mono's System.Windows.Forms implementation will use
561 Wine, System.Windows.Forms is only as portable as Wine is. It's possible
562 that Mono may run on a platform, but Wine will not, in which case a
563 System.Windows.Forms app will not run on that platform. This is similarly
564 true for all assemblies that are not 100% managed code.
566 Mono must also have an implementation for the .NET assemblies used. For
567 example the System.EnterpriseServices namespace is part of .NET, but it
568 has not been implemented in Mono. Thus, any applications using this
569 namespace will not run under Mono.
571 With regards to languages, C# applications tend to be most portable.
573 Visual Basic .NET applications are portable, but Mono's
574 Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll implementation is incomplete. It is recommended
575 to either avoid using this assembly in your own code, only use the
576 portions that Mono has implemented, or to help implement the missing
577 features. Additionally, you can set 'Option Strict On', which
578 eliminates the implicit calls to the unimplemented
579 Microsoft.VisualBasic.CompilerServices.ObjectType class.
580 (Thanks to Jörg Rosenkranz.)
582 Managed Extensions for C++ is least likely to operate under Mono. Mono
583 does not support mixed mode assemblies (that is, assemblies containing both
584 managed and unmanaged code, which Managed C++ can produce). You need a
585 fully-managed assembly to run under Mono, and getting the Visual C++ .NET
586 compiler to generate such an executable can be difficult. You need to use
587 only the .NET-framework assemblies, not the C libraries (you can't use
588 <b>printf</b>(3) for example.), and you need to use
589 the linker options <tt>/nodefaultlib /entry:main mscoree.lib</tt> in
590 addition to the <tt>/clr</tt> compiler flag. You can still use certain
591 compiler intrinsic functions (such as <b>memcpy</b>(3)) and the STL.
592 You should also see <a
593 href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmex/html/vcgrfconvertingmanagedextensionsforcprojectsfrommixed-modetopureil.asp"
594 >Converting Managed Extensions for C++ Projects from Mixed Mode to Pure
595 Intermediate Language</a> at MSDN.
596 Finally, you can use PEVERIFY.EXE from the .NET SDK to determine if the
597 assembly is fully managed.
599 Thanks to Serge Chaban for the linker flags to use.
601 <a name="pnpproject"></a>
602 ** Mono and Portable.NET
604 Q: What are the differences between Mono and Portable.NET?
606 A: Most of Mono is being written using C#, with only
607 a few parts written in C (The JIT engine, the runtime, the
608 interfaces to the garbage collection system).
610 It is easier to describe what is unique about Mono:
612 <li> An advanced native-code compilation engine: Both
613 just-in-time compilation (JIT) and pre-compilation of CIL
614 bytecodes into native code are supported.
616 <li> A foundation for code optimization: The new code generator in
617 Mono builds on the experience of our first JIT engine, and enables
618 us to implement various advanced compiler optimization
619 tricks. With an SSA-framework, plenty of new optimizations are possible.
621 The current list of optimizations are: Peephole postpass,
622 Branch optimizations, Inline method calls, Constant folding, Constant
623 propagation, Copy propagation, Dead code elimination, Linear scan
624 global reg allocation, Conditional moves, Emit per-domain code,
625 Instruction scheduling, Intrinsic method implementations, Tail
626 recursion and tail calls, Loop related optimizations, Fast x86 FP
627 compares, Leaf procedures optimizations
629 <li> A self-hosting C# compiler written in C#, which is clean, easy
632 <li> Focus on the .NET Framework: we are tracking down the .NET
633 Framework API definition, as we believe it is the API people
634 will be most familiar with.
636 <li> A multi-platform runtime engine: both a JIT engine and an
637 interpreter exist. The JIT engine runs currently on x86
638 systems, while the interpreter works on SPARC, StrongARM,
639 s390 and PowerPC systems.
641 Our new compilation engine is being ported to the PowerPC.
643 <li> Supports Linux, BSD, Windows and Solaris at this point.
645 <li> The JIT engine is written using a portable instruction
646 selector which not only generates good code but
647 is also the foundation to re-target the JIT engine to other
650 <li> Full support for remoting in the runtime.
652 <li> The C# compiler, the JIT engine and the class libraries are
653 mature enough that the whole system has been self-hosting
654 since April 2002. This means that we develop Mono
655 completely with itself at this point.
657 By forcing ourselves to use our own code to develop our
658 tools, we bug fix problems rapidly, and the system is
659 overall more robust and tested than if we did not.
661 <li> We have a great community of developers, without which Mono
662 would not be possible.
665 In general, Mono is more mature and complete since it has been used
666 to develop itself, which is a big motivator for stability and
667 correctness, while Portable.NET remains pretty much an untested
670 Q: I hear Mono keeps changing the P/Invoke API, why?
672 A: We are just fixing our implementation to be compatible with the
673 Microsoft implementation. In other words, the Mono P/Invoke API is
674 more complete when compared to the Portable.NET version, hence
675 various pieces of software that depend on this extended
676 functionality fail to work properly with Portable.NET.
678 <a name="webservices"></a>
681 Q: How is Mono related to Web Services?
683 A: Mono is only related to Web Services in that it will implement the
684 same set of classes that have been authored in the .NET Framework
685 to simplify and streamline the process of building Web Services.
687 But most importantly, Mono is an Open Source implementation of the
690 Q: Can I author Web Services with Mono?
692 A: You will be able to write Web Services on .NET that run on Mono and
695 Q: If Mono implements the SDK classes, will I be able to write and
696 execute .NET Web Services with it?
698 A: Yes. When the project is finished, you will be able to use the
699 same technologies that are available through the .NET Framework SDK
700 on Windows to write Web Services.
702 Q: What about Soup? Can I use Soup without Mono?
704 A: Soup is a library for GNOME applications to create SOAP servers and
705 SOAP clients, and can be used without Mono. You can browse the
706 source code for soup using <a
707 href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">GNOME's Bonsai</a>.
711 A: Yes. The CLI contains enough information about a class that
712 exposing it to other RPC systems (like CORBA) is really simple, and
713 does not even require support from an object.
715 <a href="http://remoting-corba.sourceforge.net/">Remoting.CORBA</a> is
716 a CORBA implementation that is gaining momentum.
718 Building an implementation of the Bonobo interfaces once this is ready
719 should be relatively simple.
721 Q: Can I serialize my objects to other things other than XML?
723 A: Yes, although the serializing tools have not yet been planned, and
724 you would probably have to implement them yourself.
726 Q: Will Mono use ORBit?
728 A: There are a few advantages in using ORBit, like reusing existing code
729 and leveraging all the work done on it. Michael Meeks has posted
730 a few <a href="http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2002-September/008592.html">reasons</a>,
731 as well as some <a href="http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2002-September/008657.html">ideas</a>
732 that could be used to reuse ORBit.
734 Most users are likely to choose a native .NET solution, like <a href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">Remoting.CORBA</a>
737 <a name="monodoc"></a>
742 A: MonoDoc is a graphical documentation browser for the Mono class
743 libraries. Currently, monodoc consists of a Gtk# application and is
744 in heavy development.
747 ** Development Tools and Issues
749 Q: I am having trouble compiling a new version of Mono from CVS, it
750 complains about my runtime being out of sync.
752 A: Jonathan Pryor has provided the following answer:
754 To upgrade your class libraries and compiler, see the See
755 README.building in the MCS directory.
757 The single biggest source of confusion seems to be the "Your
758 runtime is out of sync" messages. Realize that this is *normal*
759 while BUILDING. Think about it: you're building a new class
760 library with the old runtime. If the new class library references
761 a function that the old runtime knows nothing about, the runtime
762 system issues this warning.
764 Basically what needs to happen is for a new mono runtime to be
765 compiled, then the corlib class library be compiled, and once this
766 is done, install the new runtime, followed by corlib.
768 Once this is done, you can continue building your entire
771 Q: Will it be possible to use the CLI features without using byte codes
774 A: Yes. The CLI engine will be made available as a shared library.
775 The garbage collection engine, the threading abstraction, the
776 object system, the dynamic type code system and the JIT will be
777 available for C developers to integrate with their applications if
780 Q: Will you have new development tools?
782 A: With any luck, Free Software enthusiasts will contribute tools to
783 improve the developer environment. These tools could be developed
784 initially using the Microsoft implementation of the CLI and then
785 executed later with Mono.
787 We are recommending people to use and contribute to existing
788 projects like SharpDevelop, Anjuta and Eclipse.
790 Q: What kind of rules make the Common Intermediate Language useful for
793 A: The main rule is that the stack in the CLI is not a general purpose
794 stack. You are not allowed to use it for other purposes than
795 computing values and passing arguments to functions or return
798 At any given call or return instruction, the types on the stack
799 have to be the same independently of the flow of execution of your
802 Q: Is it true that the CIL is ideal for JITing and not efficient for
805 A: The CIL is better suited to be JITed than JVM byte codes, but you
806 can interpret them as trivially as you can interpret JVM byte
809 Q: Isn't it a little bit confusing to have the name of "XSP" (the same
810 as in the Apache Project) for the ASP.NET support in Mono?.
812 A: In Mono, xsp is just the name of the C# code generator for ASP.NET
813 pages. In the Apache Project, it is a term for the "eXtensible Server
814 Pages" technology so as they are very different things, they don't
817 Q: Is there any plan to develop an aspx server for Mono?.
819 A: The XSP reference server is available and you can also use mod_mono
822 Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
824 A: Yes. Mono has been self hosting since May 2002.
826 Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
827 and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
828 their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
831 A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
833 Q: How should I write tests or a tests suite?
835 A: If you do a test suite for C#, you might want to keep it
836 independent of the Mono C# compiler, so that other compiler
837 implementations can later use it.
839 Q: Would it be too terrible to have another corlib signed as mscorlib?
841 A: We rename corlib to mscorlib also when saving the PE files, in fact,
842 the runtime can execute program created by mono just fine.
844 Q: Is it possible to build a C# file to some sort of intermediate format which
845 can linked into a final module, like the traditional .c -> .o -> .so path?
849 mcs /target:library file1.cs, mcs /target:library file2.cs,
850 mcs /target:exe file1.dll file2.dll /out:mybin.exe
852 Q: Is there any plans for implementing remoting in the near future?
854 A: The remoting infrastructure is in place. We have implementations
855 of the TcpChannel, HttpChannel and the Soap and Binary Formatters.
856 They are compatible with .NET.
858 However, some classes from the library may have a different binary
859 representation, because they may have a different internal data
860 structure, so for example you won't be able to exchange a Hastable
861 object between Mono and MS.NET. It should not be a problem if you
862 are using primitive types, arrays or your own classes. In any case,
863 could you post a test case?
866 Q: My C code uses the __stdcall which is not availble on Linux, how can I
867 make the code portable Windows/Unix across platforms?
869 A: Replace the __stdcall attribute with the STDCALL macro, and include this
870 in your C code for newer gcc versions:
873 #define STDCALL __attribute__((stdcall))
876 Q: I want to be able to execute Mono binaries, without having to use the "mono"
877 command. How can I do this?
879 A: From Carlos Perelló:
881 <i>I think that the best solution is the binfmt feature with the
882 wrapper that exists with Debian packages at:
884 <a href="http://www.debianplanet.org/mono/dists/unstable/main/source/admin/">http://www.debianplanet.org/mono/dists/unstable/main/source/admin/</a>
886 If you want use it with Big endian machines, you should apply a patch
887 (<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>)
889 It works really good and lets you use wine also, it reads the .exe file
890 headers and check if it's a .net executable.
892 This way you just execute: ./my-cool-mono-application.exe and it works
893 without the need of any wrapper.</i>
895 Q: I see funny characters when I run programs, what is the problem?
897 A: (From Peter Williams and Gonzalo Paniagua):
899 This is Red Hat 9 (probably) using UTF8 on its console; the bytes are
900 the UTF8 endianness markers. You can do:
902 LC_ALL=C mono myexe.exe
904 And they wont show up.
906 Alternatively, you can do:
910 to enable UTF-8 on the console.
915 Q: Does Mono support ASP.NET?
919 Mono supports ASP.NET, we have shown an unmodified IBuySpy
920 installation running on Mono as well as various other programs. You can
921 try it yourself downloading the XSP server.
923 Q: Do I need install cygwin to work on ASP.NET in mono or Linux is enough since
924 it is self host right now.
928 Q: How can I run ASP.NET-based applications with Mono?
930 A: You need the Mono runtime and a hosting web server. Currently we distribute a
931 small web server called `xsp' which is used to debug applications, or you can choose
932 to use Daniel's Apache 2 module.
934 Q: Any plan to make ASP.NET in mono works with Apache in Linux?.
936 A: Daniel has authored an Apache2 Module for Mono that hosts the ASP.NET runtime
937 and is available here: <a
938 href="http://apacheworld.org/modmono/">http://apacheworld.org/modmono/</a>
940 Q: Will you support Apache 1?
942 A: Modules developed for Apache 2 are not compatible with Apache 1.3
943 Daniel plans to support Apache 1.3 in the future but the current focus is on
944 Apache 2, because of the better support for threading and Windows.
946 Q: Can I run Apache 1 and Apache 2 on the same machine?
948 You can always keep a copy of Apache 2 running in parallel with your Apache
949 1.3 (either different port or using a reverse proxy).
951 You can also bind the two servers to different IP addresses on the
952 same physical machine.
957 Q: What is the status of ADO.NET support?. Could I start migrating
958 applications from MS.NET to Mono?.
960 A: You could start right now using the ADO.NET support in mono, of course,
961 if you want to help filling the missing gaps while you develop your app
962 :-) Well, what I mean is that we're not that far to having full ADO.NET
963 support in Mono, and we've got a lot of working things, so if we could
964 get more help, we'd finish it really soon :-)
966 Q: In developing the data architecture for the application are there and
967 objects I should stay away from in order to insure the smoothest possible
968 transition (minimum code rewrite) to Mono's ADO.NET implementation? (For
969 example, strongly typed datasets versus untyped datasets, etc...)
971 A: We are implementing all the classes in Microsoft .NET's System.Data, so
972 you can be sure that things will work the same in Mono as with the Microsoft
975 Q: Does Mono can to connect to Sybase by using Mono.Data.*?
977 A: Yes. use Mono.Data.SybaseClient. First of all you have to create a
978 SybaseConnection, and then, from it, use it as any other
979 IDbConnection-based class.
984 Q: Why don't you use Java? After all, there are many languages that
987 A: You can get very good tools for doing Java development on free
988 systems right now. <a href="http://www.redhat.com">Red Hat</a> has
989 contributed a <a href="http://gcc.gnu.org">GCC</a> <a
990 href="http://gcc.gnu.org/java">front-end for Java</a> that can take
991 Java sources or Java byte codes and generate native executables; <a
992 href="http://www.transvirtual.com">Transvirtual</a> has implemented
993 <a href="http://www.kaffe.org">Kaffe</a> a JIT engine for Java;
994 Intel also has a Java VM called <a
995 href="http://www.intel.com/research/mrl/orp">ORP</a>.
997 The JVM is not designed to be a general purpose virtual machine.
998 The Common Intermediate Language (CIL), on the other hand, is
999 designed to be a target for a
1000 wide variety of programming languages, and has a set of rules
1001 designed to be optimal for JITers.
1003 Q: Could Java target the CLI?
1005 A: Yes, Java could target the CLI, Microsoft's J# compiler does that.
1007 The <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net/">IKVM</a> project builds a
1008 Java runtime that works on top of .NET and on top of Mono. IKVM is
1009 essentially a JIT compiler that translates from JVM bytecodes into
1010 CIL instructions, and then lets the native JIT engine take over.
1012 Q: Is it possible to write a JVM byte code to CIL converter?
1014 A: Yes, it is possible. Here are a few starting point:
1017 * A byte code representation is really a flattened forest of
1018 trees. Look at the Mono JIT engine to see how we compute
1019 the basic blocks (this is used to figure out the "trees").
1021 The forest is just an array of trees.
1023 Indeed, run the JIT engine with -d (mono -d prog.exe) and
1024 you will see how these trees look like.
1026 You will have to do something similar for Java.
1028 * Each "forest of trees" has a meaning. This meaning can now
1029 be translated into the equivalent "meaning" in CLR-land.
1032 See also the <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net/">IKVM project</a>
1034 Q: Could mono become a hybrid CIL/java platform?
1036 A: No. It is quite far from the philosophy of the project. The idea of Mono
1037 is, to have only _one_ VM, on which all can run. And if there existing a
1038 binary-converter from Java-.class to IL and if there existing something
1039 like J-Sharp on Mono, you can write programs in Java, which than can run
1040 on Mono. You do not need two bindings (like your example: GTK-Sharp _and_
1041 Java-Gnome). You need only _one_ of it (GTK-Sharp). Thats the idea of Mono.
1042 An other point is, that there are no people, who use Open Source-JVMs. They
1043 all prefer Suns original. But for Unix there don't exist a .NET-Framework.
1044 So it is possible, that in the future Mono is the standard .NET for Unixes.
1046 Q: Do you plan to implement a Javascript compiler?
1048 A: Yes. The beginnings of the JScript compiler can be found on CVS.
1049 Cesar coordinates this effort.
1051 Q: Can Mono or .NET share system classes (loaded from mscore.dll and other
1052 libs) or will it behave like Sun's Java VM?
1054 A: What you can do with mono is to load different applications in their own
1055 application domain: this is a feature of the CLR that allows sandboxing
1056 applications inside a single process space. This is usualy exploited to
1057 compartmentalize different parts of the same app, but it can also be
1058 effectively used to reduce the startup and memory overhead.
1059 Using different appdomains the runtime representation of types and
1060 methods is shared across applications.
1062 <a name="extending"></a>
1065 Q: Would you allow other classes other than those in the
1068 A: Yes. The Microsoft class collection is very big, but it is by no
1069 means complete. It would be nice to have a port of `Camel' (the
1070 Mail API used by Evolution inspired by Java Mail) for Mono
1073 You might also want to look into implementing CORBA for Mono. Not
1074 only because it would be useful, but because it sounds like a fun
1075 thing to do, given the fact that the CLI is such a type rich
1078 For more information on extending Mono, see our <a
1079 href="ideas.html">ideas</a> page.
1081 Q: Do you plan to Embrace and Extend .NET?
1083 A: Embracing a good technology is good. Extending technologies in
1084 incompatible ways is bad for the users, so we do not plan on
1085 extending the technologies.
1087 If you have innovative ideas, and want to create new classes, we
1088 encourage you to make those classes operate correctly well in both
1091 Today Mono ships with a number of extra libraries that were
1092 developed either by members of the Mono community, or other
1095 Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
1097 A: Yes. Mono has been selfhosting since March 2002.
1099 Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
1100 and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
1101 their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
1104 A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
1107 <a name="portability"></a>
1110 Q: Will Mono only work on Linux?
1112 A: Currently, we are doing our work on Linux-based systems and
1113 Windows. We do not expect many Linux-isms in the code, so it
1114 should be easy to port Mono to other UNIX variants.
1116 Q: What about Mono on non Linux-based systems?
1118 A: Our main intention at Ximian is to be able to develop GNOME
1119 applications with Mono, but if you are interested in providing a
1120 port of the Winforms classes to other platforms (frame buffer or
1121 MacOS X for example), we would gladly integrate them, as long
1122 they are under an open source license.
1124 Q: What operating systems/CPUs do you support
1126 A: Mono currently runs on Linux, Windows, Solaris and FreeBSD.
1127 There is a JIT engine available for x86 processors that can
1128 generate code and optimizations tailored for a particular CPU.
1130 Interpreters exist for the SPARC, PowerPC and StrongARM CPUs.
1132 Q: Does Mono run on Windows?
1134 A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
1135 binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
1137 Q: Does Mono run on Linux?
1139 A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
1140 binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
1142 Q: Will I require Cygwin to run mono?
1144 A: No. Cygwin is only required to build Mono.
1146 Q: Will Mono depend on GNOME?
1148 A: It will depend only if you are using a particular assembly (for
1149 example, for doing GUI applications). If you are just interested
1150 in Mono for implementing a `Hello World Enterprise P2P Web
1151 Service', you will not need any GNOME components.
1153 Q: Is anyone working on porting Mono to IA-64?
1155 A: Nobody is working on such port.
1157 Q: If I were about to start a Mono port to IA-64,would the same lburg code
1158 generator work for IA-64 also? or anything else need to be used for code
1159 generation(as the processor architecture is totally different from IA32)
1161 A: The lburg approach can be use for any processor architecture. But you might
1162 think in another better approach.
1164 Q: Do you plan to port Rhino to C#?.
1166 A: Eto Demerzal has started a Rhino port to C#.
1168 Q: Has anyone succeeded in building a Mac version of the C# environment.
1169 If so can you explain how?
1171 A: You could try to check with the Darwin people, or the Fink people.
1172 Mono/C# is self hosting on Linux/PPC which is the hard part, so it
1173 should be relatively simple to get it to work on MacOS
1175 <a name="reuse"></a>
1176 ** Reusing Existing Code
1178 Q: What projects will you reuse or build upon?
1180 A: We want to get Mono in the hands of programmers soon. We are
1181 interested in reusing existing open source software.
1183 Q: What about Intel's research JIT framework, ORP?
1185 A: At this time, we are investigating whether we can use elements of
1186 ORP for Mono. ORP is a research JIT engine that has a clearly
1187 defined API that splits the JIT from the GC system and the actual
1188 byte code implementation.
1190 We are using some pieces of ORP (Their code generation interface)
1191 and we use it as a source of inspiration for optimizations. Paolo
1192 and Dietmar consider ORP as being one of the best JIT engines out
1193 there (and their research work and papers are very useful if you are
1194 interested in JIT technology).
1196 Q: What about using GNU Lightning?
1198 A: We are not using GNU Lightning. Our JIT is using an instruction
1199 selector based on tree-pattern matching, and a code generation
1200 interface that is very tied to the current architecture.
1202 Q: Will I be able to use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or will I need to switch
1203 to a specific Open Source Database. Will I need to recode?
1205 A: There should not be any need to recode.
1207 Q: What do I need to watch out for when programming in VB.NET so that I'm
1208 sure to be able to run those apps on Linux?
1210 A: Not making any P/Invoke or DLL calls should and not using anything in
1211 the Microsoft.* namespaces should suffice. Also do not use any
1212 Methods/Classes marked as "This type/method supports the .NET Framework
1213 infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code."
1214 even if you know what these classes/methods do.
1216 Q: Will built-in reporting be supported for crystal reports? This is a
1217 heavily used part of our system.
1219 A: Probably not. Crystal Reports are propriety. Someone may try to emulate
1220 the behavior, but no-one has yet volunteered.
1222 Q: Who about writing to the registry? As I understand it, Linux does not have
1223 a counterpart to the registry. Should I avoid relying on that feature?
1225 A: Try to avoid it. Although there would be a emulation for registry in
1226 Mono too. GNOME does have a registry like mechanism for configuration. But
1227 Even if gnome has a configuration system similar to the registry, the keys
1228 will not be equal, so you will probably end up having to do some runtime
1229 detection, and depending on this load an assembly that has your
1230 platform-specific hacks.
1232 Q: System.Data.SqlClient with FreeTDS, will you port parts of these to C# and
1235 A: if their license is compatible with mono's, yes, we'd think about porting
1236 them. If not, we'll continue with the plan of using FreeTDS.
1241 Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#? A GCC back-end that will
1242 generate CIL images? What about making a front-end to GCC that
1243 takes CIL images and generates native code?
1245 A: We are currently seeking volunteers for those projects.
1246 Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section if
1249 Q: But would this work around the GPL in the GCC compiler and allow
1250 people to work on non-free front-ends?
1252 A: People can already do this by targeting the JVM byte codes (there
1253 are about 130 compilers for various languages that target the JVM).
1255 Q: Why are you writing a JIT engine instead of a front-end to GCC?
1257 A: We want the JIT engine and runtime engine because they will be able
1258 to execute CIL executables generated on Windows, and so no recompilation
1261 <a name="performance"></a>
1264 Q: How fast will Mono be?
1266 A: We can not predict the future, but a conservative estimate is that
1267 it would be at least `as fast as other JIT engines'.
1269 We would like to ship various JIT engines with Mono, just like
1270 Microsoft has done with their .NET development platform. We could
1271 provide a faster, JIT for fast load times but lower performance,
1272 and an and an optimizing JIT that would be slower at generating
1273 code but produce more optimal output.
1275 The CIL has some advantages over the Java byte code: it is really
1276 an intermediate representation and there are a number of
1277 restrictions on how you can emit CIL code that simplify creating
1280 For example, on the CIL, the stack is not really an abstraction
1281 available for the code generator to use at will. Rather, it is a
1282 way of creating a postfix representation of the parsed tree. At
1283 any given call point or return point, the contents of the stack are
1284 expected to contain the same object types independently of how the
1285 instruction was reached.
1287 <a name="licensing"></a>
1290 Q: Will I be able to write proprietary applications that run with
1293 A: Yes. The licensing scheme is planned to allow proprietary
1294 developers to write applications with Mono.
1296 Q: What license or licenses are you using for the Mono Project?
1298 A: The C# Compiler is released under the terms of the <a
1299 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.html">GNU GPL</a>. The runtime
1300 libraries are under the <a
1301 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-license.html">GNU
1302 Library GPL</a>. And the class libraries are released
1303 under the terms of the <a
1304 href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html">MIT X11</a>
1307 The Mono runtime and the Mono C# Compiler are also available under
1308 a proprietary license for those who can not use the LGPL and the
1311 For licensing details, contact <a
1312 href="mailto:mono-licensing@ximian.com">mono-licensing@ximian.com</a>
1315 Q: I would like to contribute code to Mono under a particular
1316 license. What licenses will you accept?
1318 A: We will have to evaluate the licenses for compatibility first,
1319 but as a general rule, we will accept the code under the same
1320 terms of the "container" module.
1322 <a name="patents"></a>
1325 Q: Could patents be used to completely disable Mono (either submarine
1326 patents filed now, or changes made by Microsoft specifically to
1327 create patent problems)?
1329 A: First some background information.
1331 The .NET Framework is divided in two parts: the ECMA/ISO covered
1332 technologies and the other technologies developed on top of it like
1333 ADO.NET, ASP.NET and Windows.Forms.
1335 Mono implements the ECMA/ISO covered parts, as well as being a
1336 project that aims to implement the higher level blocks like
1337 ASP.NET, ADO.NET and Windows.Forms.
1339 The Mono project has gone beyond both of those components and has
1340 developed and integrated third party class libraries, the most
1341 important being: Debugging APIs, integration with the Gnome
1342 platform (Accessibility, Pango rendering, Gdk/Gtk, Glade, GnomeUI),
1343 Mozilla, OpenGL, extensive database support (Microsoft only
1344 supports a couple of providers out of the box, while Mono has
1345 support for 11 different providers), our POSIX integration
1346 libraries and finally the embedded API (used to add scripting to
1347 applications and host the CLI, or for example as an embedded
1350 The core of the .NET Framework, and what has been patented by
1351 Microsoft falls under the ECMA/ISO submission. Jim Miller at
1352 Microsoft has made a statement on the patents covering ISO/ECMA,
1353 (he is one of the inventors listed in the patent): <a
1354 href="https://mailserver.di.unipi.it/pipermail/dotnet-sscli/msg00218.html">here</a>.
1356 Basically a grant is given to anyone who want to implement those
1357 components for free and for any purpose.
1359 The controversial elements are the ASP.NET, ADO.NET and
1360 Windows.Forms subsets. Those are convenient for people who need
1361 full compatibility with the Windows platform, but are not required
1362 for the open source Mono platform, nor integration with today's
1363 Mono's rich support of Linux.
1365 The Mono strategy for dealing with these technologies is as
1366 follows: (1) work around the patent by using a different
1367 implementation technique that retains the API, but changes the
1368 mechanism; if that is not possible, we would (2) remove the pieces
1369 of code that were covered by those patents, and also (3) find prior
1370 art that would render the patent useless.
1372 Not providing a patented capability would weaken the
1373 interoperability, but it would still provide the free software /
1374 open source software community with good development tools, which
1375 is the primary reason for developing Mono.
1377 The patents do not apply in countries where software patents are
1380 For Linux server and desktop development, we only need the ECMA
1381 components, and things that we have developed (like Gtk#) or Apache
1385 ** Miscellaneous Questions
1387 Q: You say that the CLI allows multiple languages to execute on the
1388 same environment. Isn't this the purpose of CORBA?
1390 A: The key difference between CORBA (and COM) and the CLI is that the
1391 CLI allows "data-level interoperability" because every
1392 language/component uses the same data layout and memory management.
1394 This means you can operate directly upon the data types that someone
1395 else provides, without having to go via their interfaces. It also
1396 means you don't have to "marshal" (convert) parameters (data
1397 layouts are the same, so you can just pass components directly) and
1398 you don't have to worry about memory management, because all
1399 languages/components share the same garbage collector and address
1400 space. This means much less copying and no need for reference
1403 Q: Will you support COM?
1405 A: The runtime will support XPCOM on Unix systems and COM on Windows.
1406 Most of the code for dynamic trampolines exists already.
1408 Q: Will Ximian offer certifications on Mono or related technologies?.
1410 A: It's possible. But there is no plan about this. So the short answer is no.
1412 Q: Are there any Boehm's GC binaries?
1414 A: Yes. You can find RPMs <a href="http://java.thn.htu.se/~toor/">here</a>, though
1415 if your distribution provides the correct packages, you should use those.
1416 The suggested version of the Boehm GC is 6.1.
1418 Q: How can I report a bug?
1420 A: The best thing is to track down the bug and provide a simple test to
1421 reproduce the bug. You can then add the bug to the
1422 <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bugtracking system</a>.
1424 Please provide information about what version of mono you're using
1425 and any relevant details to be able to reproduce the bug. Note that
1426 bugs reported on the mailing-list may be easily forgotten, so it's
1427 better to file them in the <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bug tracking system</a>.
1429 Q: Does mcs support the same command line options as the MS C#
1432 A: The Mono C# compiler now supports the same command line
1433 arguments as the Microsoft C# compiler does.
1435 Q: How about getting searchable archives on lists.ximian.com?
1437 A: You can perform a search on the mono-related mailing lists
1438 <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/mailing-lists.html">here</a>.
1440 Q: When using mono from cvs or from a snapshot, I get an error messaage
1441 saying that Mono and the runtime are out of sync. How do I fix that?
1443 A: If you use mono from cvs, you need to be prepared for changes in the
1444 runtime internals. This means that you should keep a working setup
1445 before blindling updating (a working setup may just be the last released
1446 tarball or a recent binary snapshot).
1447 Usually, compiling corlib with mcs before recompiling the C runtime does
1448 the right thing (but occasionally you may need to do it the other
1451 Q: Why are you going for a GtkHtml implementation?
1453 A: GtkHTML is just a lightweight HTML rendering engine that does not
1454 support CSS, so we need it to look decent for those of us that will
1455 be using the documentation in our day-to-day work on Linux. The
1456 Web-based interfaces lack the agility that you get from a native GUI
1457 tool to browse your documentation. Probably later on, we will write
1458 scripts and generate a full documentation set that is web-browsable,
1459 but we need a command-line and GUI tools that we can use natively on
1460 Linux when disconnected from the Web (and that has better
1461 interactions than a web page).
1463 Q: Is there a command-line tool that allows me to access .NET interactively?
1465 A: There are several but one that is free software and uses MCS is the one
1466 Dennis Lu from Rice University is working on; a REPL C# interpreter.
1468 Q: Is it possible to use Visual C++ with Mono?.
1470 A: It's possible to run VC++ generated apps under Mono, but we do not
1471 provide a Manager C++ compiler ourselves.
1473 <a name="problems"></a>
1474 ** Mono Common Problems
1476 If you are having problems compiling or running Mono software
1477 or if you think that you found a bug, etc. Please visit the
1478 <a href="http://geneura.ugr.es/~jaime/deploy/mono-common-problems.html">Mono Common Problems</a> document and try there.
1482 The FAQ contains material contributed by Miguel de Icaza, Jaime Anguiano, Lluis Sánchez.
projects / mono.git / blob