<a href="#basics">Basics</a><br>
-<a href="#ximian">The Ximian Role in the Mono project</a><br>
+<a href="#novell">The Novell Role in the Mono project</a><br>
<a href="#gnome">Mono and GNOME</a><br>
<a href="#gui">Building GUI applications with Mono</a><br>
<a href="#msft">Mono and Microsoft</a><br>
<a href="#licensing">Licensing</a><br>
<a href="#patents">Patents</a><br>
<a href="#etc">Miscellaneous Questions</a><br>
+<a href="#obfuscation">Obfuscation</a></br>
<a href="#problems">Mono Common Problems</a><br>
A <a
-href="http://www.es.gnome.org/documentacion/articulos/mono-puf/mono-puf/">Spanish
-translation</a> is also available
+href="http://www.monohispano.org/tutoriales/mono-puf//">Spanish
+translation</a> is also available (it is outdated though)
<a name="basics"></a>
** Basics
implement various technologies developed by Microsoft that have now
been submitted to the ECMA for standardization.
+ The Mono project has also sparked a lot of interest in developing
+ C#-based components, libraries and frameworks. Today Mono is not
+ limited to implement the .NET Framework, but also contains other
+ components. Some of the components of the Mono platform were
+ developed by the Mono team, and some others we have incorporated
+ from other open source efforts, the most important ones:
+
+ <ul>
+ <li><a
+ href="http://remoting-corba.sourceforge.net/">Remoting.CORBA</a>: A
+ CORBA implementation for Mono.
+
+ <li>Ginzu: An implementation on top of Remoting for the <a
+ href="http://www.zeroc.com">ICE</a> stack
+
+ <li><a href="http://gtk-sharp.sf.net">Gtk#</a>: Bindings for
+ the popular Gtk+ GUI toolkit for Unix and Windows systems.
+ Other bindings are available: Diacanvas-Sharp and MrProject.
+
+ <li><a
+ href="http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SharpZipLib/Default.aspx">#ZipLib</a>:
+ A library to manipulate various kinds of compressed files and
+ archives (Zip and tar).
+
+ <li>GlGen (available from the Mono CVS): Bindings for OpenGL.
+
+ <li>Mono.LDAP: LDAP access for .NET apps.
+
+ <li>Mono.Data: We ship support for Postgress, MySql, Sybase,
+ DB2, SqlLite, Tds (SQL server protocol) and Oracle databases.
+
+ <li>Mono.Cairo: Bindings for the <a
+ href="http://www.cairographics.org">Cairo</a> rendering
+ engine (Our System.Drawing is implemented on top of this).
+
+ <li>Mono.Posix: Bindings for building POSIX applications using
+ C#.
+
+ <li>Mono.Http: Support for creating custom, embedded HTTP
+ servers and common HTTP handlers for your applications.
+ </ul>
+
Q: What is the difference between Mono and the .NET Initiative?
A: The ".NET Initiative" is a somewhat nebulous company-wide effort by
Microsoft, one part of which is a cross-platform development
framework. Mono is an implementation of the development framework,
but not an implementation of anything else related to the .NET
- Initiative, such as Passport, software-as-a-service, or
- corporate re-branding.
+ Initiative, such as Passport or software-as-a-service.
Q: What technologies are included in Mono?
compiler, and a garbage collecting runtime.
* A class library that can work with any language
- which works on the CLR.
+ which works on the CLR. Both .NET compatible class
+ libraries as well as Mono-provided class libraries
+ are included.
* A compiler for the C# language. In the future we
might work on other compilers that target the Common
A: Eventually we will. Our current focus is on inter-operating
with the Microsoft SDK, but we will also offer an ECMA compliant
- set of libraries.
+ subset of the libraries.
Q: What does the name "Mono" mean?
-A: Mono is the word for `monkey' in Spanish. We like monkeys.
+A: Mono is the word for `monkey' in Spanish. We like monkeys.
-Q: Is Mono usable?
+Q: Does Mono work today?
-A: The JIT engine is usable on Intel x86 machines. An interpreter
- can be used on other non-Intel x86 machines.
+A: The execution engine works on various platforms, we support
+ Just-in-Time and Ahead-of-Time compilations on Intel x86 machines
+ (and soon PowerPC).
- The class libraries are mature enough to run some real applications
- (the compiler for instance, and every day more and more applications
- are natively developed with Mono).
-
-Q: When will you ship it?
-
-A: Different parts of Mono will achieve usability at different stages,
- once we are comfortable with the compiler, we will release "Mono Core",
- which contains everything needed to develop applications with the base
- class libraries, this will happen soon and in the meantime you can
- download daily snapshots of our work. Also the full ASP.NET support is
- close to completion.
-
- Other higher level class libraries (ASP.NET, ADO.NET, WinForms) will
- be released when they become stable.
+ The class libraries are mature enough to run various real
+ applications: our C# compiler, ASP.NET, and Gtk#-based
+ applications.
-Q: What major components will you include in Mono?
+Q: When will you ship Mono?
-A: Hopefully everything that Microsoft ships on their Framework
- (ADO.NET, ASP.NET, WinForms), and we encourage third party developers to
- create reusable components that work on both Mono and Windows.
+A: Please see the <a href="mono-roadmap.html">Mono Roadmap</a> for
+ more details on the release plans.
Q: How can I contribute?
A: No. It was a joke.
-<a name="ximian"></a>
+<a name="novell"></a>
-** The Ximian Role in the Mono Project
+** The Novell Role in the Mono Project
-Q: Why is Ximian working on .NET?
+Q: Why is Novell working on .NET?
-A: Ximian is interested in providing the best tools for programmers to
- develop applications for Free Operating Systems.
+A: Novell is interested in providing the best tools for programmers to
+ develop applications for Free Operating Systems.
For more information, read the project <a
href="rationale.html">rationale</a> page.
-Q: Will Ximian be able to take on a project of this size?
+Q: Will Novell be able to take on a project of this size?
-A: Of course not. Ximian a supporter of the Mono project, but the only way
+A: Of course not. Novell is a supporter of the Mono project, but the only way
to implement something of this size is for the entire free software
community to get involved. Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a>
page if you'd like to help out.
-Q: What pieces will Ximian be working on?
+Q: What pieces is Novell working on?
A: We will devote most of our resources to work on the pieces which are
on the critical path to release a development and execution
the real world, it will achieve a critical mass of developers to
improve it further.
-Q: Will Ximian offer Mono commercially?
+Q: Will Novell offer Mono commercially?
A: When Mono is ready to be shipped Ximian will offer a commercial
- support and services for Mono.
+ support and services for Mono. Mono components are also
+ available to be licensed commercially. For licensing details,
+ contact <a
+ href="mailto:mono-licensing@ximian.com">mono-licensing@ximian.com</a>
-Q: Does Ximian provide consulting services around Mono?
+Q: Does Novell provide consulting services around Mono?
-A: Yes, Ximian does provide consulting services around Mono to
+A: Yes, Novell does provide consulting services around Mono to
make it suitable to your needs. Porting the runtime engine,
customizing it, working on specific classes or tuning the code
for your particular needs.
+ Please contact <a
+ href="mailto:mono-licensing@ximian.com">mono-licensing@ximian.com</a>
+ for consulting services information.
+
Q: Will you wait until Mono is finished?
A: Mono will ship on various stages as they mature. Some people
- require only a subset of the technologies, those will ship first.
-
- More advanced features will take more time to develop. A support
- time line will be available in June 2002.
+ require only a subset of the technologies, those will ship first,
+ see the <a href="mono-roadmap.html">Mono Roadmap</a> for details
<a name="gnome"></a>
** Mono and GNOME
implement Winforms and the Drawing2D API and are considering
GObject support.
+ Mono team members work actively on the <a
+ href="http://gtk-sharp.sf.net">Gtk#</a> project: a binding of the
+ GNOME class libraries for .NET and Mono.
+
Q: Has the GNOME Foundation or the GNOME team adopted Mono?
A: Mono is too new to be adopted by those groups. We hope that the
Q: Does Mono depend on GNOME?
A: No, Mono does not depend on GNOME. We use a few packages produced by
- the GNOME team like the `glib' library.
+ the GNOME team like the `glib' library, we also use other
+ third-party open source libraries like Cairo and ICU.
Q: But will I be able to build GNOME applications?
Q: Do you have C# bindings for GNOME?.
-A: Yes, we currently bind libgnome, libgnomecanvas, and libgnomeui --
- although I dare say I have no idea how functional the bindings are
- outside of what I tested in the sample app. I imagine other libraries
- under the GNOME framework will be added on an as-needed (and as-requested)
- basis...although a truly good bonobo binding will have to wait on the CORBA
- remoting support which has been started recently.
+A: Yes, the <a href="http://gtk-sharp.sf.net">Gtk# project</a>
+ provides bindings for Gtk+, Gdk, Atk, libgnome, libgnomecanvas, and
+ libgnomeui. Other libraries under the GNOME framework will be
+ added on an as-needed (and as-requested) basis.
<a name="gui"></a>
** GUI applications
Q: Will Mono enable GUI applications to be authored?
-A: Yes, you will be able to build GUI applications. Indeed, that is our
- main focus. We will provide both the Windows.Forms API and the Gtk# API.
+A: Yes, you will be able to build GUI applications. Indeed, that is
+ our main focus. Today you can use Gtk# or #WT to develop GUI
+ applications, and support for Windows.Forms is underway.
Q: What is the difference between Gtk# and System.Windows.Forms?
A: Gtk# is a set of bindings for the Gtk+ toolkit for C# (and other
- CIL-enabled languages). System.Windows.Forms is an API defined
- by Microsoft to build GUI applications.
+ CIL-enabled languages), it integrates natively with the Gnome
+ desktop. System.Windows.Forms is an API defined by Microsoft to
+ build GUI applications.
+
+Q: What are you using to implement Windows.Forms?
+
+A: Windows.Forms is currently being implemented on top of a modified
+ version of Wine that can be used as a library: WineLib.
+
+ Essentially Wine is used as a library that happens to implement the
+ "Win32" toolkit and our Windows.Forms becomes a managed layer on
+ top of this toolkit.
+
+ There are several advantages in this approach: we get Wndproc
+ message compatibility for free (Wndproc is an overridable method in
+ the Control class and it is used to perform advanced tricks with
+ the GUI toolkit) as well as allowing third-party controls that are
+ used to P/Invoke into Win32 in the Windows world to work out of the
+ box on Linux/MacOS.
Q: Why not implement System.Windows.Forms on top of Gtk# or Qt#?
-A: There are several reasons for this.
+A: Compatibility.
- First of all, Gtk+ and Qt are standard toolkits on Linux, and their
- proponents want to use their favorite toolkits when writing
- applications.
-
- Related to this is the idea that System.Windows.Forms is
- brain-dead in certain areas, such as internationalization.
- System.Windows.Forms uses explicit sizes for all controls, as opposed
- to Gtk+ and Qt which use a box/packing model, which can better deal with
- the different string lengths different languages will have.
-
- Next is compatibility. It is not possible to implement
- System.Windows.Forms on top of Gtk+/Qt and have 100% compatibility,
- because System.Windows.Forms exposes some Win32-isms, such as the
- Win32 message loop. In order to maintain compatibility, Wine must be used,
- and this is being done; see the
- <a href="/winforms.html">System.Windows.Forms effort page</a>.
-
- Additionally, Wine apps don't currently fit in -- visually -- with
- Gtk+ or Qt apps.
+ Although it is possible to run simple Windows.Forms applications
+ with the Gtk#-based backend of Windows.Forms, it is very unlikely
+ that the implementation will ever implement everything needed for
+ full compatibility with Windows.Forms.
+
+ The reason is that Windows.Forms is not a complete toolkit, and to
+ work around this problem some of the underlying Win32 foundation is
+ exposed to the programmer in the form of exposing the Windows
+ message handler (WndProc). Any control can override this method.
+ Also developers often P/Invoke into Win32 to get to functionality
+ that was not wrapped.
+
+ To achieve full compatibility, we would have to emulate this, and
+ it would take too long.
+
+ For more details see the <a href="winforms.html">winforms page</a>
+
+Q: Wine applications do not look like native applications, what are
+ you going to do about this?
+
+A: We have already a few patches into our version of Windows.Forms
+ that makes Wine use the colors and font settings from your desktop,
+ improving the integration a lot. In the future, we will continue
+ to improve this interoperability scenario.
Q: Will I be able to run my smart clients on systems powered by Mono?
Q: Where can I learn more about Gtk#?
-A: The following <a href="http://gtk-sharp.sourceforge.net>link</a> sends you to the page of the project.
+A: The following <a href="http://gtk-sharp.sourceforge.net">link</a> sends you to the page of the project.
Q: What can I do with Gtk#?.
Q: How can I compile my HelloWorld.cs which uses Gtk#?.
-A: Try: mcs --unsafe -o HelloWorld.exe -r glib-sharp -r pango-sharp -r
- atk-sharp -r gdk-sharp -r gtk-sharp -r gdk-imaging-sharp
- HelloWorld.cs
+A: Try: mcs -r:gtk-sharp HelloWorld.cs
Q: Is there any way how to connect DataAdapter to some GTK# controls?
Q: Do you have an estimate for when Windows.Forms will be released?
-A: We do not know, volunteers are working on this, but there is no set
- date yet. The current approach is using the Wine Library to implement
- it.
+A: The plan currently is aimed at Q4/2004.
+
+
+Q: Do you have a comparission chart about the various toolkit
+ offerings?
+
+A: A document explaining this is available at: <a
+ href="http://primates.ximian.com/~miguel/toolkits.html">http://primates.ximian.com/~miguel/toolkits.html</a>.
<a name="msft"></a>
** Mono and Microsoft
Ximian was also invited to participate in the ECMA committee
meetings for C# and the CLI.
-Q: Is Microsoft or Corel paying Ximian to do this?
+Q: Are Microsoft or Corel paying Ximian to do this?
A: No.
produced with the Mono tools. The only thing you will need is a
just-in-time compiler (JIT).
-Q: What is a 100% .NET application?
-
-A: A `100% .NET application' is one that only uses the APIs defined
- under the System namespace and does not use PInvoke. These
- applications would in theory run unmodified on Windows, Linux,
- HP-UX, Solaris, MacOS X and others.
-
Q: If Microsoft will release a port of their .NET platform under the
`Shared Source' license, why should I bother with anything else?
learn more about running Windows applications on Intel Unix systems
refer to <a href="http://www.winehq.com">the Wine Project</a>.
-Q: Will I be able to compile a Microsoft VB.NET application and execute
- the resultant MSIL file under MONO on Linux without converting to C#
- and recompiling?
-
-A: Once we have a complete VisualBasic runtime, yes.
-
Q: Can mono run the WebMatrix?
A: No. That requires System.Windows.Forms support which is not
A: Mono is known to run on Linux, Unix and Windows systems.
+Q: Can I run Mono applications without using `mono program.exe'?
+
+A: Yes, this is possible on Linux systems, to do this, use something like:
+
+<pre>
+if [ ! -e /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/register ]; then
+ /sbin/modprobe binfmt_misc
+ mount -t binfmt_misc none /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc
+fi
+
+if [ -e /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/register ]; then
+ echo ':CLR:M::MZ::/usr/bin/mono:' > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/register
+else
+ echo "No binfmt_misc support"
+ exit 1
+fi
+</pre>
+
Q: What architectures does Mono support?
-A: Mono today ships with a Just-in-Time compiler for x86-based
- systems. It is tested regularly on Linux, FreeBSD and Windows
- (with the XP/NT core).
+A: Mono today ships with a Just-in-Time compiler for x86, PowerPC and
+ SPARC-based systems. It is tested regularly on Linux, FreeBSD and
+ Windows (with the XP/NT core).
There is also an interpreter, which is slower that runs on the
- s390, SPARC and PowerPC architectures.
+ s390, SPARC, HPPA, StrongARM and PowerPC architectures.
Q: Can Mono run on Windows 9x, or ME editions?
Win32 libs. This is achieved by inserting -lunimono before
-lkerner32/user32 in the linker's specs file.
+Q: Why support Windows, when you can run the real thing?
+
+A: There are various reasons:
+
+ <ul>
+ <li> About half the contributors to Mono are Windows developers.
+ They have many different for contributing to the effort, and
+ we find it very important to let those developers run the runtime on Windows without forcing
+ them to use a new operating system.
+
+ <li> Supporting Windows helps us identify the portable portions
+ of Mono from the non-portable versions of it, helping Mono
+ become more portable in the future.
+
+ <li> Mono does not heavily modify the windows registry, update system DLLs,
+ install DLLs to the Windows/System32 path. Another words, I knew Mono would
+ not cause any legacy enterprise applications to stop working - and it
+ hasn't. However, our CIO er is againt it because of the changes that would
+ be made to Windows 2000, such as, affecting security.
+ </ul>
+
<a name="compatibility"></a>
** Compatibility
-Q: Can Mono run applications developed with the Microsoft.NET fraemwork?
+Q: Can Mono run applications developed with the Microsoft.NET framework?
-A: Yes, Mono can run applications developed with the Microsft .NET Framework
+A: Yes, Mono can run applications developed with the Microsoft .NET Framework
on Unix. There are a few caveats to keep in mind: Mono has not
been completed yet, so a few API calls might be missing; And in
some cases the Mono behavior *might* be incorrect.
Win32 API calls, or assume certain patterns that are not correct
for cross-platform applications.
+Q: What is a 100% .NET application?
+
+A: A `100% .NET application' is one that only uses the APIs defined
+ under the System namespace and does not use P/Invoke. These
+ applications would in theory run unmodified on Windows, Linux,
+ HP-UX, Solaris, MacOS X and others.
+
+ Note that this requirement also holds for all assemblies used by the
+ application. If one of them is Windows-specific, then the entire program
+ is not a 100% .NET application.
+
+ Furthermore, a 100% .NET application must not contain non-standard data
+ streams in the assembly. For example, Visual Studio .NET will insert a
+ <tt>#-</tt> stream into assemblies built under the "Debug" target.
+ This stream contains debugging information for use by Visual Studio .NET;
+ however, this stream can not be interpreted by Mono (unless you're willing
+ to donate support).
+
+ Thus, it is recommended that all Visual Studio .NET-compiled code be
+ compiled under the Release target before it is executed under Mono.
+
+Q: Can I execute my Visual Studio .NET program (Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#,
+ Managed Extensions for C++, etc.) under Mono?
+
+A: Yes, with some reservations.
+
+ The .NET program must either be a 100% .NET application, or (somehow) have
+ all dependent assemblies available on all desired platforms. (How to do so
+ is outside the bounds of this FAQ.)
+
+ Mono must also have an implementation for the .NET assemblies used. For
+ example the System.EnterpriseServices namespace is part of .NET, but it
+ has not been implemented in Mono. Thus, any applications using this
+ namespace will not run under Mono.
+
+ With regards to languages, C# applications tend to be most portable.
+
+ Visual Basic .NET applications are portable, but Mono's
+ Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll implementation is incomplete. It is recommended
+ to either avoid using this assembly in your own code, only use the
+ portions that Mono has implemented, or to help implement the missing
+ features. Additionally, you can set 'Option Strict On', which
+ eliminates the implicit calls to the unimplemented
+ Microsoft.VisualBasic.CompilerServices.ObjectType class.
+ (Thanks to Jörg Rosenkranz.)
+
+ Managed Extensions for C++ is least likely to operate under Mono. Mono
+ does not support mixed mode assemblies (that is, assemblies containing both
+ managed and unmanaged code, which Managed C++ can produce). You need a
+ fully-managed assembly to run under Mono, and getting the Visual C++ .NET
+ compiler to generate such an executable can be difficult. You need to use
+ only the .NET-framework assemblies, not the C libraries (you can't use
+ <b>printf</b>(3) for example.), and you need to use
+ the linker options <tt>/nodefaultlib /entry:main mscoree.lib</tt> in
+ addition to the <tt>/clr</tt> compiler flag. You can still use certain
+ compiler intrinsic functions (such as <b>memcpy</b>(3)) and the STL.
+ You should also see <a
+ href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vcmex/html/vcgrfconvertingmanagedextensionsforcprojectsfrommixed-modetopureil.asp"
+ >Converting Managed Extensions for C++ Projects from Mixed Mode to Pure
+ Intermediate Language</a> at MSDN.
+ Finally, you can use PEVERIFY.EXE from the .NET SDK to determine if the
+ assembly is fully managed.
+
+ Thanks to Serge Chaban for the linker flags to use.
+
<a name="pnpproject"></a>
** Mono and Portable.NET
will be most familiar with.
<li> A multi-platform runtime engine: both a JIT engine and an
- interpreter exist. The JIT engine runs currently on x86
- systems, while the interpreter works on SPARC, StrongARM,
- s390 and PowerPC systems.
+ interpreter exist. The JIT engine runs currently on x86,
+ PowerPC Sparc and S390 systems, while the interpreter works on
+ x86, SPARC, StrongARM, s390 and PowerPC systems.
- Our new compilation engine is being ported to the PowerPC.
+ The JIT engine is being ported to amd64 systems as of this
+ time.
- <li> Supports Linux, BSD, Windows and Solaris at this point.
+ <li> Supports Linux, BSD, MacOS, Windows and Solaris at this point.
<li> The JIT engine is written using a portable instruction
selector which not only generates good code but
tools, we bug fix problems rapidly, and the system is
overall more robust and tested than if we did not.
+ <li> Our class libraries are licensed under the terms of the MIT
+ X11 license which is a very liberal license as opposed to
+ the GNU GPL with exceptions, this means that Mono can be
+ used in places where the GPL with exceptions is not
+ permissible.
+
+ <li> Mono has a complete Web Services stack: we implement ASP.NET
+ web servers and web clients as well as implementing the
+ Remoting-based SOAP infrastructure.
+
+ <li> Remoting implementation: Mono has a complete remoting
+ infrastructure that is used in our own codebase to provide
+ added functionality and performance to our ASP.NET engine
+ and more.
+
+ <li> Mono has a complete <a href="c-sharp.html">C# 1.0</a>
+ implementation and has been stress tested a lot more than
+ Portable.NET's compiler.
+
+ <li> Mono's C# compiler has strong error handling and has closer
+ adherence to the specification with support for definite
+ assignment (required to generate verifiable IL code) and
+ CLS conformance checking.
+
+ <li> Mono's C# compiler is written in C# which is easier for new
+ developers to come in and improve, fix and tune. The Mono
+ C# compiler in C# is faster than their C-based compiler.
+
+ <li> Preview of C# 2.0: a work in progress for a 2.0
+ implementation of our compiler is available (iterators,
+ generics and anonymous methods are available in our
+ "preview" compiler).
+
+ <li> Mono has a complete Reflection and Reflection.Emit: these
+ are important for advanced applications, compilers and
+ dynamic code generation.
+
+ <li> Mono has a <a href="xml-classes.html">complete managed XML
+ stack</a>: XML, XPath, XML Serializer, XML Schema handling
+ are fully functional, feature complete and tuned for
+ performance.
+
+ <li> Mono has a <a href="crypto.html">complete cryptography stack
+ </a>: we implement the 1.0 and 1.1 APIs as well as using our
+ fully managed stack to implement the SSL/TLS transports.
+
+ <li> <a href="ado-net.html">Extensive database support</a>: Mono
+ ships with database provides for <a
+ href="firebird.html">Firebird</a>, <a href="ibmdb2.html">IBM
+ DB2</a>, <a href="oracle.html">Oracle</a>, <a
+ href="sybase.html">Sybase</a>, Microsoft <a
+ href="tdsclient.html">SQL Server</a>, <a
+ href="sqlite.html">SQL Lite</a>, <a
+ href="mysql.html">MySQL</a>, <a
+ href="postgresql.html">PostgresSQL</A>, <a href="oledb.html">Ole
+ DB</a> and <a href="odbc.html">ODBC</a>.
+
+ <li> Mono includes full LDAP support.
+
<li> We have a great community of developers, without which Mono
would not be possible.
</ul>
A: Soup is a library for GNOME applications to create SOAP servers and
SOAP clients, and can be used without Mono. You can browse the
source code for soup using <a
- href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">GNOME's Bonsai</a>.
+ href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai/">GNOME's Bonsai</a>.
Q: Can I use CORBA?
Q: I am having trouble compiling a new version of Mono from CVS, it
complains about my runtime being out of sync.
-A: Jonathan Pryor has provided the following answer:
-
- To upgrade your class libraries and compiler, see the See
- README.building in the MCS directory.
+A: To upgrade your class libraries and compiler, see the
+ INSTALL.txt in the MCS directory.
The single biggest source of confusion seems to be the "Your
runtime is out of sync" messages. Realize that this is *normal*
Once this is done, you can continue building your entire
environment.
-Q: Will it be possible to use the CLI features without using byte codes
- or the JIT?
+ For instance you just need to:
+ 1.- Upgrade your Mono runtime (you might better do it with the
+ mono-build.sh script available in the <a
+ href="http://www.go-mono.com">download</a> page.
+ 2.- Get the latest mono-lite tarball from the daily snapshots
+ <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/daily/">page</a>, unzip and
+ untar and copy all the dll files to your install path lib
+ directory (typically pointed by the $MONO_PATH variable).
+ Copy all the exe files to the install path bin directory.
+ 3.- Then checkout or update your mcs CVS copy. Then follow
+ the steps described in mcs/INSTALL.txt.
+
+Q: Will it be possible to use the CLI features without using byte codes or the JIT?
A: Yes. The CLI engine will be made available as a shared library.
The garbage collection engine, the threading abstraction, the
- object system, the dynamic type code system and the JIT will be
+ object system, the dynamic type code system and the JIT are
available for C developers to integrate with their applications if
they wish to do so.
initially using the Microsoft implementation of the CLI and then
executed later with Mono.
+ We are recommending people to use and contribute to existing
+ projects like SharpDevelop, Anjuta and Eclipse.
+
Q: What kind of rules make the Common Intermediate Language useful for
JITers?
Pages" technology so as they are very different things, they don't
conflict.
-Q: What about using something like Jabber instead of the System.Messaging
- namespace?.
-
-A: In short, MSMQ is not something like Jabber, but asynchronous messaging
- through queues. Useful queues do more than serialize messages, they are
- also platform bridges.
-
-Q: Are you supporting XMLDocument and relatives?.
-
-A: Currently, we aren't implementing them yet. It would require updates to
- most of the XmlNode derivatives so it's not a trivial task. We are
- currently focusing on getting XPath support working.
-
Q: Is there any plan to develop an aspx server for Mono?.
-A: The web server turned out to be very simple compared to the rest of the
- work. Gonzalo has got the page generator mostly done (a module called
- xsp, who has nothing to do with the XSP term used in the Apache Project).
- Patrik has done a lot of the work to get the ProcessRequest to work.
- You can try to help in the final touches to the System.Web classes and
- writing regression tests for the widgets we have.
+A: The XSP reference server is available and you can also use mod_mono
+ with Apache.
Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
-A: Yes. Some class libraries can be developed on Linux. Search for
- Paolo's post (he lists which classes can be compiled fine now).
+A: Yes. Mono has been self hosting since May 2002.
Q: Is there any way I can install a known working copy of mono in /usr,
and an experimental copy somewhere else, and have both copies use
A: We rename corlib to mscorlib also when saving the PE files, in fact,
the runtime can execute program created by mono just fine.
-Q: Is there a relatively straightforward way to repeat the steps taken
- by Paolo to get Mono completely self-hosted on Linux?
-
-A: To build the compiler and class libraries in Linux, run:
- <ul><li>make -f makefile.gnu. To install them, run: </li>
- <li>make -f makefile.gnu install prefix=/opt/mono</li>
- </ul>
-
- If you want to produce and distribute a monocharge tarball, run:
- make -f makefile.gnu dist
- Of course you have to run these in the top level mcs directory.
-
Q: Is it possible to build a C# file to some sort of intermediate format which
can linked into a final module, like the traditional .c -> .o -> .so path?
-A: You could do: mcs /target:module file1.cs, mcs /target:module file2.cs,
- mcs /target:exe file1.dll file2.dll /out:mybin.exe
+A: You can use:
-Q: Is there any plans for implementing remoting in the near future?, When will
- work in System.Runtime.Remoting.dll start?
+ mcs /target:library file1.cs, mcs /target:library file2.cs,
+ mcs /target:exe file1.dll file2.dll /out:mybin.exe
+
+Q: Is there any plans for implementing remoting in the near future?
A: The remoting infrastructure is in place. We have implementations
of the TcpChannel, HttpChannel and the Soap and Binary Formatters.
Q: I want to be able to execute Mono binaries, without having to use the "mono"
command. How can I do this?
-A: From Carlos Perelló:
+A: From Carlos Perelló:
<i>I think that the best solution is the binfmt feature with the
wrapper that exists with Debian packages at:
This way you just execute: ./my-cool-mono-application.exe and it works
without the need of any wrapper.</i>
+Q: I see funny characters when I run programs, what is the problem?
+
+A: (From Peter Williams and Gonzalo Paniagua):
+
+ This is Red Hat 9 (probably) using UTF8 on its console; the bytes are
+ the UTF8 endianness markers. You can do:
+
+ LC_ALL=C mono myexe.exe
+
+ And they wont show up.
+
+ Alternatively, you can do:
+
+ $ echo -e "\033%G"
+
+ to enable UTF-8 on the console.
+
<a name="asp">
** Mono and ASP.NET
Q: Can I run Apache 1 and Apache 2 on the same machine?
- You can always keep a copy of Apache 2 running in paralell with your Apache
+ You can always keep a copy of Apache 2 running in parallel with your Apache
1.3 (either different port or using a reverse proxy).
You can also bind the two servers to different IP addresses on the
A: You can get very good tools for doing Java development on free
systems right now. <a href="http://www.redhat.com">Red Hat</a> has
contributed a <a href="http://gcc.gnu.org">GCC</a> <a
- href="http://gcc.gnu.org/java">front-end for Java</a> that can take
+ href="http://gcc.gnu.org/java/">front-end for Java</a> that can take
Java sources or Java byte codes and generate native executables; <a
- href="http://www.transvirtual.com">Transvirtual</a> has implemented
+ href="http://www.google.com/search?q=transvirtual">Transvirtual</a>
+ implemented
<a href="http://www.kaffe.org">Kaffe</a> a JIT engine for Java;
Intel also has a Java VM called <a
- href="http://www.intel.com/research/mrl/orp">ORP</a>.
+ href="http://www.intel.com/research/mrl/orp/">ORP</a>.
The JVM is not designed to be a general purpose virtual machine.
The Common Intermediate Language (CIL), on the other hand, is
Q: Is it possible to write a JVM byte code to CIL converter?
-A: Yes, it is possible. Here are a few starting point:
-
- <ul>
- * A byte code representation is really a flattened forest of
- trees. Look at the Mono JIT engine to see how we compute
- the basic blocks (this is used to figure out the "trees").
-
- The forest is just an array of trees.
-
- Indeed, run the JIT engine with -d (mono -d prog.exe) and
- you will see how these trees look like.
-
- You will have to do something similar for Java.
-
- * Each "forest of trees" has a meaning. This meaning can now
- be translated into the equivalent "meaning" in CLR-land.
- </ul>
-
- See also the <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net/">IKVM project</a>
+A: Yes, this is what <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net">IKVM</a> does.
Q: Could mono become a hybrid CIL/java platform?
-A: No. It is quite far from the philosophy of the project. The idea of Mono
- is, to have only _one_ VM, on which all can run. And if there existing a
- binary-converter from Java-.class to IL and if there existing something
- like J-Sharp on Mono, you can write programs in Java, which than can run
- on Mono. You do not need two bindings (like your example: GTK-Sharp _and_
- Java-Gnome). You need only _one_ of it (GTK-Sharp). Thats the idea of Mono.
- An other point is, that there are no people, who use Open Source-JVMs. They
- all prefer Suns original. But for Unix there don't exist a .NET-Framework.
- So it is possible, that in the future Mono is the standard .NET for Unixes.
+A: This can be obtained easily with IKVM.
Q: Do you plan to implement a Javascript compiler?
A: Embracing a good technology is good. Extending technologies in
incompatible ways is bad for the users, so we do not plan on
- extending the technologies.
+ making incompatible changes to the technologies.
If you have innovative ideas, and want to create new classes, we
encourage you to make those classes operate correctly well in both
developed either by members of the Mono community, or other
groups.
+ In some cases, we have found the bits from Microsoft to be
+ incomplete, but we avoid breaking the API, instead we expose the
+ missing functionality in new assemblies (See Mono.Security and
+ System.Security).
+
Q: Is there any way I can develop the class libraries using Linux yet?
A: Yes. Mono has been selfhosting since March 2002.
Q: What operating systems/CPUs do you support
-A: Mono currently runs on Linux, Windows, Solaris and FreeBSD.
+A: Mono currently runs on Linux, Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD, HP-UX and
+ MacOS X.
+
There is a JIT engine available for x86 processors that can
generate code and optimizations tailored for a particular CPU.
- Interpreters exist for the SPARC, PowerPC and StrongARM CPUs.
+ Interpreters exist for the SPARC v8, SPARC v9, Itanium, HP-PA,
+ PowerPC and StrongARM CPUs.
Q: Does Mono run on Windows?
in Mono for implementing a `Hello World Enterprise P2P Web
Service', you will not need any GNOME components.
-Q: Is anyone working on porting Mono to IA-64?
-
-A: Nobody is working on such port.
-
-Q: If I were about to start a Mono port to IA-64,would the same lburg code
- generator work for IA-64 also? or anything else need to be used for code
- generation(as the processor architecture is totally different from IA32)
-
-A: The lburg approach can be use for any processor architecture. But you might
- think in another better approach.
-
Q: Do you plan to port Rhino to C#?.
A: Eto Demerzal has started a Rhino port to C#.
Q: Has anyone succeeded in building a Mac version of the C# environment.
If so can you explain how?
-A: You could try to check with the Darwin people, or the Fink people.
- Mono/C# is self hosting on Linux/PPC which is the hard part, so it
- should be relatively simple to get it to work on MacOS
+A: Yes, Mono works on Linux/PPC and MacOS X (10.2 and 10.3)
<a name="reuse"></a>
** Reusing Existing Code
A: We want to get Mono in the hands of programmers soon. We are
interested in reusing existing open source software.
-Q: What about Intel's research JIT framework, ORP?
-
-A: At this time, we are investigating whether we can use elements of
- ORP for Mono. ORP is a research JIT engine that has a clearly
- defined API that splits the JIT from the GC system and the actual
- byte code implementation.
-
- We are using some pieces of ORP (Their code generation interface)
- and we use it as a source of inspiration for optimizations. Paolo
- and Dietmar consider ORP as being one of the best JIT engines out
- there (and their research work and papers are very useful if you are
- interested in JIT technology).
-
-Q: What about using GNU Lightning?
-
-A: We are not using GNU Lightning. Our JIT is using an instruction
- selector based on tree-pattern matching, and a code generation
- interface that is very tied to the current architecture.
-
Q: Will I be able to use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or will I need to switch
to a specific Open Source Database. Will I need to recode?
-A: There should not be any need to recode.
+A: There is no need to rewrite your code as long as you keep using
+ Microsoft SQL Server. If you want to use an open source database,
+ you might need to make changes to your code.
Q: What do I need to watch out for when programming in VB.NET so that I'm
sure to be able to run those apps on Linux?
-A: Not making any PInvoke or DLL calls should and not using anything in
+A: Not making any P/Invoke or DLL calls should and not using anything in
the Microsoft.* namespaces should suffice. Also do not use any
Methods/Classes marked as "This type/method supports the .NET Framework
infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code."
Q: Will built-in reporting be supported for crystal reports? This is a
heavily used part of our system.
-A: Probably not. Crystal Reports are propriety. Someone may try to emulate
+A: . Crystal Reports are propriety. Someone may try to emulate
the behavior, but no-one has yet volunteered.
Q: Who about writing to the registry? As I understand it, Linux does not have
Q: System.Data.SqlClient with FreeTDS, will you port parts of these to C# and
use them?
-A: if their license is compatible with mono's, yes, we'd think about porting
- them. If not, we'll continue with the plan of using FreeTDS.
+A: This has been done.
<a name="gcc"></a>
** Mono and GCC
-Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#? A GCC back-end that will
- generate CIL images? What about making a front-end to GCC that
- takes CIL images and generates native code?
+Q: Are you working on a GCC front-end to C#?
-A: We are currently seeking volunteers for those projects.
- Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section if
- you are interested.
+A: We are not working on a GCC front-end for C#
-Q: But would this work around the GPL in the GCC compiler and allow
- people to work on non-free front-ends?
+Q: Will you support C/C++ on the Mono VM?
-A: People can already do this by targeting the JVM byte codes (there
- are about 130 compilers for various languages that target the JVM).
+A:The open64 compiler effort from SGI helps a lot in this direction.
-Q: Why are you writing a JIT engine instead of a front-end to GCC?
+ The Open64 compiler is a modified version of GCC that
+ generates a new intermediate language instead of RTL. This could be
+ the foundation to generate CIL code, and to implement the upcoming
+ Managed extensions to C++ from ECMA.
+
+ Open64 (and other derivative forks of GCC) split the gcc front-ends
+ from the backends by using the WHIRL intermediate representation.
+ Kris has begun the implementation of a translator from WHIRL to CIL.
+
+ So it will be possible to use the GCC compilers to target the CIL.
+
+Q: What about Managed C++?
+
+A: Once a full translator for WHIRL exists, we are interested in
+ looking at expanding the GCC frontends to include extensions for
+ Managed C++.
+
+Q: What about making a front-end to GCC that takes CIL images and
+ generates native code?
+
+A: There is no active work on this area, but Mono already provides
+ pre-compilation services (Ahead-of-Time compilation).
-A: We want the JIT engine and runtime engine because they will be able
- to execute CIL executables generated on Windows, and so no recompilation
- will be necessary.
<a name="performance"></a>
** Performance
A: We can not predict the future, but a conservative estimate is that
it would be at least `as fast as other JIT engines'.
- We would like to ship various JIT engines with Mono, just like
- Microsoft has done with their .NET development platform. We could
- provide a faster, JIT for fast load times but lower performance,
- and an and an optimizing JIT that would be slower at generating
- code but produce more optimal output.
+ Mono's JIT engine has been recently re-architected, and it provides
+ many new features, and layers suitable for optimization. It is
+ relatively easy to add new optimizations to Mono.
+
+ The CIL has some advantages over the Java byte code: The existance
+ of structs in addition to classes helps a lot the performance and
+ minimizes the memory footprint of applications.
+
+ Generics in the CLI world are first-class citizens, they are not
+ just a strong-typing addition to the language. The generic
+ specifications are embedded into the instruction stream, the JIT
+ uses this information to JIT a unique instances of a method that is
+ optimized for the type arguments.
- The CIL has some advantages over the Java byte code: it is really
- an intermediate representation and there are a number of
- restrictions on how you can emit CIL code that simplify creating
- better JIT engines.
+ The CIL is really an intermediate representation and there are a
+ number of restrictions on how you can emit CIL code that simplify
+ creating better JIT engines.
For example, on the CIL, the stack is not really an abstraction
available for the code generator to use at will. Rather, it is a
Microsoft falls under the ECMA/ISO submission. Jim Miller at
Microsoft has made a statement on the patents covering ISO/ECMA,
(he is one of the inventors listed in the patent): <a
- href="https://mailserver.di.unipi.it/pipermail/dotnet-sscli/msg00218.html">here</a>.
+ href="http://web.archive.org/web/20030609164123/http://mailserver.di.unipi.it/pipermail/dotnet-sscli/msg00218.html">here</a>.
Basically a grant is given to anyone who want to implement those
components for free and for any purpose.
The Mono strategy for dealing with these technologies is as
follows: (1) work around the patent by using a different
- implementation techinque that retains the API, but changes the
+ implementation technique that retains the API, but changes the
mechanism; if that is not possible, we would (2) remove the pieces
of code that were covered by those patents, and also (3) find prior
art that would render the patent useless.
components, and things that we have developed (like Gtk#) or Apache
integration.
+Q: Is Mono only an implementation of the .NET Framework?
+
+A: Mono implements both the .NET Framework, as well as plenty of class
+ libraries that are either Unix specific, <a
+ href="http://www.gnome.org">Gnome</a> specific, or that are not
+ part of the .NET Framework but people find useful.
+
+ The following map shows the relationship between the components:
+
+ <img src="http://primates.ximian.com/~miguel/tmp/map.png">
+
+<a name="obfuscation"></a>
+** Obfuscation
+
+Q: Are there any obfuscation programs for Mono/Linux?
+
+A: We are not aware of these, but some from Windows might work.
+
+Q: What could I do to avoid people decompiling my program?
+
+A: You can use the bundle functionality in Mono.
+
+ This would bundle your binary inside a Mono runtime instance, so
+ you distribute a single executable that contains the code inside.
+ Notice that for this to work and be practical, you need to get a
+ commercial license to the Mono runtime.
+
+ The reason is that the bundle functionality is covered by the LGPL:
+ so you would have to distribute your assemblies separatedly to allow
+ developers to relink mono which would defeat the purpose of bundling
+ for obscuring your code.
+
+ It is not impossible to break, just like any other obfuscators.
+
+ That being said, value these days does not lie in particular
+ tiny routines, but lies in the large body of work, and if someone
+ steals your code, you are likely going to find out anyways.
+
+Q: Any other option?
+
+A: You could precompile with --aot your code, then disassemble the
+ original .exe, and remove all the code, then re-assemble and ship
+ both the vessel .exe and the precompiled code.
+
+ This is not a supported configuration of Mono, and you would be
+ on your own in terms of dealing with bugs and problems here.
+
+ Get the companies that build the obfuscation packages to read
+ the ECMA spec and fix the bugs in their products that generate
+ non-standard binaries (or, if they expose a bug in mono, please
+ file a report in our bugzilla).
+
+ Pay Ximian/Novell to spend the development time needed to get mono
+ to support the broken binaries that some of the obfuscation
+ packages generate (or contribute that support).
+
<a name="etc"></a>
** Miscellaneous Questions
A: It's possible. But there is no plan about this. So the short answer is no.
-Q: Are there any Boehm's GC binaries?
-
-A: Yes. You can find RPMs <a href="http://java.thn.htu.se/~toor/">here</a>, though
- if your distribution provides the correct packages, you should use those.
- The suggested version of the Boehm GC is 6.1.
-
Q: How can I report a bug?
-A: The best thing is to track down the bug and provide a simple test to
- reproduce the bug. You can then add the bug to the
- <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bugtracking system</a>.
+A: The best thing is to track down the bug and provide a simple test
+ to reproduce the bug. You can then add the bug to our bug tracking
+ system. You can use our <a href="bugs.html">Bug Form</a> to enter
+ bugs for the appropriate component.
Please provide information about what version of mono you're using
and any relevant details to be able to reproduce the bug. Note that
A: It's possible to run VC++ generated apps under Mono, but we do not
provide a Manager C++ compiler ourselves.
+Q: Does Mono support generics?.
+
+A: Yes, the Mono runtime now supports the new Generics extensions, and
+ there is also support for generics in our new compiler: `gmcs'.
+
+ The Mono C# 1.0 compiler (mcs) will ship with various C# 2.0
+ features, but generics will remain on the separate compiler (gmcs)
+ as this code is not as tested as the main compiler.
+
<a name="problems"></a>
** Mono Common Problems
If you are having problems compiling or running Mono software
or if you think that you found a bug, etc. Please visit the
- <a href="http://geneura.ugr.es/~jaime/deploy/mono-common-problems.html">Mono Common Problems</a> document and try there.
+ <a href="http://monoevo.sf.net/mono-common-problems.html">Mono Common Problems</a> document and try there.
+
+** Credits
+ The FAQ contains material contributed by Miguel de Icaza, Jaime Anguiano, Lluis Sánchez.
projects / mono.git / blobdiff