<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="#platforms">Mono platforms</a><br>
+<a href="#compatibility">Compatibility</a></br>
<a href="#pnpproject">Mono and the Portable.NET Project</a><br>
<a href="#webservices">Web Services</a><br>
+<a href="#asp">Mono and ASP.NET</a><br>
+<a href="#ado">Mono and ADO.NET</a><br>
+<a href="#monodoc">MonoDoc</a><br>
<a href="#devel">Development Tools and Issues</a><br>
<a href="#java">Mono and Java</a><br>
<a href="#extending">Extending Mono</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.monohispano.org/tutoriales/mono-puf//">Spanish
+translation</a> is also available (it is outdated though)
<a name="basics"></a>
** Basics
Q: What is Mono exactly?
A: The Mono Project is an open development initiative sponsored by
- Ximian that is working to develop an open source, Linux-based
+ Ximian that is working to develop an open source, Unix
version of the Microsoft .NET development platform. Its objective
- is to enable Linux developers to build and
+ is to enable Unix developers to build and
deploy cross-platform .NET Applications. The project will
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 rebranding.
+ 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
Windows has compilers that target the virtual machine from <a
href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/thirdparty/default.asp#lang">a
number of languages:</a> Managed C++, Java Script, Eiffel,
- Component Pascal, APL, Cobol, Oberon, Perl, Python, Scheme,
+ Component Pascal, APL, Cobol, Perl, Python, Scheme,
Smalltalk, Standard ML, Haskell, Mercury and Oberon.
The CLR and the Common Type System (CTS) enables applications and
Q: Where can I find the specification for these technologies?
-A: You can find the work-in-progress documentation from the T3G ECMA
- group here:
+A: You can find the information here:
- <a href="http://www.dotnetexperts.com">http://www.dotnetexperts.com</a>
+
+ C# <a href="http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-334.htm">http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-334.htm</a>
+
+ CLI <a href="http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-335.htm">http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/STAND/ecma-335.htm</a>
Q: Will you implement the .NET Framework SDK class libraries?
Q: Will you offer an ECMA-compliant set of class libraries?
-A: Eventually we will. Our current focus is on interoperating
+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.
-
-Q: Is Mono usable?
+A: Mono is the word for `monkey' in Spanish. We like monkeys.
-A: The JIT engine is usable on Intel x86 machines. An interpreter
- can be used on other non-Intel x86 machines.
+Q: Does Mono work today?
- The class libraries are not yet mature enough to run real applications,
- but if you are interested in trying out Mono, you can definetly start
- testing things out as many programs run.
+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 C# compiler has made significant progress, it can even compile
- itself now, but it can not yet be ran with our class libraries as
- they are missing some features.
+ The class libraries are mature enough to run various real
+ applications: our C# compiler, ASP.NET, and Gtk#-based
+ applications.
-Q: When will you ship it?
+Q: When will you ship Mono?
-A: It is premature to target a shipdate for the code, but we
- anticipate that it will be available some time in the middle of
- 2002.
+A: Please see the <a href="mono-roadmap.html">Mono Roadmap</a> for
+ more details on the release plans.
Q: How can I contribute?
Project white paper</a>.
the project.
+Q: Miguel said once that Mono was being implemented in COBOL. Is that true?.
+
+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 Novell provide consulting services around Mono?
+
+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
- timeline 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
We encourage GNOME developers to continue using the existing tools,
libraries and components. Improvements made to GNOME will have an
- impact on Mono, as they would be the "backend" for various classes.
+ impact on Mono, as they would be the "back-end" for various classes.
Q: Will Mono include compatibility with Bonobo components? What is the
relationship between Mono and Bonobo?
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?
A: Yes, we will enable people to write GNOME applications using Mono.
+Q: Do you have C# bindings for GNOME?.
+
+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: Compatibility.
+
+ 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?
of P/Invoke to call Win32 functions, your smart client applications
will run on Mono platforms.
+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.
+
+Q: What can I do with Gtk#?.
+
+A: Gtk# is becoming very usable and you can create applications and
+ applets like those you see in a GNOME desktop environment. It's
+ easy to install so it's worth a try.
+
+Q: How can I compile my HelloWorld.cs which uses Gtk#?.
+
+A: Try: mcs -r:gtk-sharp HelloWorld.cs
+
+Q: Is there any way how to connect DataAdapter to some GTK# controls?
+
+A: There is a sample file called `DbClient' in gtk-sharp/samples that you
+ might to look at. It is a sample program in Gtk# that adds/updates/deletes
+ information on a Postgress database. When we have the new table/tree widgets,
+ I am sure someone would write an adapter for System.Data (in Gtk2 the
+ tree/list widgets are written using a view/model, so you only need to write
+ a model that maps to the database). You can have a look at
+ gtk-sharp/sample/DbClient, where there is a GTK# application that uses
+ System.Data. It does not use DataAdapter, but DataReader though.
+
+Q: Do you have an estimate for when Windows.Forms will be released?
+
+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
Q: Is Microsoft helping Ximian with this project?
-A: No. Ximian CTO Miguel de Icaza had a friendly conversation with
- Microsoft software architect David Stutz, but that's about the
- extent of the contact. Microsoft is interested in other
- implementations of .NET and are willing to help make the ECMA spec
- more accurate for this purpose.
+A: There is no high level communication between Ximian and Microsoft
+ at this point, but engineers who work on .NET or the ECMA groups
+ have been very friendly, and very nice to answer our questions, or
+ clarify part of the specification for us.
- Ximian representatives have also spoken with Sam Ruby at the ECMA
- TG3 committee to discuss the same issues.
+ Microsoft is interested in other implementations of .NET and are
+ willing to help make the ECMA spec more accurate for this purpose.
-Q: Is Microsoft or Corel paying Ximian to do this?
+ Ximian was also invited to participate in the ECMA committee
+ meetings for C# and the CLI.
+
+Q: Are Microsoft or Corel paying Ximian to do this?
A: No.
A: No. Microsoft proved with the CLI and the C# language that it was
possible to create a powerful foundation for many languages to
- interoperate. We will always have that.
+ inter-operate. We will always have that.
Even if changes happened in the platform which were undocumented,
the existing platform would a value on its own.
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: Can mono run the WebMatrix?
+
+A: No. That requires System.Windows.Forms support which is not
+ currently implemented.
+
+Q: Does mono have something like Passport?
+ Will mono have a server side Passport/Similar framework for XSP as well as client classes?
+
+A: Not yet, but the client side API for authentication is not the problem.
+ We will likely have a lot of other authentication APIs, like the Liberty
+ Alliance APIs. The problem is people on the web provider end that might use
+ this for authentication.
+
+<a name="platforms"></a>
+** Mono Platforms
+
+Q: What operating systems does Mono run on?
+
+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, 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, HPPA, StrongARM and PowerPC architectures.
+
+Q: Can Mono run on Windows 9x, or ME editions?
+
+A: Mono requires Unicode versions of Win32 APIs to run,
+ and only a handful of *W functions is supported under Win9x.
+
+ There is Microsoft Layer for Unicode that provides implementation
+ of these APIs on 9x systems.
+
+ Unfortunately it uses linker trick for delayed load that is not
+ supported by ld, so some sort of adapter is necessary.
+
+ You will need MSLU and one of the following libs to link Mono to
+ unicows.dll <a
+ href="http://mono.eurosoft.od.ua/files/unimono.zip">http://mono.eurosoft.od.ua/files/unimono.zip</a>
+ or alternatively search the net for "libunicows".
+
+ No changes to Mono source code required, the only thing is to make
+ sure that linker will resolve imports to adapter library instead of
+ 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 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.
+
+Q: Will missing API entry points be implemented?
+
+A: Yes, the goal of Mono is to implement precisely the .NET Framework
+ API (as well as compile-time selectable subsets, for those
+ interested in a lighter version of Mono).
+
+Q: If the behavior of an API call is different, will you fix it?
+
+A: Yes, we will. But we will need your assistance for this. If you find a bug
+ in the Mono implementation, please fill a bug report in <a
+ href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com">http://bugzilla.ximian.com</a>.
+ Do not assume we know about the problem, we might not, and using the bug tracking
+ system helps us organize the development process.
+
+Q: Can I develop my applications on Windows, and deploy on a supported
+ Mono platform (like Linux)?
+
+A: Yes, you can.
+
+ As of today, Mono is not 100% finished, so it is sometimes useful
+ to compile the code with Mono, to find out if your application
+ depends on unimplemented functionality.
+
+Q: Will applications run out the box with Mono?
+
+A: Sometimes they will. But sometimes a .NET application might invoke
+ 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
A: Most of Mono is being written using C#, with only
a few parts written in C (The JIT engine, the runtime, the
- interfaces to the garbage collection system). The Portable.NET
- Project is using C for development.
+ interfaces to the garbage collection system).
+
+ It is easier to describe what is unique about Mono:
+ <ul>
+ <li> An advanced native-code compilation engine: Both
+ just-in-time compilation (JIT) and pre-compilation of CIL
+ bytecodes into native code are supported.
+
+ <li> A foundation for code optimization: The new code generator in
+ Mono builds on the experience of our first JIT engine, and enables
+ us to implement various advanced compiler optimization
+ tricks. With an SSA-framework, plenty of new optimizations are possible.
+
+ The current list of optimizations are: Peephole postpass,
+ Branch optimizations, Inline method calls, Constant folding, Constant
+ propagation, Copy propagation, Dead code elimination, Linear scan
+ global reg allocation, Conditional moves, Emit per-domain code,
+ Instruction scheduling, Intrinsic method implementations, Tail
+ recursion and tail calls, Loop related optimizations, Fast x86 FP
+ compares, Leaf procedures optimizations
+
+ <li> A self-hosting C# compiler written in C#, which is clean, easy
+ to maintain.
+
+ <li> Focus on the .NET Framework: we are tracking down the .NET
+ Framework API definition, as we believe it is the API people
+ 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,
+ PowerPC Sparc and S390 systems, while the interpreter works on
+ x86, SPARC, StrongARM, s390 and PowerPC systems.
+
+ The JIT engine is being ported to amd64 systems as of this
+ time.
+
+ <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
+ is also the foundation to re-target the JIT engine to other
+ systems.
+
+ <li> Full support for remoting in the runtime.
+
+ <li> The C# compiler, the JIT engine and the class libraries are
+ mature enough that the whole system has been self-hosting
+ since April 2002. This means that we develop Mono
+ completely with itself at this point.
+
+ By forcing ourselves to use our own code to develop our
+ 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>
+
+ In general, Mono is more mature and complete since it has been used
+ to develop itself, which is a big motivator for stability and
+ correctness, while Portable.NET remains pretty much an untested
+ platform.
+
+Q: I hear Mono keeps changing the P/Invoke API, why?
+
+A: We are just fixing our implementation to be compatible with the
+ Microsoft implementation. In other words, the Mono P/Invoke API is
+ more complete when compared to the Portable.NET version, hence
+ various pieces of software that depend on this extended
+ functionality fail to work properly with Portable.NET.
<a name="webservices"></a>
** Web Services
Q: Can I author Web Services with Mono?
A: You will be able to write Web Services on .NET that run on Mono and
- viceversa.
+ vice-versa.
Q: If Mono implements the SDK classes, will I be able to write and
execute .NET Web Services with it?
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?
exposing it to other RPC systems (like CORBA) is really simple, and
does not even require support from an object.
- We will be implementing CORBA interoperation as an extension to the
- Mono classes so that we can integrate with Bonobo, just like
- Microsoft provides COM interoperation classes and support
- mechanisms.
+ <a href="http://remoting-corba.sourceforge.net/">Remoting.CORBA</a> is
+ a CORBA implementation that is gaining momentum.
+
+ Building an implementation of the Bonobo interfaces once this is ready
+ should be relatively simple.
Q: Can I serialize my objects to other things other than XML?
A: Yes, although the serializing tools have not yet been planned, and
-you would probably have to implement them yourself.
+ you would probably have to implement them yourself.
Q: Will Mono use ORBit?
-A: No. Mono will be using a new implementation of CORBA that isn't still started.
+A: There are a few advantages in using ORBit, like reusing existing code
+ and leveraging all the work done on it. Michael Meeks has posted
+ a few <a href="http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2002-September/008592.html">reasons</a>,
+ as well as some <a href="http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2002-September/008657.html">ideas</a>
+ that could be used to reuse ORBit.
+
+ Most users are likely to choose a native .NET solution, like <a href="http://cvs.gnome.org/bonsai">Remoting.CORBA</a>
+
+
+<a name="monodoc"></a>
+** MonoDoc
+
+Q: What is MonoDoc?
+
+A: MonoDoc is a graphical documentation browser for the Mono class
+ libraries. Currently, monodoc consists of a Gtk# application and is
+ in heavy development.
<a name="devel"></a>
** Development Tools and Issues
-Q: Will it be possible to use the CLI features without using bytecodes
- or the JIT?
+Q: I am having trouble compiling a new version of Mono from CVS, it
+ complains about my runtime being out of sync.
+
+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*
+ while BUILDING. Think about it: you're building a new class
+ library with the old runtime. If the new class library references
+ a function that the old runtime knows nothing about, the runtime
+ system issues this warning.
+
+ Basically what needs to happen is for a new mono runtime to be
+ compiled, then the corlib class library be compiled, and once this
+ is done, install the new runtime, followed by corlib.
+
+ Once this is done, you can continue building your entire
+ environment.
+
+ 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
- available for C developers to integreate with their applications if
+ 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.
Q: Will you have new development tools?
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?
can interpret them as trivially as you can interpret JVM byte
codes.
+Q: Isn't it a little bit confusing to have the name of "XSP" (the same
+ as in the Apache Project) for the ASP.NET support in Mono?.
+
+A: In Mono, xsp is just the name of the C# code generator for ASP.NET
+ pages. In the Apache Project, it is a term for the "eXtensible Server
+ Pages" technology so as they are very different things, they don't
+ conflict.
+
+Q: Is there any plan to develop an aspx server for Mono?.
+
+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. 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
+ their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
+ Linux)
+
+A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
+
+Q: How should I write tests or a tests suite?
+
+A: If you do a test suite for C#, you might want to keep it
+ independent of the Mono C# compiler, so that other compiler
+ implementations can later use it.
+
+Q: Would it be too terrible to have another corlib signed as mscorlib?
+
+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 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 can use:
+
+ 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.
+ They are compatible with .NET.
+
+ However, some classes from the library may have a different binary
+ representation, because they may have a different internal data
+ structure, so for example you won't be able to exchange a Hastable
+ object between Mono and MS.NET. It should not be a problem if you
+ are using primitive types, arrays or your own classes. In any case,
+ could you post a test case?
+
+
+Q: My C code uses the __stdcall which is not availble on Linux, how can I
+ make the code portable Windows/Unix across platforms?
+
+A: Replace the __stdcall attribute with the STDCALL macro, and include this
+ in your C code for newer gcc versions:
+
+ #ifndef STDCALL
+ #define STDCALL __attribute__((stdcall))
+ #endif
+
+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:
+
+ <i>I think that the best solution is the binfmt feature with the
+ wrapper that exists with Debian packages at:
+
+ <a href="http://www.debianplanet.org/mono/dists/unstable/main/source/admin/">http://www.debianplanet.org/mono/dists/unstable/main/source/admin/</a>
+
+ If you want use it with Big endian machines, you should apply a patch
+ (<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>)
+
+ It works really good and lets you use wine also, it reads the .exe file
+ headers and check if it's a .net executable.
+
+ 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: Does Mono support ASP.NET?
+
+A: Yes.
+
+ Mono supports ASP.NET, we have shown an unmodified IBuySpy
+ installation running on Mono as well as various other programs. You can
+ try it yourself downloading the XSP server.
+
+Q: Do I need install cygwin to work on ASP.NET in mono or Linux is enough since
+ it is self host right now.
+
+A: Linux is enough.
+
+Q: How can I run ASP.NET-based applications with Mono?
+
+A: You need the Mono runtime and a hosting web server. Currently we distribute a
+ small web server called `xsp' which is used to debug applications, or you can choose
+ to use Daniel's Apache 2 module.
+
+Q: Any plan to make ASP.NET in mono works with Apache in Linux?.
+
+A: Daniel has authored an Apache2 Module for Mono that hosts the ASP.NET runtime
+ and is available here: <a
+ href="http://apacheworld.org/modmono/">http://apacheworld.org/modmono/</a>
+
+Q: Will you support Apache 1?
+
+A: Modules developed for Apache 2 are not compatible with Apache 1.3
+ Daniel plans to support Apache 1.3 in the future but the current focus is on
+ Apache 2, because of the better support for threading and Windows.
+
+Q: Can I run Apache 1 and Apache 2 on the same machine?
+
+ 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
+ same physical machine.
+
+<a name="ado">
+** Mono and ADO.NET
+
+Q: What is the status of ADO.NET support?. Could I start migrating
+ applications from MS.NET to Mono?.
+
+A: You could start right now using the ADO.NET support in mono, of course,
+ if you want to help filling the missing gaps while you develop your app
+ :-) Well, what I mean is that we're not that far to having full ADO.NET
+ support in Mono, and we've got a lot of working things, so if we could
+ get more help, we'd finish it really soon :-)
+
+Q: In developing the data architecture for the application are there and
+ objects I should stay away from in order to insure the smoothest possible
+ transition (minimum code rewrite) to Mono's ADO.NET implementation? (For
+ example, strongly typed datasets versus untyped datasets, etc...)
+
+A: We are implementing all the classes in Microsoft .NET's System.Data, so
+ you can be sure that things will work the same in Mono as with the Microsoft
+ implementation.
+
+Q: Does Mono can to connect to Sybase by using Mono.Data.*?
+
+A: Yes. use Mono.Data.SybaseClient. First of all you have to create a
+ SybaseConnection, and then, from it, use it as any other
+ IDbConnection-based class.
+
<a name="java">
** Mono and Java
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">frontend 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: Could Java target the CLI?
-A: Yes, Java could target the CLI. We have details on a <a
- href="ideas.html#guavac">project</a> that someone could take on to
- make this happen.
+A: Yes, Java could target the CLI, Microsoft's J# compiler does that.
- Microsoft has an implemenation of the Java language called J# that
- can target the CIL execution engine.
+ The <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net/">IKVM</a> project builds a
+ Java runtime that works on top of .NET and on top of Mono. IKVM is
+ essentially a JIT compiler that translates from JVM bytecodes into
+ CIL instructions, and then lets the native JIT engine take over.
-Q: Is it possible to write a JVM byte code to CIL convertor?
+Q: Is it possible to write a JVM byte code to CIL converter?
-A: Yes, it is possible. Here are a few starting point:
+A: Yes, this is what <a href="http://weblog.ikvm.net">IKVM</a> does.
- <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").
+Q: Could mono become a hybrid CIL/java platform?
- The forest is just an array of trees.
+A: This can be obtained easily with IKVM.
- Indeed, run the JIT engine with -d (mono -d prog.exe) and
- you will see how these trees look like.
+Q: Do you plan to implement a Javascript compiler?
- You will have to do something similar for Java.
+A: Yes. The beginnings of the JScript compiler can be found on CVS.
+ Cesar coordinates this effort.
- * Each "forest of trees" has a meaning. This meaning can now
- be translated into the equivalent "meaning" in CLR-land.
- </ul>
+Q: Can Mono or .NET share system classes (loaded from mscore.dll and other
+ libs) or will it behave like Sun's Java VM?
+
+A: What you can do with mono is to load different applications in their own
+ application domain: this is a feature of the CLR that allows sandboxing
+ applications inside a single process space. This is usualy exploited to
+ compartmentalize different parts of the same app, but it can also be
+ effectively used to reduce the startup and memory overhead.
+ Using different appdomains the runtime representation of types and
+ methods is shared across applications.
<a name="extending"></a>
** Extending Mono
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
- Mono and .NET
+ Mono and .NET.
+
+ Today Mono ships with a number of extra libraries that were
+ 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: 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
+ their own libraries? (I'm still not very good at library paths in
+ Linux)
+
+A: Yes. Just use two installation prefixes.
+
<a name="portability"></a>
** Portability
Windows. We do not expect many Linux-isms in the code, so it
should be easy to port Mono to other UNIX variants.
-Q: What about Mono on non X-based systems?
+Q: What about Mono on non Linux-based systems?
A: Our main intention at Ximian is to be able to develop GNOME
applications with Mono, but if you are interested in providing a
- port of the Winform classes to other platforms (frame buffer or
+ port of the Winforms classes to other platforms (frame buffer or
MacOS X for example), we would gladly integrate them, as long
they are under an open source license.
-Q: Will Mono run on Windows?
+Q: What operating systems/CPUs do you support
+
+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 v8, SPARC v9, Itanium, HP-PA,
+ PowerPC and StrongARM CPUs.
+
+Q: Does Mono run on Windows?
+
+A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
+ binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
+
+Q: Does Mono run on Linux?
+
+A: Yes. You can get pre-compiled
+ binaries from <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/download.html">http://www.go-mono.com/download.html</a>
+
+Q: Will I require Cygwin to run mono?
-A: We hope so. Currently some parts of Mono only run on Windows
- (the C# compiler is a .NET executable) and other parts have only
- been compiled on Linux, but work on Windows with Cygwin.
+A: No. Cygwin is only required to build Mono.
Q: Will Mono depend on GNOME?
in Mono for implementing a `Hello World Enterprise P2P Web
Service', you will not need any GNOME components.
+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: 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?
+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 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 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."
+ even if you know what these classes/methods do.
+
+Q: Will built-in reporting be supported for crystal reports? This is a
+ heavily used part of our system.
-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.
+A: . Crystal Reports are propriety. Someone may try to emulate
+ the behavior, but no-one has yet volunteered.
-Q: What about using GNU Lightning?
+Q: Who about writing to the registry? As I understand it, Linux does not have
+ a counterpart to the registry. Should I avoid relying on that feature?
-A: We are also researching <a
- href="http://www.gnu.org/software/lightning/lightning.html">GNU
- Lightning</a>.
+A: Try to avoid it. Although there would be a emulation for registry in
+ Mono too. GNOME does have a registry like mechanism for configuration. But
+ Even if gnome has a configuration system similar to the registry, the keys
+ will not be equal, so you will probably end up having to do some runtime
+ detection, and depending on this load an assembly that has your
+ platform-specific hacks.
+
+Q: System.Data.SqlClient with FreeTDS, will you port parts of these to C# and
+ use them?
+
+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 backend 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 not working on a GCC front-end for C#
+
+Q: Will you support C/C++ on the Mono VM?
+
+A:The open64 compiler effort from SGI helps a lot in this direction.
+
+ 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.
-A: We are currently seeking volunteers for those projects.
- Visit the <a href="contributing.html">contributing</a> section if
- you are interested.
+Q: What about Managed C++?
-Q: But would this work around the GPL in the GCC compiler and allow
- people to work on non-free front-ends?
+A: Once a full translator for WHIRL exists, we are interested in
+ looking at expanding the GCC frontends to include extensions for
+ Managed C++.
-A: People can already do this by targeting the JVM byte codes (there
- are about 130 compilers for various languages that target the JVM).
+Q: What about making a front-end to GCC that takes CIL images and
+ generates native code?
-Q: Why are you writing a JIT engine instead of a front-end to GCC?
+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: 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 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 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
href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html">MIT X11</a>
license.
+ The Mono runtime and the Mono C# Compiler are also available under
+ a proprietary license for those who can not use the LGPL and the
+ GPL in their code.
+
+ For licensing details, contact <a
+ href="mailto:mono-licensing@ximian.com">mono-licensing@ximian.com</a>
+
+
Q: I would like to contribute code to Mono under a particular
license. What licenses will you accept?
but as a general rule, we will accept the code under the same
terms of the "container" module.
-<a name="patents></a>
+<a name="patents"></a>
** Patents
Q: Could patents be used to completely disable Mono (either submarine
patents filed now, or changes made by Microsoft specifically to
create patent problems)?
-A: No. First, its basic functional capabilities have pre-existed too
- long to be held up by patents. The basic components of Mono are
- technologically equivalent to Sun's Java technology, which has been
- around for years. Mono will also implement multi-language and
- multi-architecture support, but there are previous technologies
- such as UCSD p-code and ANDF that also support multiple languages
- using a common intermediate language. The libraries are similar
- to other language's libraries, so again, they're too similar to
- be patentable in large measure.
-
- However, if Microsoft does patent some technology, then our plan is
- to either (1) work around it, (2) chop out patented pieces, (3)
- find prior art that would render the patent useless.
+A: First some background information.
+
+ The .NET Framework is divided in two parts: the ECMA/ISO covered
+ technologies and the other technologies developed on top of it like
+ ADO.NET, ASP.NET and Windows.Forms.
+
+ Mono implements the ECMA/ISO covered parts, as well as being a
+ project that aims to implement the higher level blocks like
+ ASP.NET, ADO.NET and Windows.Forms.
+
+ The Mono project has gone beyond both of those components and has
+ developed and integrated third party class libraries, the most
+ important being: Debugging APIs, integration with the Gnome
+ platform (Accessibility, Pango rendering, Gdk/Gtk, Glade, GnomeUI),
+ Mozilla, OpenGL, extensive database support (Microsoft only
+ supports a couple of providers out of the box, while Mono has
+ support for 11 different providers), our POSIX integration
+ libraries and finally the embedded API (used to add scripting to
+ applications and host the CLI, or for example as an embedded
+ runtime in Apache).
+
+ The core of the .NET Framework, and what has been patented by
+ 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="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 controversial elements are the ASP.NET, ADO.NET and
+ Windows.Forms subsets. Those are convenient for people who need
+ full compatibility with the Windows platform, but are not required
+ for the open source Mono platform, nor integration with today's
+ Mono's rich support of Linux.
+
+ The Mono strategy for dealing with these technologies is as
+ follows: (1) work around the patent by using a different
+ 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.
Not providing a patented capability would weaken the
interoperability, but it would still provide the free software /
open source software community with good development tools, which
is the primary reason for developing Mono.
-<a name="etc"></a> **
-Miscellaneous Questions
+ The patents do not apply in countries where software patents are
+ not allowed.
+
+ For Linux server and desktop development, we only need the ECMA
+ 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
Q: You say that the CLI allows multiple languages to execute on the
same environment. Isn't this the purpose of CORBA?
CLI allows "data-level interoperability" because every
language/component uses the same data layout and memory management.
- This means you can operate directly upon the datatypes that someone
+ This means you can operate directly upon the data types that someone
else provides, without having to go via their interfaces. It also
- means you don't have to "marshall" (convert) parameters (data
+ means you don't have to "marshal" (convert) parameters (data
layouts are the same, so you can just pass components directly) and
- you don't have to worry about memory managment, because all
+ you don't have to worry about memory management, because all
languages/components share the same garbage collector and address
space. This means much less copying and no need for reference
counting.
A: It's possible. But there is no plan about this. So the short answer is no.
+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 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
+ bugs reported on the mailing-list may be easily forgotten, so it's
+ better to file them in the <a href="http://bugzilla.ximian.com/enter_bug.cgi">bug tracking system</a>.
+
+Q: Does mcs support the same command line options as the MS C#
+ compiler?
+
+A: The Mono C# compiler now supports the same command line
+ arguments as the Microsoft C# compiler does.
+
+Q: How about getting searchable archives on lists.ximian.com?
+
+A: You can perform a search on the mono-related mailing lists
+ <a href="http://www.go-mono.com/mailing-lists.html">here</a>.
+
+Q: When using mono from cvs or from a snapshot, I get an error messaage
+ saying that Mono and the runtime are out of sync. How do I fix that?
+
+A: If you use mono from cvs, you need to be prepared for changes in the
+ runtime internals. This means that you should keep a working setup
+ before blindling updating (a working setup may just be the last released
+ tarball or a recent binary snapshot).
+ Usually, compiling corlib with mcs before recompiling the C runtime does
+ the right thing (but occasionally you may need to do it the other
+ way around).
+
+Q: Why are you going for a GtkHtml implementation?
+
+A: GtkHTML is just a lightweight HTML rendering engine that does not
+ support CSS, so we need it to look decent for those of us that will
+ be using the documentation in our day-to-day work on Linux. The
+ Web-based interfaces lack the agility that you get from a native GUI
+ tool to browse your documentation. Probably later on, we will write
+ scripts and generate a full documentation set that is web-browsable,
+ but we need a command-line and GUI tools that we can use natively on
+ Linux when disconnected from the Web (and that has better
+ interactions than a web page).
+
+Q: Is there a command-line tool that allows me to access .NET interactively?
+
+A: There are several but one that is free software and uses MCS is the one
+ Dennis Lu from Rice University is working on; a REPL C# interpreter.
+
+Q: Is it possible to use Visual C++ with Mono?.
+
+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://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