Will there be a .NET runtime environment for the other non-Windows OSs?

[ThatWasFat]

Pretty self explanatory question. Will Microsoft ever release a .NET runtime environment for the other OSs?

 

[Descartes]

I know they've mentioned it, and I do recall reading that it was in the works for some platforms, but there are open-source solutions as well. Check out Mono.

 

[DaveSimmons]

possibly for macs, since MS doesn't see them as a threat to the Windows monopoloy, but they claim "Linux is cancer" and "we'll get GPL cooties" so don't export an official MS Linux port unless some court decision mandates it. Open-source efforts like Mono might succeed, unless MS sees them as enough of a threat to try snuffing them.

Also remember for desktop apps you need the graphics & user-interface emulation too, so for Linux the Wine effort needs to be finished and net-ified

 

[BuckleDownBen]

I just read an article about Mono on the TheRegister website. It was an interview with the Mono founder, who is also the head guy of GNOME. Sorry, too lazy to link.

 

[manly]

Realistically, Mac OS X is the only other platform Mickeysoft would considering porting to.

They could do it in a heartbeat; they just have to decide if it's of strategic benefit to do. For example, if .Net became a key component of either IE or Office, then it would happen.

As far as Mono is concerned, look at it as an open source implementation of C# and the CLR.

It won't run any proprietary .Net apps, and I figure most of M$ .Net development will "leverage" their proprietary libraries.

It seems a lot of people are confused as to the purpose of Mono. Mono isn't attempting to provide .Net for *nix operating systems. What it is trying to do is create a cutting-edge application development platform based on C# and CLR for *nix systems. There is a big difference.

Of course, I'm not yet a .Net expert, so these are simply my opinions based on what I've read.

 

[xWeston]

.net standards arent owned by microsoft... some euro company owns them. At the .net launch i went to they said that there could be .net IDE's on any OS, somebody just has to write the implementation for it.

 

[RSMemphis]

i've heard one announced for FreeBSD.
But that was a while ago - do not know if that's still current.

 

[Nothinman]

MS is supposed to release a CLR for Windows and FreeBSD. They like the BSD license because they can copy the source code and use it for nothing.

And according to Slashdot Mono's MCS C# compiler is complete enough it can compile itself (the C# compiler is written in C#).