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JorgeLL · Nov 5, 2002, 10:46 PM

I saw this in MSDN today:

The 1.0 release builds and runs on Windows XP, the FreeBSD operating system, and Mac OS X 10.2.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/sscli

It looks like they released a version of the .Net Frameworks for Mac! I'll be compiling an app in C# and trying to run it on my Mac to see if this works... just thought it was interesting news, but it'd be cool if you could run .Net apps in OS X ... Not sure how much stuff doesn't work/etc, but hey it's better than nothing

CollinG3G4 · Nov 5, 2002, 11:24 PM

fsck c#!

Guy Incognito · Nov 5, 2002, 11:52 PM

Oh god...I'm afraid to see what .net is going to bring out for OS X...surely it's gonna flop.

dot_nix · Nov 5, 2002, 11:57 PM

Originally posted by JorgeLL:
I saw this in MSDN today:

The 1.0 release builds and runs on Windows XP, the FreeBSD operating system, and Mac OS X 10.2.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/sscli

It looks like they released a version of the .Net Frameworks for Mac! I'll be compiling an app in C# and trying to run it on my Mac to see if this works... just thought it was interesting news, but it'd be cool if you could run .Net apps in OS X ... Not sure how much stuff doesn't work/etc, but hey it's better than nothing

Interesting! COCOA.NET IS FINALLY OUT!

Detrius · Nov 6, 2002, 12:12 AM

Originally posted by dot_nix:

Interesting! COCOA.NET IS FINALLY OUT!

Cocoa.net? Huh? What did I miss?

Anyway... why bother with Microsoft's C# when you can write in Objective-C and Cocoa? It really is a beautiful combination.

Millennium · Nov 6, 2002, 12:36 AM

Don't get your hopes up; this is basically .NET's equivalent to the Java VM.

We got this basically because Microsoft needed a FreeBSD backend (every time they try downgrading Hotmail's servers to any Windows variant they end up changing back within hours). That made an OSX port easy enough, since, again, there's no interface stuff here.

But one thing that has me curious: why does this require Perl?

krove · Nov 6, 2002, 02:43 AM

Does this mean certain MS applications that are currently slated to become .Net apps in the next few years (i.e. MS Great Plains) might one day run under a Java VM-like umbrella for OS X? (Of course, because they control the code for Great Plains, they may decide to not make it completely .Net, thus keeping it for Windows only).

This could be interesting if it pans out...

driven · Nov 6, 2002, 02:46 AM

Originally posted by Guy Incognito:
Oh god...I'm afraid to see what .net is going to bring out for OS X...surely it's gonna flop.

If (big IF) they create a complete implementation including the CLR and all of the frameworks then the result would be that ANY .NET app could run on the Mac without being recompiled. It would be a good thing.

But ... as it is this is only a small piece of what you need. But it *IS* a start.

sadie · Nov 7, 2002, 05:46 AM

I like C#. Sorry. I like the language-independent runtime and inter-language inheritance. Sorry. I like the idea that software can be written for all platforms in the same environment. Sorry.

In fact, there's only one problem I have with the idea of .Net taking over the world, and that's the fact that Microsoft are behind it. However much I like the technology (sorry), I just don't trust them.

jasong · Nov 7, 2002, 09:11 AM

OK, someone who knows, please respond to this. My company uses a database whose front end is being rewritten in .net

If I have this installed on my Mac, can I run that front end?

-- Jason

Mithras · Nov 7, 2002, 11:18 AM

Originally posted by jasong:
OK, someone who knows, please respond to this. My company uses a database whose front end is being rewritten in .net

If I have this installed on my Mac, can I run that front end?

-- Jason

No.

This is about MS covering their a**, not about writing cross-platform applications. This is a *language runtime* and includes *none* of the .NET foundation classes. And if you've looked at anything about .NET, you can see that it's all about the foundation classes.

Consider the "wide audience" Microsoft thinks can learn something of value from this release:

Developers interested in the internal workings of the .NET Framework can explore this implementation of the CLI to see how garbage collection works...
Teachers and researchers doing work with advanced compiler technology...
People developing their own CLI implementations...

Now, the source might be useful if Apple or an open-source developer is working on their own runtime. But that doesn't help you build the foundation classes at all.

King Bob On The Cob · Nov 9, 2002, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by sadie:
Sorry. I like the idea that software can be written for all platforms in the same environment. Sorry.

Isn't this exactly what Java has been for the last 2-3 years?

macmike42 · Nov 9, 2002, 11:25 PM

Originally posted by King Bob On The Cob:

Isn't this exactly what Java has been for the last 2-3 years?

6-7 years, with the exception of Windows.

dbergstrom · Nov 10, 2002, 12:26 PM

Originally posted by King Bob On The Cob:

Isn't this exactly what Java has been for the last 2-3 years?

And isn't C# just Microsoft's bastardization of Java?

TimmyDee51 · Nov 10, 2002, 04:09 PM

I can understand that people will want .NET apps to run on their Mac (if that's the way the PC world is going, we're going to have to follow), but I don't see why anyone would want to write a .NET app for the Mac. It just seems kind of pointless. I'd stick with Java.