[DotGNU]Mono and dotGNU: what's the point? By Neil Davidson, Red Gate Software

[Brett L Trotter]

This article is tantamount to saying "What is the point of Visual Studio 
.Net?" or "What is the point of GCC?"

Asking what the point of compiling C#, VB.NET, etc on Linux in the 'real 
world' is hardly a question. There are many programmers who have become 
interested in the .NET environment, allowing portability of code to other 
platforms is a massive benefit. I can write the same gui, the same backend 
and it will run on Linux, Solaris, and Windows. No changes to code like in 
C++/C.

As a software developer myself, I have been amazed with dotGNU and have been 
creating applications that I can install on windows and unix machines alike.

Aside from the cross-platform ability provided which microsoft's product line 
lacks, the fact that developers do not need to be tied into the Microsoft 
monopoly is fantastic. With SharpDevelop for windows (and a dotGNU port in 
the works which will enable Unix clients), developers will be able to 
completely escape Microsoft while still maintaining and writing the same old 
code.

The fact that applications can be written on linux draws users away from 
Windows. And the fact that other developers can write applications for linux 
now with the same ease they had writing for windows will make the linux 
application base broader. The battle against Microsoft's monopoly is not as 
simple as the author makes it sound. Sometimes you have to take a step back 
to go two forward. Microsoft designed a very good language, and also designed 
a very good development suite to go with it. Bringing the language to linux 
is one step in the right direction (away from windows desktops), having 
ICSharpCode's SharpDevelop is another step. The last step is bringing the 
developers over, and there are already a lot. DotGNU will get 100% of the 
way, no doubt about it, but even now dotGNU remains very useable for the bulk 
of classes written. Once dotGNU attains full completion, I have no doubt that 
it will bring about all kinds of development on the linux platform from 
formerly windows-only developers.

I believe the article is sadly mistaken and unresearched.