Would it be possible to code and compile C#, on a Windows 8 Tablet (WinRT) (the ARM processor edition)?
Basically it comes down to this:
Is there a C# compiler that runs on ARM?
Is there and IDE that can run in WinRT?
If the above is true, I don't see any issue, but I currently can't find if the C# compiler runs on ARM (only a lot of posts about compiling for ARM). I've also looked at SharpDevelop, and found that their source code compiles for "Any CPU", which according to this post: Windows RT and c#, means that it'll run on ARM.
Sharpdevelop however requires .NET 4.0 "Full" runtime, which I couldn't find if WinRT has or not. I'm betting it doesn't, as WinRT is supposed to be a really lightweight edition of Windows.
As a sidenote, I know that Windows tablets will come in two editions, one for ARM and one for classic processors. The classic processors will run a normal Windows 8 edition, which means it can run all the native applications. Compiling C# wouldn't be an issue here - so the question is rather, can I do the same on ARM?
This would be awesome for travelling and trying out new ideas quickly.
Currently: no, and no.
It would certainly be possible to build a Windows Store app that contains an IDE and a C# compiler. However, you would not be able to run any programs built using such an app. Windows Store apps run with reduced privileges in a sandbox. In this sandbox, the CLR will only load system assemblies and assemblies contained in the app package. The app package is immutable and cannot be modified at runtime.
Actually, the .Net framework on the surface includes csc.exe, the Csharp compiler.
I've gotten code to compile, but WinRt doesn't seem to like it being run without proper signing.
The IDE won't happen for a while, not yet at least. I'm sure that with proper signing, it is possible to run a compiled executable.
Or the other guy might be right and it isn't just an issue of signing.
I've ported SharpDevelop to run on unlocked Windows RT devices, it works at least for C# Windows Forms apps. http://chentiangemalc.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/sharpdevelop-rt-edition-beta-code-windows-forms-directly-on-windows-rt/
Related
I am completely new to Mono and Gtk#. I'm developing an app on Linux but I want to run it on Windows as well. However, if I build the app using MonoDevelop and then run the .exe file in Windows, it doesn't launch.
Is it really possible to make Windows apps using Linux/Mono, or am I missing something?
Baltasarq is correct. The reason that your app won't run is that the dependent GTK# binaries are not on your target machine. The compiled .exe will run on any .NET implementation so long as it is of at least the .NET version that your executable targets and the dependent assemblies are available.
Like Symon said, you have to build your project on the operating system you're intending it to be be compiled for because of the resources (API's etc.) that specific operating system is loaded with.
When I have a problem like this, I simply use a virtual machine software like VirtualBox or VMware to run Windows and then install and run MonoDevelop inside of Windows. Don't worry about the expensive cost of Windows, for you can just get Windows from Microsoft's website here. There will be a little watermark in the corner of the screen because you didn't pay for the copy, but everything is still totally legal and fit for software development.
UPDATE:
A better method to do this is to install the GTK# dependencies and then recompile the program.
I'd like to create a few simple C# applications and command line utilities to learn more about C#, affordably. Initially, I tried using Microsoft's free Studio Express in a Windows 8 virtual machine; however, it quickly reported that it could only create apps for the Microsoft app store and failed to build the simplest examples of an XML file transformer.
I also found Mono or rather MonoDevelop. I'm still reading about it. It seems that the SDK is entangled with the MonoDevelop IDE, and the MonoDevelop installer is actually the Xamarin Studio installer. Xamarin is a subscription based IDE and inexpensive versions of it appear to be constrained. Perhaps I need to continue studying; however, I thought I'd ask if anyone has experience getting started with C# on OS X.
Ideally, I'd like the simplest setup. I prefer using command line compilers, simple code editors, and build scripts. Are there Windows and OS X command line compilers for C# applications? Are there framework libraries that can easily be included that work on both OS X and Windows?
First, Mono is not an SDK, but a runtime. The specific point of Mono is to be able to, for the most part, run the same IL on other platforms as what runs on .NET for Windows. This means that, barring the slight hiccups in implementation, you could copy a program, run it via "mono program.exe" (via the console) on OS X, and get the same output (I have tested this with Console applications, at least - UI starts to get a little hairier).
In terms of library, the Mono libraries try to mirror the .NET ones so exactly, that the code you write for one is almost completely compatible with the other.
"MonoDevelop" and "Xamarin Studio" are the same thing, simply having applied a name change after a certain version. They are the most well known tools for building in the .NET language family on a non-Windows system (the only tools I even know of), and tend to mirror the shortcuts of Visual Studio well (at least on windows.) Unlike Mono itself, these are an IDE, and do not constrain you any more than VS constrains you into .NET.
The constraints you'll find with free Xamarin apply mostly to their mobile platforms (iOS, Android) and do not affect working with desktop (ie Windows and OS X) applications.
I've settled on using a Windows 8 virtual machine and Visual Studio Express for Windows Desktop as Dan J recommended. For usage similar to mine, simple desktop and command line apps, be careful not to select and install the "V.S.E. for Windows" version.
I have years of experience developing on microsoft development stack primarily visual studio 2012/c#. But right now, im required to develop app on linux. While i know c++, its been years since i really touch that. I have few questions.
Can i develop using mono and compile binary for linux and windows with no code(or minimal) code changes?
Can i develop on windows platform using visual studio 2012, compile for linux on window platform? do i need to use virtual machine for compiling for linux in windows platform?
How do you setup your development environment if you want to develop linux app on windows platform(develop on windows, compile for linux and windows. my linux box use for testing is a separate machine.)
Some info on what im working on.
My project is about network channel analysis. The client is cheap industrial linux box most probably with no ui. Im using mono/c# to develop the client. The server would be windows develop using vs2012 c#. Most probably using wpf as ui. Im planning to share network/communication library between linux(client) and windows(server). My primary concern for using linux is for cost saving since the client is almost thousand units.
thank you.
Mono runs executables in PE (Portable Executable) format, the native file format of Windows. There's no need to "compile for Linux", as long as your app is pure MSIL. And even if you use native DLLs through p/invoke, Mono and Wine work together to run the Windows files on Linux.
(The a.out and ELF executable formats used by native Linux applications don't have mechanisms for storing .NET metadata, the PE format was modified to support .NET, so that's what .NET Framework (not Micro Framework) implementations use regardless of platform)
The most important things to consider at the beginning are,
WinForms of Mono is problematic. Not only most third party controls won't work properly, but also libgdiplus itself is not 100% compatible with Microsoft's GDI+. It might appear to be a sweet option, but later you might still need to fight hard against the incompatibilities.
WPF is not an option as Mono does not support it yet.
GTK# is your best choice for UI, which blends naturally with Linux distros. If you refactor your Windows project properly, you should be able to share the non-UI code between your Windows and Linux solutions. This is what Mono guys recommend (not only use native UI frameworks for Windows, Linux, but also for Mac/MonoMac, iOS/Xamarin.iOS, and Android/Xamarin.Android).
So go back to your questions,
You should never wish for no code change for a real world project. No, that's impossible. As I said earlier, you have a chance to share most non-UI portion.
You can develop the non-UI portion and the Windows only portion using VS2012 and test them out on Windows. If you plan to use Mono's WinForms or GTK#, you must develop and debug on Linux using MonoDevelop. Thus, you need either a virtual machine or physical machine of Linux.
For me, I frequently switch between Linux/MonoDevelop and Windows/VS.
As Mono + C# is much more productive than using C/C++, many successful Linux apps are developed on Mono, such as Banshee and Tomboy.
You can use Visual Studio without problems but for example you cannot use WPF, while Windows Forms are ok. For more information what you can use visit: http://www.mono-project.com/Compatibility
Moreover there exists Mono tools which integrates with VS: http://www.mono-project.com/GettingStartedWithMonoTools
I was making an OpenGL application with C# and Windows Forms.
Recently I thought about making it cross-platform, I mean to make it run on Windows, Linux and OS X. I have never even tried to make a cross platform application.
I did some research and found that I should use mono. Do applications made with MonoDevelop will run fine all of these platforms without any additional installations? If not, what exactly user will need to install to run that application?
Is there any easy way to write the code once and then build it for windows, linux and os x without requiring the additional installations?
Does applications made with MonoDevelop will run fine on windows, linux, os x without any additional installations?
Well. They will require Mono to be installed on Linux and OsX and the corresponding version of the .NET framework on Windows (or Mono there too).
When developing, you will of course need to keep cross platform concerns in mind (directory separators, for instance, though the Path class helps here), and Mono have created the migration analyzer to help with this - see MoMa.
Now, assuming you kept these in mind and that Mono and or the .NET framework is installed on the end user system, you shouldn't need anything additional to install.
I'm developing an application for a pos-pc running windows xp, this application is based on .NET framework 4 and use wpf for the UI.
I need to increase the performance of such application, I've read about ngen for generate native image but I don't understand very well how it works and how to use it.
Any tip, link, tutorial about ngen will be much appreciated.
I need to create a lightweight version of windows xp capable of running .NET framework 4 and use some COM object but i don't know what I can remove from the XP installer (using nLite).
I've tried Windows embedded 7 standard but the Intel gma driver are not compatible and i can't install it.
Thanks
check this one: Improving WPF applications startup time
in short, ngen is an utility that compiles the IL code generated by Visual Studio build process into machine dependent code which does not require the JIT to compile IL anymore at runtime.
How can ngen be relevant for a POS? DOnt getm e right, but this handles startup performance and POS get turned on once in the morning if at all (i.e. if they dont stay up overnight). If you ahve a WPF performacne issue may I suggest you fix those, and dont dabble with native image gneration?
Does the machine have network access? Perhaps moving business logic from the client to a service on the network would improve the performance, so that the client becomes simply a UI shell for the service.