[Mono-devel-list] Can I use Microsoft's DLL'son the Win32 platform?

[Jonathan S. Chambers]

	If you stick to managed code, "run on Mono" means run almost anywhere (Windows, Linux, Unix). IF you want access to platform specific libraries and API's not part of the .Net runtime, then you have the option to access them (PInvoke). It's unfair to knock Mono because it doesn't expose every useful API from every platform on every platform.
	In regards to COM Interop, the problem is not that Mono has chosen not to support COM Interop. The problem is the fact that there is no COM to interop with on Linux/Unix. COM didn't port before Mono (easily), and it still doesn't port after Mono.

- Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: mono-devel-list-admin at lists.ximian.com [mailto:mono-devel-list-admin at lists.ximian.com] On Behalf Of Jürg Billeter
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 2:59 PM
To: Pete Gonzalez
Cc: Miguel de Icaza; mono-devel-list at lists.ximian.com
Subject: Re: [Mono-devel-list] Can I use Microsoft's DLL'son the Win32 platform?

On Die, 2005-04-26 at 14:39 -0400, Pete Gonzalez wrote:
> Miguel de Icaza wrote:
> > Apps that use COM or ActiveX controls will never run on Mono.  
> > Even if COM was there, the existing code that depends on the control
> > would require the control to be ported to some form of COM on Unix
> > (which to begin with is not available in a reusable form) and binaries
> > for each platform to be created.
> 
> Heh, so in other words, "run on Mono" means "run on Unix"?  That's cool, 
> but you know not everybody cares about creating a single .exe that runs on 
> multiple platforms, especially if it means giving up valuable libraries and 
> API's.  For example, the Mac versions of big apps like Adobe Photoshop or 
> MS Word have huge differences from Win32 in order to integrate properly 
> with the OS.  And for many companies, the only platform they have to worry 
> about is the one with ActiveX.  :-D

The whole point of Mono is to develop a cross-platform environment, so
it doesn't really make sense to implement non-cross-platform components,
does it?

Excerpt from Mono FAQ[1]:

"What is Mono(tm) exactly? 
The Mono Project is an open development initiative sponsored by Novell
that is working to develop an open source, UNIX version of the
Microsoft .NET development platform. Its objective is to enable UNIX
developers to build and deploy cross-platform .NET Applications."

[1] http://www.mono-project.com/FAQ:_General

Regards,

Jürg

-- 
Jürg Billeter <j at bitron.ch>

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