[Mono-list] getting started

[Adam Jacob]

On Mon, 2004-05-24 at 16:22, Darren Crotchett wrote:
> I'm trying to give mono a try.  My questions in a nutshell is, "Where should I 
> start?"  Is there a page for Mono newbies?

How about where not to?

Like, maybe...

> <rant>
> No offense to anyone, but in my opinion, the web page is a horrible mess.  
> Everything seems to be thrown together with no thought as to how someone new 
> to mono might approach learning it.
> 
> There are 88 (yes, I counted them) links on the left hand side of the page 
> http://www.go-mono.com/compiling.html.  That's just down the left hand side 
> of the page.  There are 6 more links on the top of the page and who knows how 
> many scattered throughout the page.  Many of the links are not descriptive.  
> 
> Somebody with some organizational skills really needs to work on this page.
> 
> Sometimes the state of Linux and Open Source in general seems so advanced.  
> And, at other times, it's like in its infancy.  Stuff like the following 
> really gets on my nerves:
> 
> [root@localhost src]# rpm -ivh ifolder-0.8.20040521-1.i686.rpm
> error: Failed dependencies:
>         addressbook = 0.8.20040521 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         simias = 0.8.20040521 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         mono-core >= 0.91 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         mono-data >= 0.91 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         mono-posix >= 0.91 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         mono-remoting >= 0.91 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         mono-nunit >= 0.91 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
>         gtk-sharp >= 0.91 is needed by ifolder-0.8.20040521-1
> </rant>

Is a bad idea.  

For future reference, the "right" thing to do here would be to take the
experiences your having right now trying to get mono to work for you,
and writing them down.  Use that as a starting point for a better
installation process, and submit that back to the project.  Take a stab
at using what you learn to rebuild the documents you refer to above.

You get what you give, my friend. :)

For what it's worth, the final part of your rant is easily resolved: try
installing the dependencies.  Or use a utility like apt, yum, or Red
Carpet to resolve them for you automatically.  

> My apologies for the rants.  I realize that they might offend some and will 
> not likely generate good helpful responses to my question, but sometimes you 
> just have to get crap off your chest.

I hear you.  Probably not in the same message as a request for aid, but
hey, to each their own.

Adam