[Mono-list] Mono on Windows?

[Jonathan Pryor]

On Wed, 2004-10-20 at 21:40, gordingin@consiliumsoft.com wrote:
> OK I guess I am missing something. I was just reading the FAQ and it said
> the Mono is supported under Windows. Now I recall the download for Windows
> but eh, wait, what am I missing? Isn't this just C# that is cross
> compilable code?

No.  Mono itself is portable to Windows.

>  Why would one want to run Mono on Windows?

1.  Because you can. :-)

2.  To simplify testing & comparison with Windows.  Run tests under 
    Mono, run tests under .NET, compare.  No rebooting required, only 
    one machine required.

3.  Because many developers will want to "get their feet wet" with Mono 
    without needing to install Linux, as part of a phased learning 
    cycle.  If all you're currently asking is "will my app run under 
    Mono?", requiring that they install Linux to find out is annoying.
    Running under Windows is a far faster way to answer this question.

> Are they
> saying the one would NOT have to install the .NET redistributables from
> MS?

Yes, exactly.  Though Mono on Windows isn't a complete replacement for
.NET -- no COM interop, incomplete System.Windows.Forms, etc. -- but it
may be "good enough" for many people.

 - Jon