[Mono-list] More SoC: Cocoa#/XCode

[Sijmen Mulder]

Hi,

To start off, I'm Sijmen Mulder, attending a CS course at the  
'Hogeschool van Amsterdam'. I'm interested in doing a project for the  
Google Summer of Code 2006 related to Mono, one that's not listed on  
the ideas page, and I'd love to have some feedback.

Note that this message has been cross-posted to both cocoa-sharp and  
mono-list, and it is a resend as older messages didn't seem to arrive.


__Basic idea

Cocoa#[1], part of the Mono project is a Cocoa hook for the CLR.  
Cocoa is the standard OS X library, originally written for use with  
Objective C. XCode Apple's multi-language IDE which comes free with  
every Mac.

This is what I'd like to do:

Extend the integration of Cocoa# with XCode by:
  - creating up-to-date XCode templates
  - getting the XCode GDB-based debugger to work with Mono
  - putting it all in a nice tidy package
  - create beginner documentation for getting started, including  
example programs.


__XCode templates

This would involve creating a number of XCode templates that include  
some code, i.e. Hello World, the required build steps, and the syntax  
highlighting.

There are already some templates[2] available, but they are outdated  
and difficult to retrieve.

Free Pascal already offers this[3], it should be possible to use some  
of the knowledge gathered over there.


__Debugger

The biggest challenge would be to integrate the XCode debugger, which  
uses GDB. Mono supports GDB to a certain extend[4], but it probably  
needs some work to get it all working nicely with XCode, if possible  
at all.


__Packaging and documentation

The end result would need to be packaged in a ready-to-use  
installable package, which installs all required files to the proper  
locations. The user would only have to fire up XCode and get started,  
which brings me to the documentation.

Currently there are a few tutorials around[5], but they focus mainly  
on invoking mono and the package builder from the commandline. New  
tutorials will be needed for getting people started with XCode w/  
Cocoa#, from a console-based Hello World to a small graphical Cocoa  
applications and a bit debugging.


It would be great if I could receive some feedback on this: whether  
the Mono/Cocoa# team thinks this is a good idea, and how feasible it is.


References:
[1] http://www.mono-project.com/CocoaSharp
[2] http://www.cocoasharp.org/cocoaSharp/default.aspx/CocoaSharp/ 
XcodeAdditions.html
[3] http://www.pascal-central.com/fp-xcode/index.html
[4] http://www.mono-project.com/Debugging
[5] http://www.cocoasharp.org/cocoaSharp/default.aspx/CocoaSharp/ 
CocoaSharpExamples.html


Thanks,

--
Sijmen Mulder
http://a404.net/blog

Student Technische Informatica
Hogeschool van Amsterdam

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