[Mono-winforms-list] Re: [Mono-hackers-list] Mono roadmap and .NET

[Jordi Mas]

>     About Avalon, I will post a follow up message, but so far the big
> open question from the PDC is whether we should invest at all in
> Windows.Forms and EnterpriseServices.

Hello,

I only have read the information available in the on-line version of MSDN. I'm 
sure that you guys have very hot information and had the opportunity to 
discuss about this with other people.

I just want to give some random impressions:

- It's clear that LongHorn and Avalon will not be release anytime soon and 
also the adoption of these new technologies, once they are release, will not 
be overnight. Not many people in the short/medium term will have the operating 
system installed in its clients to run applications target for Avalon.

- Mixing the .Net Framework and Avalon with no clear distinction will make, in 
the medium term, that lots of Visual Basic-type of developers use both without 
making a distinction or even without knowing it.

- It's clear that dropping support for Avalon and Windows.Form will left Mono 
as tool no good for client applications. I see supporting Windows.Form and 
Avalon different decisions. If we have Windows.Form you still will be able to 
build client applications.

- Supporting Avalon looks like a very big effort. Some of the stuff 
encapsulated by Avalon will not be implemented in Wine and I do not think it 
will in the short time. Any effort supporting Avalon should be really 
coordinated with Wine.

- There is the possibility of doing a partial Avalon implementation. For 
example, implementing support for XAML but not implementing functionality that 
depends heavily in LongHorn.

Looking forward to heard your impressions about that you have seen in the PDC.

Best Regards,
-- 

Jordi Mas i Hernāndez (homepage http://www.softcatala.org/~jmas)
http://www.softcatala.org