11.30.08
Mono Tries to Enter KDE
WELL, it’s not just Ubuntu and Mono 2.0. The lobby for .NET inside GNU/Linux is being spotted once again as it’s being pushed closer to KDE [1, 2, 3] but the offer declined so far. This was seen by our readers, who probably wish to deny and reject this dangerous product from Novell/Microsoft. Here is the first message from about an hour ago and the first reply to it, which says:
Depending on a closed company like Microsoft to have new APIs, new technologies, new improvements is i think a bad point. Mono just implement .Net APIs, this project has no creativity. Ok .Net is developer friendly, yes but comparing to first point it is nothing. We have already a toolkit with Qt which save us a bit from C++ crap. Gnome start to port their applications to Mono, that is their choices. I don’t want to start a flameware here but i think it is a very bad idea.
Here is the latest reply. █
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
oiaohm said,
November 30, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Please take a closer look at Gnome.
Take .net look at it work out what is good then http://live.gnome.org/Vala create your own language taking its best bits.
This is having the side effect of all things reducing .net use.
Also notice something else. To work with gnome effectively from .net you have to use gnome interfaces. Same also applies with KDE. KDE would be a worse threat. Remember nothing is a single sided sword.
KDE interfaces work on Windows and Mac. So .NET developers needing cross platform end up using KDE interfaces. Then developers need speed so yes its only a matter of time before something like Vala for QT and KDE lands.
Now if .Net was truly functional cross platform it would be a threat to Linux world. If it did truly perform well everywhere it also would be a threat to Linux world. Really its a bigger threat to MS developer pool.
Needs Sunlight said,
December 2, 2008 at 5:41 am
@oiaohm: dumb idea. .Not is already a copy of java and other pieces.
Just skip the lame copies and go straight for the originals. They have years of lead over MS imitatioins.
AlexH said,
December 2, 2008 at 5:52 am
@Needs: (if it’s really the usual ‘Needs Sunlight’….)
Vala is actually an excellent idea. It brings the high-level language features which GNOME desperately needs, but doesn’t change any of the dependencies.
Roy Schestowitz said,
December 2, 2008 at 6:01 am
How is Vala better than Java?
AlexH said,
December 2, 2008 at 6:36 am
@Roy: it integrates into the GObject framework without importing its own, and it doesn’t introduce new dependencies - it actually compiles into native code like any other C app.
So it gives the developer the higher-level tools without requiring them to change their libraries, etc. In fact, with GObject-introspection, you’d get a library interface which is almost as good as .net’s (which, arguably, has the most advanced interface of any system currently in use) - you wouldn’t even need to write language bindings for it.
Roy Schestowitz said,
December 2, 2008 at 7:14 am
I don’t think that’s the issue discussed. Again, what about Java?
AlexH said,
December 2, 2008 at 7:30 am
What about it? To use it, you have to change the libraries you’re building on, and your app suddenly grows Java dependencies.
Even if you go the gcj route you grow a couple of deps, and if you’re dependent on libraries which aren’t bound you have to either write your own binding or beg someone else to do it: things like JNI are notoriously difficult to program.