Mono
<quote Wikipedia>Mono is a free and open source project led by Xamarin (formerly by Novell and originally by Ximian) to create an Ecma standard compliant .NET Framework-compatible set of tools including, among others, a C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime.</quote>
In other words, Mono provides an open source method to both compile and run software for the .NET Framework. All of the department computers now have the tools needed to build projects and run your own .NET code written in C# or Visual Basic .NET.
To get started and learn more about the Mono platform go to their Getting Started page which provides introductions, articles and tutorials.
MonoDevelop
You can access MonoDevelop from the Development menu, or run the command monodevelop. A few articles and screencasts can be found at monodevelop.com.
Things To Know
Default Profile
Starting with the Summer 2012 build, the default profile for the mono CLI defaults to the 4.0 profile (similar to .NET 4.0). If you compile a .NET 2.0 program with gmcs and try to run it with moono you will likely encounter errors similiar to:
Missing method System.Type::op_Inequality(Type,Type) in assembly /usr/lib/mono/2.0/mscorlib.dll, referenced in assembly /usr/lib/mono/gac/gtk-sharp/2.12.0.0__35e10195dab3c99f/gtk-sharp.dll Unhandled Exception: System.MissingMethodException: Method not found: 'System.Type.op_Inequality'. at Gtk.Window..ctor (System.String title) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 at Hello.Main () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 [ERROR] FATAL UNHANDLED EXCEPTION: System.MissingMethodException: Method not found: 'System.Type.op_Inequality'. at Gtk.Window..ctor (System.String title) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 at Hello.Main () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
Be sure to compile your code using the dmcs command. Alternatively you could run mono with the –runtime=v4.0 option.
Available Libraries
Here are the packages installed providing libraries. If there is something you need that is not installed just let Ben know.
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| cairo-dock-plug-ins-dbus-interface-mono | Mono interface to interact with Cairo-Dock by using DBus |
| cli-common | common files between all CLI packages |
| gnome-desktop-sharp2 | GNOME Desktop# 2.24 suite, CLI bindings for GNOME |
| gnome-sharp2 | GNOME# 2.24 suite, CLI bindings for GNOME |
| gnome-sharp2-examples | sample applications for GNOME# 2.24 |
| gtk-sharp2 | GTK# 2.10 suite, CLI bindings for GTK+ |
| gtk-sharp2-examples | sample applications for the GTK# 2.10 toolkit |
| gtk-sharp2-gapi | C source parser and C# code generator for GObject based APIs |
| ikvm | Java virtual machine for the CLI |
| libampsharp2.0-cil | Asynchronous Messaging Protocol library for the CLI. |
| libantlr2.7-cil | language tool for constructing recognizers, compilers etc |
| libappindicator0.1-cil | CLI bindings for libappindicator |
| libart2.0-cil | CLI binding for libart 2.3 |
| libboo2.0.9-cil | python-like language and compiler for the CLI - library files |
| libclutter-cil | Open GL based interactive canvas library – CLI Bindings |
| libdbus1.0-cil | CLI implementation of D-Bus |
| libdbus-glib1.0-cil | CLI implementation of D-Bus (GLib mainloop integration) |
| libgconf2.0-cil | CLI binding for GConf 2.24 |
| libgdiplus | interface library for System.Drawing of Mono |
| libglade2.0-cil | CLI binding for the Glade libraries 2.6 |
| libglib2.0-cil | CLI binding for the GLib utility library 2.12 |
| libgmime2.6-cil | CLI binding for the GMime library |
| libgnome2.24-cil | CLI binding for GNOME 2.24 |
| libgnomedesktop2.20-cil | CLI binding for GNOME Desktop 2.24 |
| libgnome-keyring1.0-cil | CLI library to access the GNOME Keyring daemon |
| libgnome-vfs2.0-cil | CLI binding for GnomeVFS 2.24 |
| libgstreamer0.9-cil | CLI bindings to GStreamer |
| libgtk2.0-cil | CLI binding for the GTK+ toolkit 2.12 |
| libgtkglarea0.0-cil | CLI bindings for the GTK OpenGL area widget |
| libgtkglarea-cil-examples | gtkglarea-sharp examples |
| libgtkhtml3.16-cil | CLI binding for GtkHTML 3.24 |
| libgtk-sharp-beans-cil | Supplementary CLI bindings for GTK 2.14+ |
| libgtksourceview2-2.0-cil | CLI binding for GtkSourceView 2.2 |
| libhyena-cil | set of utility libraries for the CLI |
| libikvm-native | native library for IKVM.NET |
| libindicate0.1-cil | CLI bindings for libindicate5 |
| libindicate-gtk0.1-cil | CLI bindings for libindicate-gtk3 |
| liblog4net1.2-cil | highly configurable logging API for the CLI |
| libmono-2.0-1 | Mono JIT library |
| libmono2.0-cil | Mono libraries (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-accessibility4.0-cil | Mono Accessibility library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-addins0.2-cil | addin framework for extensible CLI applications/libraries |
| libmono-addins-gui0.2-cil | GTK# frontend library for Mono.Addins |
| libmono-addins-msbuild0.2-cil | MSBuild task library for Mono.Addins |
| libmono-c5-1.1-cil | Mono C5 library |
| libmono-cairo2.0-cil | Mono Cairo library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-cairo4.0-cil | Mono Cairo library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-cecil-cil | library to generate and inspect CIL assemblies |
| libmono-cecil-flowanalysis-cil | FlowAnalysis extension for Mono.Cecil |
| libmono-cecil-private-cil | Mono.Cecil library |
| libmono-cecil-vb0.9-cil | Visual Basic 2010 Cecil libraries for Mono |
| libmono-codecontracts4.0-cil | Mono.CodeContracts library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-compilerservices-symbolwriter4.0-cil | Mono.CompilerServices.SymbolWriter library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-corlib2.0-cil | Mono core library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-corlib4.0-cil | Mono core library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-cscompmgd8.0-cil | Mono cscompmgd library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-csharp4.0-cil | Mono.CSharp library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-custommarshalers4.0-cil | Mono CustomMarshalers library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-data-tds2.0-cil | Mono Data Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-data-tds4.0-cil | Mono Data Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-db2-1.0-cil | Mono DB2 library |
| libmono-debugger-soft2.0-cil | Mono Soft Debugger library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-debugger-soft4.0-cil | Mono Soft Debugger library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-http4.0-cil | Mono.Http library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n2.0-cil | Mono I18N libraries (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-i18n4.0-all | Mono I18N libraries (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n4.0-cil | Mono I18N base library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n-cjk4.0-cil | Mono I18N.CJK library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n-mideast4.0-cil | Mono I18N.MidEast library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n-other4.0-cil | Mono I18N.Other library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n-rare4.0-cil | Mono I18N.Rare library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-i18n-west2.0-cil | Mono I18N.West library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-i18n-west4.0-cil | Mono I18N.West library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-ldap2.0-cil | Mono LDAP library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-ldap4.0-cil | Mono LDAP library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-management2.0-cil | Mono Management library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-management4.0-cil | Mono Management library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-messaging2.0-cil | Mono Messaging library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-messaging4.0-cil | Mono Messaging library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-messaging-rabbitmq2.0-cil | Mono Messaging RabbitMQ library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-messaging-rabbitmq4.0-cil | Mono Messaging RabbitMQ library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft8.0-cil | Mono Microsoft libraries (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-build2.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.Build libraries (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-build-engine4.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.Build.Engine library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-build-framework4.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.Build.Framework library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-build-tasks-v4.0-4.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.Build.Tasks.v4.0 library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-build-utilities-v4.0-4.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.Build.Utilities.v4.0 library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-csharp4.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.CSharp library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-visualbasic10.0-cil | Visual Basic 2010 runtime libraries for Mono |
| libmono-microsoft-visualbasic8.0-cil | Visual Basic 2005 runtime libraries for Mono |
| libmono-microsoft-visualc10.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.VisualC library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-microsoft-web-infrastructure1.0-cil | Mono Microsoft.Web.Infrastructure library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-npgsql2.0-cil | Mono Npgsql library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-npgsql4.0-cil | Mono Npgsql library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-opensystem-c4.0-cil | Mono OpenSystem.C library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-oracle2.0-cil | Mono Oracle library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-oracle4.0-cil | Mono Oracle library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-peapi2.0-cil | Mono PEAPI library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-peapi4.0-cil | Mono PEAPI library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-posix2.0-cil | Mono.Posix library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-posix4.0-cil | Mono.Posix library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-profiler | Mono profiler libraries |
| libmono-rabbitmq2.0-cil | Mono RabbitMQ.Client library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-rabbitmq4.0-cil | Mono RabbitMQ.Client library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-reflection-cil | CLI reflection helper library |
| libmono-relaxng2.0-cil | Mono Relaxng library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-relaxng4.0-cil | Mono Relaxng library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-security2.0-cil | Mono Security library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-security4.0-cil | Mono Security library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-sharpzip2.6-cil | Mono SharpZipLib library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-sharpzip2.84-cil | Mono SharpZipLib library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-sharpzip4.84-cil | Mono SharpZipLib library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-simd2.0-cil | Mono SIMD (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-simd4.0-cil | Mono SIMD (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-sqlite2.0-cil | Mono Sqlite library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-sqlite4.0-cil | Mono Sqlite library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system2.0-cil | Mono System libraries (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system4.0-cil | Mono System libraries (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-componentmodel-composition4.0-cil | Mono System.ComponentModel.Composition library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-componentmodel-dataannotations4.0-cil | Mono System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-configuration4.0-cil | Mono System.Configuration library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-configuration-install4.0-cil | Mono System.Configuration.Install library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-core4.0-cil | Mono System.Core library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-data2.0-cil | Mono System.Data Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-data4.0-cil | Mono System.Data library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-data-datasetextensions4.0-cil | Mono System.Data.DataSetExtensions library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-data-linq2.0-cil | Mono System.Data.Linq Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-data-linq4.0-cil | Mono System.Data.Linq Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-data-services4.0-cil | Mono System.Data.Services library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-data-services-client4.0-cil | Mono System.Data.Services.Client library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-design4.0-cil | Mono System.Design Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-drawing4.0-cil | Mono System.Drawing library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-drawing-design4.0-cil | Mono System.Drawing.Design (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-dynamic4.0-cil | Mono System.Dynamic library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-enterpriseservices4.0-cil | Mono System.EnterpriseServices library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-identitymodel4.0-cil | Mono System.IdentityModel Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-identitymodel-selectors4.0-cil | Mono System.IdentityModel.Selectors Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-ldap2.0-cil | Mono System.DirectoryServices library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-ldap4.0-cil | Mono System.DirectoryServices library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-management4.0-cil | Mono System.Management library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-messaging2.0-cil | Mono System.Messaging Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-messaging4.0-cil | Mono System.Messaging library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-net4.0-cil | Mono System.Net library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-numerics4.0-cil | Mono System.Numerics library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-runtime2.0-cil | Mono System.Runtime Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-runtime4.0-cil | Mono System.Runtime library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-runtime-caching4.0-cil | Mono System.Runtime.Caching Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-runtime-durableinstancing4.0-cil | Mono System.Runtime.DurableInstancing Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-runtime-serialization4.0-cil | Mono System.Runtime.Serialization Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-runtime-serialization-formatters-soap4.0-cil | Mono System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Soap Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-security4.0-cil | Mono System.Security library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-servicemodel4.0-cil | Mono System.ServiceModel Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-servicemodel-discovery4.0-cil | Mono System.ServiceModel.Discovery Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-servicemodel-routing4.0-cil | Mono System.ServiceModel.Routing Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-servicemodel-web4.0-cil | Mono System.ServiceModel.Web Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-serviceprocess4.0-cil | Mono System.ServiceProcess library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-transactions4.0-cil | Mono System.Transactions library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web2.0-cil | Mono System.Web Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-web4.0-cil | Mono System.Web library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-abstractions4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.Abstractions library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-applicationservices4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.ApplicationServices library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-dynamicdata4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.DynamicData library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-extensions4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.Extensions library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-extensions-design4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.Extensions.Design library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-mvc1.0-cil | Mono ASP.NET MVC Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-web-mvc2.0-cil | Mono ASP.NET MVC Library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-system-web-routing4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.Routing (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-web-services4.0-cil | Mono System.Web.Services (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-windows-forms4.0-cil | Mono System.Windows.Forms Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-windows-forms-datavisualization4.0-cil | Mono System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-xaml4.0-cil | Mono System.Xaml Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-xml4.0-cil | Mono System.Xml library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-system-xml-linq4.0-cil | Mono System.Xml.Linq library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-tasklets2.0-cil | Mono Tasklets library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-tasklets4.0-cil | Mono Tasklets library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-wcf3.0-cil | Mono WCF libraries (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-web4.0-cil | Mono.Web library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-webbrowser2.0-cil | Mono Web Browser library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-webbrowser4.0-cil | Mono Web Browser library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-webmatrix-data4.0-cil | Mono WebMatrix.Data Library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-windowsbase3.0-cil | Mono WindowsBase library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmono-windowsbase4.0-cil | Mono WindowsBase library (for CLI 4.0) |
| libmono-winforms2.0-cil | Mono System.Windows.Forms library (for CLI 2.0) |
| libmysql6.4-cil | MySQL database connector for CLI |
| libndesk-dbus1.0-cil | CLI implementation of D-Bus |
| libndesk-dbus-glib1.0-cil | CLI implementation of D-Bus (GLib mainloop integration) |
| libnini1.1-cil | CLI library for managing configuration files |
| libnotify0.4-cil | CLI library for desktop notifications |
| libnunit2.5-cil | Unit test framework for CLI |
| libopentk1.0-cil | Open Toolkit wrapper for OpenGL, OpenAL and OpenCL |
| libpoppler-cil | PDF rendering library – CLI bindings |
| librsvg2-2.18-cil | CLI binding for RSVG 2.22 |
| libsemweb1.0-cil | Semantic Web/RDF library |
| libtaglib2.0-cil | CLI library for accessing audio and video files metadata |
| libvirtuoso5.5-cil | high-performance database - Mono assemblies |
| libvte0.16-cil | CLI binding for VTE 0.16 |
| libwebkit1.1-cil | CLI binding for the WebKit library |
| libwnck2.20-cil | CLI binding for wnck 2.24 |
| libzeitgeist0.8-cil | CLI bindings for Zeitgeist Project |
| mono-2.0-gac | Mono GAC tool (for CLI 2.0) |
| mono-2.0-service | Mono service manager for CLI 2.0 |
| mono-4.0-gac | Mono GAC tool (for CLI 4.0) |
| mono-4.0-service | Mono service manager for CLI 4.0 |
| mono-addins-utils | Command-line utility for Mono.Addins management |
| mono-complete | complete Mono runtime, development tools and all libraries |
| mono-csharp-shell | interactive C# shell |
| mono-devel | Mono development tools |
| monodevelop | Development Environment for GNOME |
| monodevelop-database | Database plugin for MonoDevelop |
| monodevelop-java | Java plugin for MonoDevelop |
| monodevelop-nunit | NUnit plugin for MonoDevelop |
| monodevelop-python | Python plugin for MonoDevelop |
| monodevelop-vala | Vala plugin for MonoDevelop |
| monodevelop-versioncontrol | VersionControl plugin for MonoDevelop |
| mono-dmcs | Mono C# 4.0 compiler for CLI 4.0 |
| monodoc-base | shared MonoDoc binaries |
| monodoc-gtk2.0-manual | compiled XML documentation for GTK# 2.10 |
| monodoc-manual | compiled XML documentation from the Mono project |
| mono-gac | Mono GAC tool |
| mono-gmcs | Mono C# 2.0 and C# 3.0 compiler for CLI 2.0 |
| mono-jay | LALR(1) parser generator oriented to Java/CLI |
| mono-mcs | Mono C# 2.0 / 3.0 / 4.0 compiler for CLI 2.0 / 4.0 |
| mono-profiler | Mono profiler |
| mono-runtime | Mono runtime |
| mono-runtime-sgen | Mono runtime - SGen (experimental) |
| mono-tools-devel | Various development tools for mono |
| mono-tools-gui | Various GUI tools for mono |
| mono-utils | Mono utilities |
| mono-vbnc | Mono Visual Basic Compiler (VB.NET) |
| mono-xbuild | MSBuild-compatible build system for Mono |