Performance Improvements and Support for Windows Forms Makes the Latest
Version of Mono a Powerful Framework for Hosting .NET Applications on Linux
and an Important Milestone Toward Compatibility With the .NET Framework 2.0
BARCELONA, Spain, TechEd Developers Conference & Expo, Nov. 9
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) today announced the release
of Mono(R) version 1.2, a significant advancement in the expansion of the
Mono project and an important milestone toward compatibility with version
2.0 of the .NET framework. Mono 1.2 adds support for the Microsoft*
Windows* Forms API to more easily port .NET client-side applications to
Linux*. Other enhancements in this release include virtual machine upgrades
and enhanced Java* support, significant performance, memory consumption and
stability improvements, and support for many .NET 2.0 features. With this
new release, traditional Microsoft developers can leverage their existing
skill sets to use the Mono framework to effortlessly make their .NET
desktop and server applications available to the fast-growing Linux market.
With full Mono support for the Windows Forms API, the graphical user
interface portion of the Microsoft .NET development framework, developers
can now bring their existing Microsoft-based client applications to Linux
while significantly minimizing the time and effort required to migrate
these applications. The inclusion of Windows Forms capabilities in this
version is an important milestone in the expansion of the Mono project. Not
only does it provide corporate IT and ISV developers with operating system
alternatives for hosting existing .NET applications, but it also opens up
the possibility of new desktop applications on Linux. Novell's
award-winning SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, which debuted in July of
this year, includes a number of new Mono-based desktop Linux applications
such as the Banshee(TM) music player, F-spot photo management tool and the
Beagle(R) desktop search tool.
"With this release, we've solved an important issue by making it easier
to translate the Microsoft user interfaces to Linux, an important
contribution in increasing the number of client-side Linux applications,"
said Miguel de Icaza, vice president of developer platforms at Novell and
maintainer of the Mono project. "Now feature complete, Mono has matured to
the point that we believe the migration from ASP.NET and Windows Forms to
Linux is easier than ever before and gives developers access to all the
added benefits of Linux."
Software Vendors Rely on Mono
OTEE used Mono to create their game development system, Unity, which
was recently awarded a runner-up Apple Design Award for "Best Use of Mac OS
X Graphics" at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference. "OTEE relies on
Mono's cross-language capability," said Joachim Ante, CTO and co-founder of
OTEE. "Unity's developer community comes from a wide range of backgrounds
and Mono allowed us to give our developers a choice between JavaScript, C#
and Boo, resulting in a very short learning curve and immediate familiarity
with scripting in Unity. Mono version 1.2 represents a significant leap
forward in stability and performance and will make it even easier to build
feature-rich cross-platform applications."
Versora provides software products and professional integration
services that yield a cost effective and seamless transition path from
Microsoft Windows to Linux. Versora used Mono to migrate their flagship
Progression Desktop product from Windows to Linux in record time. "Mono is
really attractive for Windows developers because they can carry over their
existing skills to Linux," said Jon Walker, CTO at Versora. "The feature
and performance enhancements in version 1.2 will only bolster Mono's
reputation as a mature, viable solution for Windows to Linux migration."
About the Mono Project
The Mono Project is an open source initiative sponsored by Novell to
develop a UNIX* version of the Microsoft .NET development framework. Its
objective is to enable UNIX developers to build and deploy cross-platform
.NET applications. The 1.2 release of Mono is compliant with and provides
full support for .NET 1.1 and partial support for .NET 2.0. In addition to
Window Forms API support, Mono version 1.2 includes numerous feature
upgrades including full support for C# 2.0, generics and significant
updates to the .NET 2.0 API. The Mono framework supports a variety of
platforms, including Linux, Mac* OS X, Solaris*, BSD and Windows, and a
variety of hardware options, such as x86, AMD* 64, IA-64 (Itanium* 2), EMT
64, PowerPC, ARM, s390 and S390x, SPARC and SPARC v9, and numerous
languages. Developers can download the Mono framework at
http://www.mono-project.com/downloads .
About Novell
Novell, Inc. delivers Software for the Open Enterprise(TM). With more
than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage,
simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging
best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With more than 20 years of
experience, 4,700 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the
world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating
environments while reducing costs. More information about Novell can be
found at http://www.novell.com .
NOTE: Novell, Beagle, Mono and SUSE are registered trademarks, and
Banshee and Software for the Open Enterprise are trademarks of Novell, Inc.
in the United States and other countries.
*Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other
third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Novell, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.novell.com
CONTACT:
Bruce Lowry of Novell, +1-415-383-8408, or
blowry@novell.com
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