I've got a .NET app and some related third party DLLs, that I would like to run on an Android phone. The .NET app is written in C# and the DLLs are fully mananged, although they contain some unsafe code and work with DirectX using managed C++. Is it possible to retarget the application to Mono, and run it on the Android OS, considering that I only have a part of the application source code?
This is either impossible or very close to an Heracles's task.
Consider porting the existing code to Android and re-writing the missing bits.
The unsafe may be bit-twidlling in an OS specific way. I would use reflector to dump out the code and investigate what's it's doing and then see what mono makes of it.
Since it's using DirectX I'd suspect you're probably going to end up down a dead end.
I've looked at the Mono Libraries and Axiom 3D might be a useful abstraction to use if you need to re-engineer the Direct X calls.
Related
I have already embedded a .Net runtime(CoreCLR) in my native C++ app. as this tutorial did:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/tutorials/netcore-hosting
Now, I can call C#(managed) from C++(unmanaged).
But how to call C++ from C# in this situation. I mean, is there any way to let both sides communicate each other?
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I'm developing a cross-platform C++ app (supporting Win/Mac/Linux).
.Net Core is a good choice to be the script.
but how to communicate with each other ? (not just single side)
If "C++_app_with_C#_libs" is not suitable, I guess the only way is "C#_app_with_C++_libs"...(is that right?)
As far as I know, the Mono can achieve my target. cause Mono has a special tool:
[DllImport ("__Internal", EntryPoint="EnterPoint")]
which can find symbol in the current executable image.
There is no "__Internal" in .Net Core, right?
After all, You know, it's not a good idea to choose Mono in 2019.
I wanted to tryout C# for general purpose programming (not web development). I program in Windows environment, but I would like to avoid coding specifically for Windows (.NET), because I want to keep the option open for a future migration to Linux.
Are there any specific libraries in C# .NET that wouldn't work in C# Mono for general purpose programming work (not interested in Windows Forms, Silverlight and stuff like that) ?
Is there any internet link of things/features that provides a list that works on C# .NET wouldn't work on C# Mono or vice versa? I didn't readily find anything in google per se.
Note: I would be interested in specific answers, not opinions of which is better or worse (thanks!)
It is possible for a CLR assembly (even in the form of a DLL, as mentioned in the comments) to be read by Mono, as long as it does not have dependencies that do not exist in Mono, because...
...not every piece of code that compiles for .NET will compile for Mono, since there are lots of Windows-specific things in .NET (not strictly part of C#) that aren't implemented (WPF, ASP.NET async stack) or don't make sense at all in Linux (COM is one such example, I think).
Fortunately, there is a list of what .NET features are implemented in Mono. Even more fortunately, it seems they have an app that tells you a priori whether your code makes use of anything not implemented in Mono (but I have never tried it).
if you install xamarin (you need Pro or bigger so you have VS integration) you can create Portable Class Library that targets xamarin (which is based on mono) and visual studio will allow you to only use classes that are compatible with mono.
http://docs.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/application_fundamentals/pcl/introduction_to_portable_class_libraries/
apparently you can also use xamarin studio to create a PCL and there is a free version of that.
I am using C# to create a game using MonoGame which I wish to use on multiple platforms (which I know MonoGame can do).
Is there a way to create a .dll in C# and load it from other operating systems (preferably iOS, Android and MacOS) without recompiling the library? I am prepared to write a "loader" application for each platform, but would not like to rewrite the entire project.
I'm hoping there is a way to load functions from a .net dll (i.e. load the game) on these platforms without using paid products such as MonoTouch.
Basically the .NET/Mono Assemblies all get compiled to CIL Code which is an ECMA Standard.
However, you still have to program your game in a way that it do not depend on OS specifics.
Don't refer to certain .NET Assemblies (i.e. No WCF, cause it has only limited WCF support, no WPF at all, no WWF)
Don't refer to OS specific DLLs (i.e. no P/Invokes to kernel32.dll etc.
Don't use OS specific pathes or use preprocessor directives to make OS Specific code (yes, this will require recompile and you probably won't get around this easily)
Threading on Mono has some catches, so you will probably have to make platform specific code using preprocessor directives.
Honestly, I don't see a problem with having to recompile your code, if it's clearly written it's just a matter of adding a new project to your solution file and setting the preprocessor flags. Then all you have to do is compile the solution and have multiple DLLs in your bin folder. No one ever said you have to rewrite the complete project (unless the project is already finished and has any of the dependency mentioned up there), which in this case... it's your own fault for not having to think about it before starting development.
You'll just have to deploy your Apps (on iOS etc.) with the required Mono Runtime. And for this you will probably need something like Xamarin or wire up your own Mono runtime
Reference links:
http://www.mono-project.com/Compatibility
http://www.mono-project.com/MoMA
You can look at the Xamarin-Framework. But you always have to recompile your project.
Xamarin
on these platforms without using paid products such as MonoTouch.
This will be difficult.
There's a program written entirely in C# that targets .NET Framework 2.0.
Is there a way I could somehow compile (translate) managed EXE to a native one so it could be .NET-agnostic? I know there are probably commercial products for that purpose... but they are a bit expensive.
The problem is that we are to deploy the program on computers running Windows XP with no .NET Framework installed. There's also a requirement that the program's size must not exceed 500Kb (1Mb maximum) for it is downloaded from the web server (now the size is 255Kb). That is why there's no way we could attach a full-fledged .NET FX (or even a reduced one) to the downloaded program's file.
Obviously it is a terrible software engineering error that should have been detected and avoided earlier so we could use native technologies like C++ instead.
We have tried for now Novell's Mono - an open-source implementation of .NET Framework for Linux, MAC and Windows. Mono consists of C# Compiler, IDE, runtime (CLR) and Class Library assemblies (like System.dll and mscorlib.dll - much like .NET's class library assemblies installed to GAC).
What we tried to do is to locate CLR files and ship those along with our program's file and a few assemblies. This way the program can be invoked by running "mono program.exe" (command prompt) on a user's computer.
In addition to the inconvenience of such a use for the end user CLR files (mono.exe and mono.dll) turned out to be about 2.5 Mb in total that is much greater than the desired 500 Kb or even 1 Mb.
So, we have left with no other option but to translate our .NET App to a native one by a compiler, however the question remains - what compiler should we use and where could we find one...
For now I have stumbled upon a Singularity OS Project by Microsoft Research. It is an open-source research OS that is written in managed code (in part at least). The Singularity OS includes a Bartok compiler that the OS uses in order to translate a managed program to a native one (x86 32 bit). It should be noted that Bartok can't translate all the aspects of .NET 2.0 to a native code, but most of them. However I haven't yet learnt how to use the Singularity...
I would be really grateful to you if you could provide me with some useful tips and advice regarding the problem, your own experience with Singularity OS and Bartok Compiler or another approaches to the problem that I have overlooked and ways of solving it.
Thank you very much in advance!
Finally, using Mono's Full AOT feature (on Callum Rogers' advice) I've managed to produce a program.exe.dll that lacks a CLI header.
So it looks to me like a native dll. However I can't figure out how to convert that dll into exe or make it operational.
Also this dll doesn't seem to expose any functions of interest such as main function.
Check out AOT (Ahead Of Time) Compilation from the Mono project. This compiles your managed project into a native exe or an elf executable (depending on which system you target) that does not need the JIT. This is the technique used to get mono apps onto the iPhone (where the JIT/Framework are not allowed) and also has the added benefits of faster startup times, lower memory usage and it makes it harder for people to decompile your code. You said you were already using Mono, so it should be compatible.
Read up about it at the mono-project.com website and at Miguel de Icaza's blog (and iPhone info).
Note that you cannot use dynamic code or generic interfaces like
interface IFoo<T> {
...
void SomeMethod ();
}
And you will have to compile the DLLs of all the libraries you use.
PS: Make sure to use "Full" AOT for your problem.
2018 Update
At Build 2018, Microsoft announced .Net Core 3.0 roadmap that support Windows desktop applications (Winform & WPF)
2017 Update
For console apps, you can use .net core Self-contained deployments (SCD). Even for a hello world app, your package will 50MB+. You still need to install VC runtime though.
Update
As #jenix's comment, .NET Native is only for Windows Store Apps(UWP). After 3 years of it's announcement, this is still true, .net native for desktop may be dropped by microsoft . So this answer is not applicable anymore.
========
Microsoft Announced .NET Native Preview on Build 2014
With the .NET Native Developer Preview, apps will get deployed on end-user devices as fully self-contained natively compiled code, and will not have a dependency on the .NET Framework on the target device/machine. So, no .NET framework required on the target machine with .NET Native.
Announcing .NET Native Preview
Microsoft .NET Native
There is a project called CrossNet that parses .Net Assemblies and generates unmanaged C++ code, that can be compiled in any standard compiler.
Not really a solution for .NET to native conversion, but maybe this helps: http://www.yoda.arachsys.com/csharp/faq/#framework.required
Not quite sure that there is much you can do besides painstakingly rewrite the application. To ease the already burdening process, you could disassemble the .NET application using something like Reflector (into Microsoft C++), and use that as a base to start and just replace managed C++ references with native ones.
Recently, I came across Mono and MonoDevelop packages in Ubuntu linux. They claim to have a .NET runtime in accordance with CLI. Before installing the packages myself, I would like to know the following:
How powerful is Mono?
Can I develop GUI application for
linux like developing WinForm
applications for Windows.
Is MonoDevelop IDE compatible with Visual Studio IDE. Can I import VS 2008 solutions to MonoDevelop and work?
Does it support .NET 2.0 and above?
EDIT: Adding one more doubt
Is there any way to run the .NET exe (of a winform app) in Linux without building the cod e in linux? In fact I don't have the code for some of the small utilities I developed earlier and would like to run them in linux.
(Strange, markdown starts the enumeration with one, even though I began with 2...)
Yes, you can, but you're limited with 3rd-party components, because the internal implementation is different, and last time I checked (not very long ago), the Mono WinForms implementation made my test app look rather strange (owner-drawn list view). It is not really recommended, though Mono claims that it's now completely WinForms-2.0-compatible.
MonoDevelop is/was a SharpDevelop branch, with the latter having solution support. I don't know if MonoDevelop has. But the cool thing is, you can just develop with Visual Studio and run your compiled apps on Mono. And Mono is, by the way, also available for Windows.
Yes, it does, as far as the CLR goes. As Marc Gravell already wrote, the Windows Foundation libraries are missing, as are a few other (System.Management, for example). But things should mostly work, including ASP.NET 2.0. Mono's application portability guidelines are a good read on this.
1: pretty good, actually. Not all the full framework is there, so if you are writing code that should build on both MS .NET and mono, you need to build and test early against both platforms
4: yes - although things like WPF/WCF/WF (3.0) are missing or slimmed down
I don't know much about the development environment, since I use VSTS (on Windows) and just use a NANT script to do the build on mono...
Define "powerful".
Mono has a WinForms implementation to allow for some level of source compatibility. However, depending on your needs, you might want to use one of the Mono bindings for a Linux native framework, like Gtk# or Qyoto
Wouldn't know.
Depends on what parts of .NET you mean. C# the language seems to be pretty current, things get fuzzier the closer you get to the enterprisey features as was already mentioned.
To sum things up, if you'll be using Mono as a separate target platform, you're likely to have good results. If you want a no-code-changes-required .NET compatibility layer, less so.
Very powerful. There are no major bugs in the core implementation. It is not a science project. The deficiencies are mostly where you would expect, the newest APIs (Microsoft inherently has a first-mover advantage there).
Yes. We just finished a project where most of the GUI code was developed in WinForms on Windows. I was able to work on it using Ubuntu without major headaches. That said, this is one of the hardest parts of the API, and there are still issues. See http://mono-project.com/WinForms for details.
Don't know, as I don't use it.
Yes, though again, there may be some missing APIs in the runtime.
Note, I use Ubuntu Hardy (8.04).
Mono is mighty powerful. It has all the .Net muscle on a very strong open source skeleton.
When you say "develop GUI application for linux like developing WinForm applications for Windows" I understand that you are asking about a visual designer that will allow you to quickly create the UI. Yes, it is possible. MonoDevelop has Stetic - a built-in visual designer for Gtk#. There is also QyotoDevelop which enables QT support in MonoDevelop.
Yes, MonoDevelop natively supports VS project/solution file format. You can use the same code base to compile your app with VS in .Net on Windows and win MD in Mono on Linux.
Currently Mono supports C# 3.0 with some stuff beyond that already implemented and a lot in the pipeline.
Yes, in many cases it is possible to run a .Net compiled app in Mono, however with MonoDevelop's support for VS solutions it doesn't really matter. It takes as much as pressing F7 to rebuild the whole project, so the effort is really negligible. The best tool for checking if your application can run in Mono is MoMA.
Mono is very powerfull, sometimes even more powerfull than Microsoft's implementation. link text
Yes you can. Winforms 2.0 is supported
I believe so.
Yes it does. C# 3 is supported and just look at winforms and the asp.net implementation to see how much is supported from each of the projects. Look at http://mono-project.com
I use WinForms in mono. The 2.x releases are very good.
I develop forms in visual-studio on windows, and run them in Linux, with zero code changes. Yes, forms look a little different than on XP, but then again, an XP-themed GUI would look kind of strange in GNOME.
If you are just getting started, stick with WinForms, while you get comfortable with Mono/Linux. However at some point you might want to investigate GTK.