Is there a SUPPORTED way to run .NET 4.0 applications natively on a Mac?

Posted by Dan on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by Dan
Published on 2011-02-15T19:58:32Z Indexed on 2011/02/15 23:34 UTC
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What, if any, are the Microsoft supported options for running C#/.NET 4.0 code natively on the Mac? Yes, I know about Mono, but among other things, it lags Microsoft. And Silverlight only works in a web browser. A VMWare-type solution won't cut it either.

Here's the subjective part (and might get this closed): is there any semi-authoritative answer to why Microsoft just doesn't support .NET on the Mac itself? It would seem like they could Silverlight and/or buy Mono and quickly be there. No need for native Visual Studio; cross-compiling and remote debugging is fine.

The reason is that where I work there is a growing amount of Uncertainty about the future which is causing a lot more development to be done in C++ instead of C#; brand new projects are chosing to use C++. Nobody wants to tell management 18–24 months from now "sorry" should the Mac (or iPad) become a requirement. C++ is seen as the safer option, even if it (arguably) means a loss in productivity today.

Is there a SUPPORTED way to run .NET 4.0 applications natively on a Mac?

Posted by Dan on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by Dan
Published on 2011-02-15T19:32:43Z Indexed on 2011/02/15 23:34 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 357

Filed under:

c#

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mac

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mono

What, if any, are the (Microsoft) supported options for running C#/.NET 4.0 code natively on the Mac? Yes, I know about Mono, but among other things, it lags Microsoft. And Silverlight only works in a web browser. A VMWare-type solution won't cut it either.

Here's the subjective part (and might get this closed): is there any semi-authoritative answer to why Microsoft just doesn't support .NET on the Mac itself? It would seem like they could Silverlight and/or buy Mono and quickly be there. No need for native Visual Studio; cross-compiling and remote debugging is fine.

The reason is that where I work there is a growing amount of Uncertainty about the future which is causing a lot more development to be done in C++ instead of C#; brand new projects are chosing to use C++. Nobody wants to tell management 18–24 months from now "sorry" should the Mac (or iPad) become a requirement. C++ is seen as the safer option, even if it (arguably) means a loss in productivity today.

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