Two More on Mono: Boston Globe Backgrounder and osOpinion on the LGPL

Jul 16, 2001, 23:59 (29 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Hiawatha Bray)

[ Thanks to Jonathan M. Prigot for this link. ]

This item ought to wrap it up for the first round of Mono Mania: The Boston Globe offers a summary of .NET, Mono, and shared source, with quotes from Eric Raymond and Miguel de Icaza:

"It's a better way of building applications,'' says de Icaza, who adds that Microsoft's new programming tools will give fresh power and flexibility to Windows software developers. ''It gives them fresh air.'' Now de Icaza wants to pump some of the same oxygen into Linux, the popular open-source operating system.

For example, with today's programming tools, it's hard to avoid ''memory leaks.'' That's what happens when a program gets finished with a chunk of computer memory, but forgets to release it for reuse. Programs with memory leaks cause computers to run slower and slower, and sometimes crash.

The new .NET tools include a programming language, called C-sharp, that features ''automatic garbage collection.'' Programmers working in C-sharp won't have to write special routines to release memory; the language compiler will take care of it. The Ximian version of C-sharp will bring this same capability and many others to programmers who work in Linux, de Icaza said."

Complete Story (Boston Globe)

Complete Story (osOpinion)

Related Stories:

• Software Uncovered.com: Unthinkable Happens Between Microsoft and Open Source(Jul 17, 2001)
• FreeDevelopers: DotGNU: .GNU to Face Down .NET (Jul 12, 2001)
• TechWeb: Microsoft Gives Blessing To Open-Source .NET, But Analyst Smells A Rat(Jul 12, 2001)
• Two More on Mono: de Icaza on Why it Pays to Embrace .NET(Jul 10, 2001)
• LinuxProgramming: GNU Announces DotGNU and GNU Mono to Replace Microsoft .NET(Jul 09, 2001)