Mono: A Developer's Notebook

Description:

The Mono Project is the much talked-about open source initiative to create a Unix implementation of Microsoft's .NET Development Framework. Its purpose is to allow Unix developers to build and deploy cross-platform .NET applications. The project has also sparked interest in developing components, libraries and frameworks with C#, the programming language of .NET.

The controversy? Some say Mono will become the preferred platform for Linux development, empowering Linux/Unix developers. Others say it will allow Microsoft to embrace, extend, and extinguish Linux. The controversy rages on, but--like many developers--maybe you've had enough talk and want to see what Mono is really all about.

There's one way to find out: roll up your sleeves, get to work, and see what you Mono can do. How do you start? You can research Mono at length. You can play around with it, hoping to figure things out for yourself. Or, you can get straight to work with Mono: A Developer's Notebook--a hands-on guide and your trusty lab partner as you explore Mono 1.0.

Light on theory and long on practical application, Mono: A Developer's Notebook bypasses the talk and theory, and jumps right into Mono 1.0. Diving quickly into a rapid tour of Mono, you'll work through nearly fifty mini-projects that will introduce you to the most important and compelling aspects of the 1.0 release. Using the task-oriented format of this new series, you'll learn how to acquire, install, and run Mono on Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X. You'll work with the various Mono components: Gtk#, the Common Language Runtime, the class libraries (both .NET and Mono-provided class libraries), IKVM and the Mono C# compiler. No other resource will take you so deeply into Mono so quickly or show you as effectively what Mono is capable of.

The new Developer's Notebooks series from O'Reilly covers important new tools for software developers. Emphasizing example over explanation and practice over theory, they focus on learning by doing--you'll get the goods straight from the masters, in an informal and code-intensive style that suits developers. If you've been curious about Mono, but haven't known where to start, this no-fluff, lab-style guide is the solution.

 

Table of Contents:

Foreword

The Developer's Notebook Series

Preface

Chapter 1. Getting Mono Running

     Install Mono

     Explore Mono

     Run the MonoDevelop IDE

     Fit Mono into Your World
     Join the Mono Community

Chapter 2. Getting Started with C#

     Say "Hello" to the World

     Model the Behavior of Real-World Things

     Avoid Overhead While Passing Data

     Handle Unexpected Errors

     Define Function Pointers

     Add Metadata to Your Types

     Call External Libraries

     Package Related Classes with Assemblies

Chapter 3. Core .NET

     Work with Files

     Manage String Data

     Search Text with Regular Expressions

     Manage Collections of Data

     Work with Assemblies

     Start and Examine Processes

     Multitask with Threads

     Test Your C# Code

Chapter 4. Gtk#

     Write a Basic Gtk# Program and Handle Events

     Arrange Widgets Using Boxes

     Make Widgets Interact

     Make Dialogs by Subclassing

     Draw Graphics

     Create Menus

     Organize Data with TreeView

     Exchange Data with Drag and Drop

Chapter 5. Advanced Gtk#

     Write a Gnome Application

     Design Interfaces with Glade

     Store Configuration with GConf

     Guide the User with Druids

     Perform Asynchronous Operations

     Render HTML

     Provide Help Files

     Translate Your Programs

Chapter 6. Processing XML

     Read and Write XML

     Manipulate XML in Memory

     Navigate XML Documents

     Transform XML

     Constrain XML Documents

     Constrain XML Another Way

     Serialize Objects to XML

Chapter 7. Networking, Remoting, and Web Services

     Set Up ASP.NET

     Run Web Applications

     Deploy Web Services

     Communicate with Other Networked Systems

     Access Remote Objects

     Invoke Remote Procedures with XML

     Secure Data from Prying Eyes

     Talk to Databases

Chapter 8. Cutting Edge Mono

     Maintain Your Sources with the Autotools

     Write Cross-Platform Compatible Programs

     Run Java in Mono

     Run a Development Version of Mono

     Use Generics

     Write Mono Programs in Basic

Index