Mono and Python

[Don Tuttle]

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/Dndotnet/ht
ml/deicazainterview.asp?frame=true

Interesting interview.  I'm also very interested in what Mark has to say
about Python and .NET and Mono.  His early progress report
http://www.activestate.com/Initiatives/NET/Python_whitepaper.doc was not
encouraging.  And the fact that ActiveState has backed away from Python is
even more ominous.

It's clear that Miguel de Icaza believes .NET solves important development
issues. ("We are doing this for selfish reasons: we want a better way of
developing Linux and Unix applications ourselves and we see the CLI as such
a thing.") That seems to be born out by the better than expected support the
Mono project is receiving from developers outside his company.

Sure would make me feel better to hear from the Python-dev community that
Python can and will be a player in this new ball game.  Because, quite
frankly, the silence of the past few months as been deafening.

Don


"Ron Stephens" <rdsteph at earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:3C3251E0.612B0401 at earthlink.net...
> I continue to be intrigued by the progress of the Mono project, which is
> spear-headed by the controversial Miguel de Icaza. There was a long
> article by Miguel about Mono in the recent issue of Linux Journal, and
> the project seems to be moving forward nicely.
>
> It is interesting because it is an attempt to achieve cross language
> compatibility using a common language runtime and component system based
> on the ECMA specs created by Microsoft for the .Net project. Mono is
> essentially a partial recreation the .Net runtime environment on Unix
> and Linux. Controversial, yes, but interesting.
>
> Slashdot just posted an interview with Miguel de Icaza where they
> discuss the present status of Mono and it can be found at
> http://slashdot.org/index.pl?section=developers
>
> I am wondering/hoping/speculating whether Python can/will/should
> participate. Wouldn't it be nice to have an open source project  to
> create a Mython version of Python, a completely compatible version of
> Python that would run on the Mono clr, just as Jython runs on the JVM?
>
> I know it would be a huge undertaking, but it would be nice. Maybe it
> would be even more important for Python to have a Mono compatible
> version than it would be for Python to have a .NET compatible version,
> but I don't know.
>
> Maybe both a .NET and a Mono compatible version of Python could be
> created by one and the same open source project, given the similarities
> between Mono and .Net?
>
> Mark Hammond has commented that creating a .Net version of Python is a
> really big job, with a lot of pitfalls along the way. (ActiveState has
> created a VisualPython.Net, but that is very different, it is a
> capability to use the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE to create Python
> programs, but not an ability for Python programs to run on the .Net
> common language runtime, or clr.)
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts or comments on any of this?
>
> The recent Miguel de Icaza interview with Slashdot can be found at
> http://slashdot.org/index.pl?section=developers
>
> Ron Stephens
> http://www.awaretek.com/plf.html
>