MonoDevelop

{{Short description|Integrated development environment, discontinued for macOS}}

{{Infobox software

|name=MonoDevelop

|logo=Monodevelop Logo.svg

|screenshot=Monodevelop5.4.png

|caption=

|developer=Xamarin (a Microsoft subsidiary) and the Mono community

|latest_release_version=7.6.9.22

|latest_release_date={{Start date and age|2018|09|21}}{{cite web|url=https://www.monodevelop.com/download//|title=Blog post on Xamarin Releases|work=Xamarin|access-date=2018-03-20}}

|programming_language=C#{{cite web|title=Languages|url=http://www.ohloh.net/p/monodevelop/analyses/latest/languages_summary|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140127023239/http://www.ohloh.net/p/monodevelop/analyses/latest/languages_summary|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 27, 2014|work=MonoDevelop|publisher=Ohloh|access-date=2014-01-27}}

|operating_system=Windows, macOS, Linux{{cite web|url=http://monodevelop.com/Download|title=MonoDevelop Download|work=monodevelop.com|access-date=2016-01-28}}

|language=Multilingual{{Which|date=August 2013}}

|genre=Integrated development environment

|license=core: LGPLv2, portions of the code and add-ins: MIT X11{{cite web|url=http://monodevelop.com/FAQ|title=Monodevelop FAQ|work=Monodevelop.com|access-date=2010-06-26}}

|website={{URL|www.monodevelop.com}}

}}

MonoDevelop (also known as Xamarin Studio) is a discontinued{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} open-source integrated development environment for Linux, macOS,{{cite web|url=http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2009/May-05-1.html|title=MonoDevelop on Mac OS X - Miguel de Icaza|publisher=Tirania.org|date=2009-05-05|access-date=2010-06-26}} and Windows.{{cite web|url=http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2009/Sep-09.html|title=MonoDevelop 2.2 Beta 1: We go cross platform. - Miguel de Icaza|publisher=Tirania.org|date=2009-09-09|access-date=2010-06-26}} Its primary focus is development of projects that use Mono and .NET Framework. MonoDevelop integrates features similar to those of NetBeans and Microsoft Visual Studio, such as automatic code completion, source control, a graphical user interface (GUI), and Web designer. MonoDevelop integrates a Gtk# GUI designer called Stetic.{{cite web|url=http://www.monodevelop.com/Stetic_GUI_Designer|title=Stetic Gui Designer|publisher=Monodevelop.com|access-date=2010-06-26}} It supports Boo, C, C++, C#, CIL, D, F#, Java, Oxygene, Vala, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Visual Basic.NET.{{cite web|url=http://monodevelop.com/Feature_List|title=Feature List|publisher=MonoDevelop|date=2008-02-05|access-date=2010-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221092336/http://www.monodevelop.com/Feature_List|archive-date=2016-02-21|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|author=Embarcadero Technologies|url=http://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi-prism|title=Delphi Prism | Cross Platform .NET and Mono IDE|publisher=Embarcadero.com|access-date=2010-06-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628194422/http://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi-prism|archive-date=2010-06-28}}{{cite web|url=http://wiki.dlang.org/Mono-D#How_to_install_Mono-D|title=How to Install Mono-D|publisher=dlang.org|access-date=2014-08-25}} Although there is no word from the developers that it has been discontinued, nonetheless, it hasn't been updated in 4 years{{Cite web |title=monodevelop/README.md at main · mono/monodevelop |url=https://github.com/mono/monodevelop/blob/main/README.md |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=GitHub |language=en}} and is no longer installable on major operating systems, such as Ubuntu 22.04 and above.

MonoDevelop can be used on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Officially supported Linux distributions include CentOS, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Ubuntu, with many other distributions providing their own unofficial builds of MonoDevelop in their repositories. macOS and Windows have been officially supported since version 2.2.{{cite web|url=http://monodevelop.com/Download/What%27s_new_in_MonoDevelop_2.2|title=What's new in MonoDevelop 2.2|publisher=Monodevelop.com|access-date=2010-10-15}}

MonoDevelop has included a C# compiler (an alternative to MSBuild and CSC) since its earliest versions. It currently includes a compiler that supports C# 1.0, C# 2.0, C# 3.0, C# 4.0, C# 5.0, and C# 6.0.[http://www.mono-project.com/docs/about-mono/languages/csharp/ C# Compiler], Mono Docs

A customized version of MonoDevelop formerly shipped with Windows and Mac versions of Unity, the game engine by Unity Technologies.{{cite book|title=Learn Unity 4 for iOS Game Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVRrAAAAQBAJ&q=monodevelop|publisher=Apress|first=Philip|last=Chu|date=2013-08-04|isbn=978-1430248767}}{{cite web|title=MonoDevelop|url=http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/MonoDevelop.html|website=Unity documentation|publisher=Unity Technologies|access-date=9 June 2014}} It enabled advanced C# scripting, which was used to compile cross-platform video games by the Unity compiler.{{cite book|title=Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 5.x|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7TjCwAAQBAJ&q=monodevelop|publisher=Packt Publishing Ltd|first=Greg|last=Lukosek|date=2016-03-31|isbn=978-1785287855}} It has since been replaced by Visual Studio Community,{{cite web|title=Replacing MonoDevelop-Unity with Visual Studio Community starting in Unity 2018.1|url=https://blogs.unity3d.com/2018/01/05/discontinuing-support-for-monodevelop-unity-starting-in-unity-2018-1|publisher=Unity Technologies|access-date=29 December 2018|date=5 January 2018}} except on Linux versions.

History

In late 2003, a group of developers from the Mono community began migrating SharpDevelop, a successful .NET open source IDE from Windows Forms on Windows to the GNOME toolkit (Gtk#) on Linux.{{cite book|title=Windows Developer Power Tools|url=https://archive.org/details/windowsdeveloper0000aver|url-access=registration|quote=monodevelop.|publisher=O'Reilly|first=James|last=Avery|date=2007-06-26|isbn=978-0596527549}} The fork was also to target the Mono framework instead of the Microsoft .NET Framework implementation.{{cite book|title=Practical Mono|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YpIAry7MNCcC&q=monodevelop|publisher=Apress|first=Mark|last=Mamone|date=2006-11-08|isbn=1430200979}} Being an early fork of SharpDevelop, MonoDevelop architecturally differs from recent SharpDevelop releases.{{cite news|last=Vasiliev|first=Sergey|title=Looking for Bugs in MonoDevelop.|url=https://medium.com/@CPP_Coder/looking-for-bugs-in-monodevelop-521e8aca5593#.d1awpzp23|newspaper=Medium|date=30 December 2015}}

Over time, the MonoDevelop project was absorbed into the rest of the Mono project and as of 2016, is actively maintained by Xamarin and the Mono community. Since Mono 1.0 Beta 2, MonoDevelop is bundled with Mono releases.{{cite news|last=Cogswell|first=Jeff|title=MonoDevelop 2.0 Rivals Microsoft Visual Studio.|url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Mono-Develop-20-Rivals-Microsoft-Visual-Studio-314772|newspaper=eWeek|date=4 June 2009}}{{cite news|last=Paul|first=Ryan|title=MonoDevelop 2.0 and Mono 2.4 officially released. The Mono project has announced the official release of Mono 2.4 and …|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2009/03/monodevelop-20-and-mono-24-officially-released|newspaper=Ars Technica|date=31 March 2009}}

Starting with version 4.x, Xamarin rebranded MonoDevelop as Xamarin Studio, but only for the Windows version of the IDE.{{cite web|title=The Making of Xamarin Studio|url=https://blog.xamarin.com/the-making-of-xamarin-studio|publisher=Xamarin|first=Miguel|last=de Icaza|date=February 22, 2013|access-date=October 1, 2016 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227165230/https://blog.xamarin.com/the-making-of-xamarin-studio/ |archive-date= Feb 27, 2017 }}{{cite news|last=Ellis|first=Dean|title=From XNA to MonoGame |newspaper=Game Developer|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/from-xna-to-monogame|publisher=Gamasutra|date=15 May 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825035719/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/192209/from_xna_to_monogame.php |archive-date= Aug 25, 2021 }} As of 2016, Xamarin Studio also runs on macOS.{{Cite web|url=https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/getting_started/requirements|title=System Requirements |website=Xamarin |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180129033449/https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/getting_started/requirements/ |archive-date= Jan 29, 2018 }}

In October 2021, it was announced in the issue tracker that the project would be archived because it's no longer maintained.{{cite news|last=Sanchez|first=Lluis|title=THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN ARCHIVED|url=https://github.com/mono/monodevelop/issues/9691|date=2021-10-04|access-date=2022-02-23}}

Features

MonoDevelop is an IDE for the .NET platform with features comparable to Microsoft Visual Studio. Highlights include:[http://www.monodevelop.com/ MonoDevelop Features][http://www.monodevelop.com/documentation/feature-list/ MonoDevelop Feature List]

Multi-platform IDE and user projects (Linux, Windows and macOS)
Multi-language (C#, F#, Visual Basic .NET, C/C++, Vala, JavaScript, TypeScript)
Project templates for C#, Visual Basic, Boo, Java (IKVM) and C/C++
Code completion support for C#, code templates, code folding
Customizable window layouts, user defined key bindings, external tools
Integrated Debugger for debugging Mono and native applications
Integrated Compiler (supports up to C# 6.0)
GTK# Visual Designer to graphically build GTK# user interfaces
ASP.NET web projects with code completion support and testing on XSP (Mono web server).
Source control, makefile integration, unit testing, packaging and deployment, localization

=UI Builder=

MonoDevelop has included a GTK# GUI designer called Stetic since version 0.1.MonoDeveloper Project: [http://monodevelop.com/Release_notes_for_MonoDevelop_0.10 Release notes for MonoDevelop 0.10].MonoDevelop Project: [http://www.monodevelop.com/documentation/feature-list/ Feature List].{{cite news|last=Taft|first=Darryl K.|title=Novell Ships Mono Development Tool.|url=http://www.eweek.com/servers/Novell-Ships-Mono-Development-Tool|newspaper=eWeek|date=14 March 2008}} to develop GTK+ user interfaces in C#. Stetic is very similar to Glade Interface Designer but is integrated into MonoDevelop with features such as drag and drop. It has been criticized for being more difficult to work with than the likes of Qt Designer and the Microsoft Visual Studio Windows Forms Editor when the programmer does not yet have a concrete layout in mind."[http://www.osnews.com/comments/9991 First info about Mono's Stetic, the new RAD tool]", OSNews, 16 March 2005.

=Xamarin Studio=

Xamarin offers a rebranded version of MonoDevelop 4.0 as Xamarin Studio which now uses platform-specific code in various places to enhance the look and feel.{{cite web|last=De Icaza|first=Miguel|title=The Making of Xamarin Studio|url=http://blog.xamarin.com/the-making-of-xamarin-studio|work=blog.xamarin.com|access-date=2014-01-27|author-link=Miguel de Icaza|date=2013-02-22}} While Mono provides a package for Solaris 10 running on SPARC,{{cite web|url=http://www.go-mono.com/mono-downloads/download.html|title=Mono Downloads|publisher=Go-mono.com|access-date=2010-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623065245/http://www.go-mono.com/mono-downloads/download.html|archive-date=2010-06-23|url-status=dead}} MonoDevelop packages for OpenSolaris are only provided by groups from the OpenSolaris community.{{cite web|url=http://www.opensolaris.org/jive/thread.jspa?threadID=4962|title=OpenSolaris Forums - Mono .NET available on GNU/OpenSolaris!|publisher=Opensolaris.org|access-date=2010-06-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605054321/http://www.opensolaris.org/jive/thread.jspa?threadID=4962|archive-date=2011-06-05}} MonoDevelop on FreeBSD is likewise supported only by the FreeBSD community.{{cite web|url=http://www.mono-project.com/Mono:FreeBSD|title=Mono:FreeBSD - The BSD# Project|publisher=Mono-project.com|access-date=2010-06-26}}

=Visual Studio for Mac=

Another rebranded version of MonoDevelop is Visual Studio for Mac. Visual Studio for Mac employs many of the same tools as its Windows counterpart: for example, the Roslyn .NET Compiler Platform is used for refactoring and IntelliSense. Its project system and build engine use MSBuild; and its source editor supports TextMate bundles. It uses the same debugger engines for Xamarin and .NET Core apps, and the same designers for Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android.

On August 30, 2023, Microsoft announced that Visual Studio for Mac is in the process of discontinuation, with 17.6 being the last version supported until August 31, 2024.{{cite web|url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/visual-studio-for-mac-retirement-announcement|title=Visual Studio for Mac Retirement Announcement|first=Anthony|last=Cangialosi|website=Visual Studio Blog|date=August 30, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://learn.microsoft.com/visualstudio/mac/what-happened-to-vs-for-mac|title=What's happening to Visual Studio for Mac?|website=Visual Studio for Mac documentation|date=5 September 2024 }}{{cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2023/08/30/microsoft-visual-studio-mac-discontinued|title=Microsoft is discontinuing Visual Studio for Mac after major overhaul|first=Zac|last=Hall|website=9to5Mac.com|date=August 30, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/microsoft-retires-visual-studio-for-mac-support-ends-in-a-year|title=Microsoft retires Visual Studio for Mac, support ends in a year|first=Bill|last=Toulas|website=Bleeping Computer|date=September 1, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/microsoft-to-discontinue-this-service-on-mac-heres-what-it-means-for-users/articleshow/103257108.cms|title=Microsoft to discontinue this service on Mac, here's what it means for users|website=the Times of India|date=August 31, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3706050/microsoft-axes-visual-studio-for-mac.html|title=Microsoft axes Visual Studio for Mac|first=Paul|last=Krill|website=InfoWorld.com|date=August 31, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.techradar.com/pro/software-services/microsoft-is-pulling-visual-studio-for-mac|title=Microsoft is pulling Visual Studio for Mac|first=Craig|last=Hale|website=TechRadar.com|date=August 31, 2023}}