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by Artemidoros 5877 days ago
Note that there is a good open source implementation of the .NET framework, Mono, so you can develop in C# and F# and target Linux, MacOS and other platforms.

Is Mono actually usable with F#? The last time I checked (2 months ago) the F# plugin for MonoDevelop didn't work and the questions on how to getting it to work (by various people) went unanswered by the developer.

The runtime performance of F# code was shaky at best, the REPL had (on OS X at least) startup times to make it practically useless and without TCO the usefulness of F# really took a hit.

Not wanting to bash on Mono or F# (which is my favorite language), but writing production software with this combination is currently not something I would recommend.
3 comments
jopamer 5877 days ago
[Disclaimer: I'm a compiler dev working on F# at MSFT.]

Performance and user experience on Mono are something we're definitely trying to improve - we spent a fair amount of time trying to make our Mono story better for our 2.0 release, and plan on investing more in this area as we move forward.

We can't be everywhere at once, so your feedback is really important here - If you're having problems with our tools on Mono, please let us know via Microsoft Connect or fsbugs@microsoft.com. Also, don't be bashful about filing Mono bugs. So far, they've been really great about responding to any issues that have cropped up.

Thanks!

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Artemidoros 5877 days ago
Thats awesome! Thanks for sharing. I'll give Mono/F# another spin in the next week and will report problems as suggested by you. Again thanks.
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vigalchin 5873 days ago
On http://github.com/vasili/FSharpBinding is an FSharpBinding that works with MonoDevelop. Please read the README to under- stand current functionality. I have tested with new F# projects plus existing F# projects like Mandelbrot sets, Stephen Wolfram's Rule 30, etc. There is still a fair amount of polishing that needs to be done. That is a work-in-progress.

Kind regards,

Vasili I. Galchin

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vigalchin 5873 days ago
Hello,

     On http://github.com/vasili/FSharpBinding is an FSharpBinding that works with MonoDevelop. Please read the README on this web site. I have tested new F# projects and several existing F# projects like Mandelbrot set, Stephen Wolfram's Rule 30, etc. This binding still needs polishing .... working on that with other colleagues.
Kind regards,

Vasili I. Galchin

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