Novell MonoTouch permits .NET development for iPhone
updated 11:00 am EDT, Mon September 14, 2009
May expand accessibility for programmers
Through its open-source Mono Project, Novell has released MonoTouch 1.0, a software development kit for the iPhone and iPod touch. The SDK allows programming apps within Microsoft's .NET framework, which incorporates languages such as C#. Most iPhone development is handled using C and Objective-C, which Novell notes will necessarily exclude many people working with .NET.
MonoTouch is particularly designed to circumvent a conflict between .NET and Apple's iPhone developer license, which prevents the use of scripting engines or JIT (Just-in-Time) compilers. The kit includes base class libraries for .NET, and managed libraries for native iPhone APIs. A cross-compiler renders code into software that can be submitted to the App Store, or distributed inside a closed network.
The Personal Edition of MonoTouch costs $399 per year, per developer, and only compiles programs for the App Store. The Enterprise Edition costs $3,999 per year, but covers five developers and also allows creating apps for internal enterprise use. Updates and maintenance are included as part of the subscription.
Silly
09/14, 12:13pm reply
Apple will probably reject apps built with this. Why not just learn objective C and do it the right way on the iPhone?
Chris Paveglio
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2002
Re: Silly
09/14, 01:13pm (1 reply) reply
There's no reason to reject the apps. They get sent compiled executables that meet the rules required. The only reason to reject them is out of spite.
As to learning Objective C, maybe a company doesn't want to spend a fortune re-training it's staff of .Net developers, who wants to, I don't know, re-use their existing codebase, rather than rewriting everything from the ground up.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Awesome!
09/14, 01:56pm (1 reply) reply
this could really help move the iPhone into the enterprise realm. A lot of companies are building workflow frontends using .net. The only real choice up until now has been Windows Mobile with the Compact .net framework. This could help devs doing .net centric work add the iPhone as a valid option in the enterprise.
Good work Novel!
DeezNutts
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Joined: Apr 2008