'provide developers with open source tools for building cross-platform applications that can run on Linux, UNIX, and other platforms.' To understand the motiva

'provide developers with open source tools for building cross-platform applications that can run on Linux, UNIX, and other platforms.' To understand the motivation why just look at the the gnome project which de Icaza started with Friedman. Before gnome there was no acceptable linux opensource gui's hence the drive to build re-build another gui (remember microsoft & apple has/had a better solution) but it is/wasn't free. So mono was started to ... - to create an opensource version of C# - there is/was at the time a sun java & opensource java (free) but not a lot of traction with os version - to look at a better way of building apps on open source systems - as a means to gain language Independence using universal byte code (not bindings) with clean environment - allow an easier way to create applications in linux community - allow developers on linux who want to get the job done using managed environments (not suited to system applications) - can run different languages using vm (limited) but mature (compared to parrot) - the core is VM (virtual machine) is called mono, implementation of ECMA standard. Has no language but CIL (low level byte code). So C# is just one compiler that generates to CIL. Mono has VB, Lisp etc. Also has a Java VM. It also has many third party compilers (any language supported by gcc). Then you can mix different languages together. So it's really language independent and whatever works for you. - fun to do more challenging things, learning about webapps to windows forms, to opengl ... "open ended university" and not get stuck in one style of programming - pcs & one single operating system - gives Windows developers just another set of platform(s) to run (not develop) their applications You can listen to a detailed explanation of the 'why', 'how', here - "Miguel de Icaza, Technometria: The Mono Project" ~ http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1771.html http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1771.html (mp3 1hr, 30Mb)