So I’ve done a bunch of application development in windows in C# and Java, and while Java stuff is pretty similar in Linux with Swing I’m not as confident in C# there (not too familiar with Mono), but I also want to diversify a bit too. Any recommendations?
If u wanna go with c# then use something like gtk# or cross platform gui lib like Avalonia
JetBrains Rider is probably the best C# IDE for Linux, and MS ported .NET server stuff a while ago.
I’m not sure about C# GUI toolkits on Linux. WPF isn’t there, and I’m not sure how mature Maui is on Linux.
Maui has zero Linux support. I don’t believe there are any plans for it, either.
However, Avalonia is fully supported, and is almost a drop in replacement for WPF.
Yeah outside of Java I’m wondering if I might have to start learning some OpenGL/Vulkan stuff for graphics.
If it makes sense for your software, please consider giving it a web interface and turning it into a localhost-only web-service.
Not averse to the idea, but why so? What’s the advantage?
Good separation between business logic and UI without effort, cross-platform UI in any language, possibility to turn it into a web-accessible service in the future, great choice of UI frameworks and battle-tested components if you decide to go for a web framework and language.
As an example of a successful software that followed this approach: Synchthing. All versions run a local web service in the background. The Desktop version just opens a browser on the index page. The Android version is a native app that calls the exposed REST API on localhost, bypassing the web UI.
As an example of a much more complex software, albeit not FOSS: EasyEDA. It’s a web software, but it also comes as a desktop app (which I never tried) which I assume is not much more than a frame for the web view.
My recommendation: write the UI with React on Vite in TypeScript, and write the business logic in your general purpose language of choice (mine would usually be C#).
Didn’t .net core depreciate the older .net framework stuff, and by extension Mono, and the target you should be looking at going forward is the new .net core stuff?
(I’m more a janitor than a mechanic, so my understanding of what framework is or isn’t dead this week is probably lacking, but I recall seeing an awful lot of chatter going on about that.)
Yes, you are right.
The old stuff, now no longer supported, is:
- .NET Framework up to and incl version 4.8
- Runtimes distributed as part of Windows
- Mono is a Linux Runtime used for compatibility
The new stuff:
- .NET Core, up to and incl 3, more recent versions are named .NET from version 5 onwards (to prevent mixing it up with the old Framework)
- Is completely cross-platform, natively
- I don’t know about desktop specific graphical stuff but that probably depends on the specific library
I think Avalonia is pretty great for C# cross-platform UI stuff. JetBrains Rider is the best C# IDE on Linux.
