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.NET on Linux: What a Contrast

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.NET on Linux: What a Contrast

by
kqr
, published 2024-01-26
Tags:

  * programming
  * dotnet

Almost five years ago I wrote a brief history about .net on
non-Windows platforms. I stumbled over that article now and it
resurfaced traumatic memories of navigating .net development on Linux
and MacOS.

Even back in 2019, it was mostly fine to run .net code on Linux (in
production) but the documentation and tooling for development was not
there at all.1[ ]^1 I got into .net development when my then-new
employer was in the middle of transitioning from .net Framework to 
.net Core, so my non-Windows work computer ended up being a lab rat
for all sorts of unexpected compatibility problems. I still don't
fully understand why I thought it was a good idea to try to port
applications I wasn't even able to compile - much less run - to the
new framework, but it worked out fine in the end. (It was not just
that these applications used the fcl, they also integrated with
Windows functionality.)

That experience was, and the article was written, when .net Core 2.1
was the latest production-friendly release. In some sense, it was
just yesterday, but in another, it's a world away. Even just two or
three years later, the tooling and documentation had improved to
levels I didn't anticipate. Today, I still write .net code (for a
different employer) and I can barely tell whether I'm on Windows or
Linux.

It speaks to how much an organisation with a big wallet and
willingness to invest can shift things in a brief amount of time -
but also, I think, how other companies (I'm looking at you,
JetBrains) can set a standard for cross-platform tooling that the
original company is forced to live up to in order not to lose too
much market share.

Sidenotes

^1

I got into .net development when my then-new employer was in the
middle of transitioning from .net Framework to .net Core, so my
non-Windows work computer ended up being a lab rat for all sorts of
unexpected compatibility problems. I still don't fully understand why
I thought it was a good idea to try to port applications I wasn't
even able to compile - much less run - to the new framework, but it
worked out fine in the end. (It was not just that these applications
used the fcl, they also integrated with Windows functionality.)

If you liked this and want more you should buy me a coffee. That
helps me turn my 110+ ideas backlog into articles.

Shoutout to my amazing wife   without whose support I would never
make it past the first sentence. 

S = k log W.
 
Comments? Send me an email.