From Mono to Modern: The Evolution of .NET Development on Linux
The evolution of the .NET framework from the early days of Mono to the current landscape of modern .NET development on Linux has been a journey marked by significant changes and advancements. As technology progressed, so did the goals and focus of the .NET ecosystem, ultimately leading to a more streamlined and cross-platform development experience.
In the early 2000s, Mono emerged as a portable CLR (.NET) runtime for platforms that Microsoft did not prioritize. It served a crucial role in enabling .NET applications to run on environments where the full .NET framework was not suitable, such as on the iPhone or on older, niche architectures for Linux. However, as Microsoft acquired Xamarin and initiated the DotNET Core efforts, the focus shifted towards creating a more unified and portable .NET ecosystem.