20 May 2007

Exclusive interview about the new C# bindings support in Emdros

Below an exclusive interview with the creator of the Emdros, UP, about the new C# bindings support in Emdros.


Will the C# support benefit mankind ?

Certainly. Like ham & eggs benefit mankind: They're good for you.

Plus, a customer of mine makes some really good software which does benefit mankind, and they've been asking for C# bindings for some time.

Of course, there may be negative effects, such as a butterfly which is crushed in Samoa because of chaos-theoretical side-effects (not that I believe in those), but the net result is expected to be a win situation.


If it didn't benefit mankind, who would it benefit ?

Well, that's a counterfactual question, since it does in fact benefit mankind. But let's assume for a moment that it wouldn't benefit mankind. In that case, I wouldn't have made it, in which case it would benefit the butterfly in Samoa which wouldn't be crushed.


Did Steve B or Bill G pay you for it ?

Not yet.


How do you see it fit with your past commitment to open standards ?

C# and the related technologies that Emdros C# bindings use *are* part of an Open Standard. It is an ECMA specification, for crying out loud! If it weren't, Novell wouldn't have held on to and supported Ximian's implementation of .Net in the form of Mono. Novell are far too patent-pandering for that. There exist at least two independent, Open Source implementations of C# and the related technologies, so this in no way is a Free Software vs. Closed Source Software issue.

A more interesting question to ask would have been: "How do you see this fit with your past commitment to Free and Open Source software."
(I thought I was asking the questions ;-) maybe time I sign up for the blogging school)

I do not see a conflict. I use Windows on occasion, such as when I compile a new release of Emdros, or otherwise have to leave the productivity of my Linux environment for something only available in Windows. I am not a Free Software Only zealot. If I were, I wouldn't support Emdros on Windows, nor would I support it on Mac OS X.


As it is, my paying customers all use Emdros on Windows, so I am very happy to continue supporting Emdros on Windows.


Have you ever compiled any C# with Microsoft's C# compiler?

No. But I may have to one day. So far, the Mono compiler on Linux does everything I need, including making Windows-compatible binaries for shipping with Emdros.


Thanks for taking time to answer these questions. Looking forward to have you back at the The Unofficial Emdros Blog soon.

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