September 7, 2024

C# and linux Graphics

Here is one of the big sore points with C#. It is difficult to write portable GUI programs using C#. The big problem is if you use "WPF" (Windows Presentation Foundation). This is exactly what a C# developer on Windows would use -- but it only works on Windows. This is one of the big things (the biggest thing?) that you can build on .NET Core that is Microsoft only.

Two things are suggested: Avalonia and Uno.

Both Uno and Avalonia are Free and open source. It looks like the "XPF" spin has a steep cost. Both are XAML based ways to design GUI.

Sometimes it is suggested that you use "Wine" to run native WPF on linux, but based on past experience with Wine, I want nothing to do with that.

I also hear about Unity for game development. They say it is free "to start" for personal use and for organizations with under $100K in revenue. They say Unity is based on Mono. They also say that Unity mostly works out of the box on Linux.

Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Computer Info / tom@mmto.org