Newbe C# Platform question

[cob98tp]

Hi all,

I'm new to C# and have a (hopefully) quick question...

I'm looking to build a website that will utilise C#, and I guess therefore the .NET platform. The tools I aim to build include very simple drawing tools in the browser.

My question is this... Will users of Macs be able to use the features of the web-site I build? Will I have to be careful in my construction of the site to use only Web-Form classes, or will Mac users have to download a 3rd party tool such as Mono?

Thanks in advance for answers to my question - It is greatly appreciated as this is crucial to whether or not I begin to learn C# and develop this project... (on a side note... if the answer is no, are there any other platforms that you would reccommend to develop this project?)

[marwex89]

Direct quote from Main Page - Mono

"Mono provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix."

This means: Yes, Mac users will be able to use your features, as long as they have mono...

I recommend Java for Cross-platform projects. It's great for both web and desktop.

[TcM]

Yeah, might be too much hassle for MAC and Linux users to install mono... while many users have Java installed..

[Xav]

As long as you host the site on a .NET server, any browser on any system can view it, regardless. Like with ASP.NET, you mean?

[TcM]

Yeah... maybe you are right, I've got no idea.

[Xav]

Well, maybe cob's a bit confused. .NET is a technology for writing desktop applications, not websites.

The only way in which you can use .NET with C# on the internet is by using ASP.NET, and setting the language as an attribute to C#. You must host it on a Windows (.NET enabled) server. Then, the server will send ordinary HTML pages back to the user, so it can be viewed (hopefully) on PCs, Macs, Linux, mobiles, Nintendo DS... you get the idea.

[TcM]

As normal HTML code? Just like PHP. Right?

[Xav]

YES! PHP and ASP are both server-side languages! That's what I'm getting at. It's just that ASP.NET tucks the entire .NET Framework under its belt as well.

As opposed to <?php ?> tags, ASP uses <% %>.

[TcM]

Not a big fan of .NET..

You think that a linux sever can run mono? and still host this .NET thing on a linux server?

[marwex89]

I never saw the logic behind .NET not being for... net...