Mono is a comprehensive open source development platform based on the .NET framework that allows developers to build Linux and cross-platform applications with unprecedented productivity. Mono's .NET implementation is based on the ECMA standards for C# and the Common Language Infrastructure.

Sponsored by Novell the Mono project has an active and enthusiastic contributing community. Mono includes both developer tools and the infrastructure needed to run .NET client and server applications.

Mono includes a compiler for the C# language, an ECMA-compatible runtime engine (the Common Language Runtime, or CLR),and class libraries. The libraries include Microsoft .NET compatibility libraries (including ADO.NET, System.Windows.Forms and ASP.NET), Mono's own and third party class libraries.Gtk#, a set of .NET bindings for the gtk+ toolkit and assorted GNOME libraries can be found in the later.

This library allows you to build fully native Gnome application using Mono and includes support for user interfaces built with the Glade interface builder. Furthermore, Mono's runtime can be embedded into applications for simplified packaging and shipping. In addition, the Mono project offers an IDE, debugger, and documentation browser.

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What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

· This version updates the Task Parallel Library.
· SQLiteConnection can now set the threading mode.
· There is an improved debugger protocol.
· Basic support has been added for MSBuild 4.0.
· NuGet now runs on Mono.
· Phalanger 3.0 now runs with Mono.
· Support for some Azure libraries.
· Support for bundling profilers in a static binary.
· The profiler can now log its data to any file descriptor.
· SGen now has native support for object systems that implement ToggleRefs.
· Mobile Profile now contains System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles.
· PerformanceCounters for JIT statistics.
· Android CPU count. HashSet can now be serialized.