C# on OS X

I just noticed that the Mono project now has an ObjC - C# bridge called ObjC#. This is a two-way bridge very similar to Apple’s old depricated Java-ObjC bridge and is separate from the Cocoa# project apparently. Perhaps they use the same code base, not sure.

Anyway, Cocoa# seems to be more of an attempt to write native applications with Cocoa view classes in pure C# whereas ObjC# is a language bridge that would allow you to easily cross languages when one language has a feature you don’t have in the other. I’m quite happy with writing Cocoa apps in ObjC, and therefore much more interested in the latter. C#/Mono has a fantastic collection of XML tools that probably surpass those available in Cocoa… specifically, more complete support for XSD, RELAX NG, validating parsers, and a pull-parser.

In related news, I noticed just last night that Dumbarton Bridge, a completely separate ObjC-C# bridge project has been updated with better docs, and a pre-compiled .framework. I got my first DB project running last night! (Since moving here, I actually see the real Dumbarton Bridge every weekend on my jog in MountainView at Shoreline)

More details on my experiences with these two to come…