Mono Touch News

First MonoTouch Book is out

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:12:00 -0500

I am very excited to see the first MonoTouch book published.

You could not ask for a better team of authors to explain the MonoTouch and the iPhone platform. Chris, Craig, Martin, Rory, and Wally.

This book was a team effort by various active members of the MonoTouch community. They nurtured the community from the start by exploring MonoTouch, by reporting bugs and missing functionality in MonoTouch and by guiding .NET developers through the new world of building iPhone applications.

Congratulations on the book release guys!

You can find them here:

Chris Hardy twitter, blog
Craig Dunn twitter, blog
Martin Bowling twitter, blog
Rory Blyth (twitter, blog
Wallace McClure twitter, blog

MonoTouch 3.0.8 - iOS 4 Support

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:11:00 -0500

We have released MonoTouch 3.0.8, a stable update containing support for iOS4.

This release adds support for the new APIs and changes introduced in iOS4

MonoTouch 3.0.6 - iPhone OS 4, beta 4

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:11:00 -0500

We have released MonoTouch 3.0.6, a preview containing support for the upcoming iPhoneOS 4.0.

This preview adds support for the new APIs and changes introduced in iPhoneOS 4 Beta 4.

Detailed instructions on how to install this are available from our Preview Page.

MonoTouch and iPhone OS 4 Update

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:11:00 -0500

MonoTouch 3.0.0

On Friday, we released MonoTouch 3.0.0, which includes our support for the new APIs in iPhoneOS 4. We are excited about this release, and look forward to hearing feedback from MonoTouch developers as they explore all the new features that Apple unveiled at last week's iPhoneOS 4 announcement. This release is only available to developers that have access to Apple's iPhoneOS 4, as the API is currently confidential.

The support for iPhone OS 4 that we are now shipping is a testament of our approach to support native iPhone application development: Offering developers their preferred language to leverage the exact same APIs that Objective-C developers would use.

iPhone Developer Agreement

While, we have heard little direct feedback from Apple regarding recently reported changes to the iPhone Developer Program Agreement, we have heard consistent feedback that Apple is concerned about inefficient apps created using abstraction layers that hide native APIs.

We believe that several bloggers and journalists have misjudged MonoTouch by characterizing it as an abstraction with disregard for its actual features. As MonoTouch does not hide native APIs and is not an abstraction layer, we continue to believe that MonoTouch conforms to the spirit and intent of the terms spelled out in the developer agreement.

MonoTouch brings the best of multiple worlds: The C# language and the iPhone OS frameworks. And it does this without abstraction layers, inefficient libraries, glue or exposing a different set of APIs than those of the native iPhone OS. When developers create iPhone and iPad applications using MonoTouch, they use the C# language to take advantage of the features found in .NET like garbage collection, full type safety, and Language Integrated Query while interfacing directly with iPhone OS libraries, including UIKIt, CoreGraphics, CoreAnimation, GameKit, AudioToolbox, AVFoundation and many more.

We have also heard many positive updates from middleware vendors within the iPhone ecosystem. Some have already reported direct approval of their platforms, and Unity (a Mono licensee on iPhone) have reported that they will be meeting with Apple this week to discuss the matter.

New Apps Since iPhone OS 4 Announcement

We are also pleased to announce that since the iPhone OS 4 announcement, several MonoTouch users have received App Store approval for listing their iPhone and iPad applications, including Touch Playbook, Really Simple, and LCARS Reader.

Readers interested in seeing a more general listing of MonoTouch applications in Apple's App Store can look to the Apps page at MonoTouch.info.

Enterprise MonoTouch

It is important to point out that the new iPhone Developer Agreement terms are for AppStore deployment and not the Enterprise program that allows deployment of in-house application to users in the enterprise (using the Enterprise Deployment program).

MonoTouch and iPhone OS 4

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:11:00 -0500

This is an update from the MonoTouch team at Novell to the MonoTouch community.

Many have contacted us about reports on the changes in the iPhone Developer Program Agreement and while we can not comment on the specifics of a confidential agreement, we want to address some of the points that are being brought up.

We believe that MonoTouch brings an impressive value to the Apple ecosystem.

MonoTouch's C-powered runtime blends the power of native code and Apple's iPhoneOS APIs with type safety, automatic memory management, and other benefits that years of runtime innovation have delivered to the ISO Common Language Infrastructure.

We are reaching out to Apple for clarification on their intention, and believe there is plenty of room for course-correction prior to the final release of the 4.0 SDK.

MonoTouch's programming model exposes the iPhoneOS API to the C# language to give developers the same control and access that Objective-C developers get.

If Apple's motives are technical, or are intended to ensure the use of the Apple toolchain, MonoTouch should have little difficulty staying compliant with the terms of the SDK. MonoTouch runs only on Mac OS X, and integrates tightly with XCode and the iPhone SDK. Applications built with MonoTouch are native applications indistinguishable from other native applications, only expose Apple's documented APIs and uses a rigorous test suite to ensure that we conform to the iPhoneOS ABIs and APIs.

With this in mind, the MonoTouch team remains excited about the potential for Enterprise and AppStore-deployable applications developed for the iPhone and iPad. Support for iPhoneOS 4.0 on MonoTouch will be arriving soon.

MonoTouch 2.0

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:11:00 -0500

We are happy to introduce MonoTouch 2.0 which now includes support for Apple's iPad and all the new iPad APIs that were introduced with iPhoneOS 3.2.

Existing users of MonoTouch can upgrade to MonoTouch directly from the MonoDevelop IDE by selecting "Check for Updates" in the Help menu, this will offer the new MonoTouch 2.0 downloads.

Since the MonoTouch 1.0 release, we have added plenty of new features, including:

Debugger for the simulator and devices.
Profiling support using Shark and Instruments.
Much smaller executables.
Increased performance.
Completed support for Apple's libraries in iPhoneOS.
Added many new popular .NET libraries to the distribution (JSon, WCF, LINQ to XML, System.Data bindings to Sqlite and Cairo).
Improved the MonoDevelop IDE for OSX users.

MonoTouch Alpha + Beta Updates

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:11:00 -0500

We have release an update for both the MonoTouch Beta (what will become MonoTouch 1.5) and MonoTouch Alpha (what will become 2.0, our iPad support).

To get these packages, go to MonoDevelop and in the updater check "Beta" or "Alpha" depending on what you are interested in downloading and download the updates.

Release notes for MonoTouch 1.5 Beta and Release Notes for MonoTouch 2.0 Alpha.

MonoTouch support for the iPad is ready

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:11:00 -0500

MonoTouch support for the Apple iPad is now ready.

This release includes the new APIs in the new iPhoneOS as well as tool support and MonoDevelop support for developing iPad applications.

Head over to MonoTouch on iPad for instructions.

MonoTouch on iPad

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:11:00 -0500

The MonoTouch team is very excited about today's iPad announcement. MonoTouch users should expect that MonoTouch apps will run on the iPad in the same way that apps developed with the current iPhone SDK will work on the iPad.

We will begin releasing updated versions of MonoTouch with additional support for iPad features as soon as Apple makes the new SDK available.

MonoTouch 1.4 is out

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:11:00 -0500

The new MonoTouch 1.4 is out. It starts up 40% faster, code size is 30% smaller, various new APIs have been bound, we improved the debugging experience. Check our release notes for the full details.

First MonoTouch EBook Published

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:11:00 -0500

Wallace McClure and Wrox have published the first e-Book on Buildling iPhone/iPod Touch Applications using C# and MonoTouch.

Get it while it's hot!

MonoTouch 1.2: Now with Debugging Support

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:11:00 -0500

We have just released MonoTouch 1.2, the major feature of this release is the support for debugging MonoTouch applications on both the iPhone and the iPhone Simulator using MonoDevelop.

Existing MonoTouch customers will be able to get MonoTouch 1.2 the next time they startup MonoDevelop or when they use "Check Updates" in MonoDevelop.

If you are evaluating MonoTouch, you can get your evaluation copy with the debugger from our evaluation page

MonoSpace Conference in Austin - October 27 through 30

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:11:00 -0500

Over the past few weeks, the final details of the program for the Monospace Conference have been announced, and now the event is just less than two weeks away. Some key details you may have missed:

The Monspace conference features 2 days of workshops and 2 days of Open Space sessions.
The full conference agenda has been posted, and now includes a full day of MonoTouch training (Mono for the iPhone).
The two-day open space sessions will be kicked off on Thursday with an Open Source Panel featuring Miguel de Icaza (Mono Project Founder), Sam Ramji (CodePlex Foundation), Ayende Rahien (NHibernate and Castle Contributor), and Glenn Block (Managed Extensibility Framework), and moderated by Rod Paddock, Editor of CoDe Magazine.

The Monospace conference will be held in Austin, TX on Tuesday, October 27 through Friday, October 30. To register for the event, visit the Monospace Conference Registration Page.

Check the program for more information.

Registered Monospace attendees will receive a $150 discount on MonoTouch, if they purchase in the month of October.

MonoTouch 1.1 is now available

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:11:00 -0500

An update to MonoTouch is now available. New features include: iPhone 3.1 APIs, WebServices support, 30% less disk space for generated code, halved startup time.

Public MonoTouch Wiki

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:11:00 -0500

We have launched a public Wiki for MonoTouch users to share their experiences, code snippets and information at wiki.monotouch.net.

MonoTouch Trial Available

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:11:00 -0500

A trial edition of MonoTouch is now available for developers from our site

MonoTouch 1.0 Released

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:11:00 -0500

MonoTouch 1.0 has been released! Check our release notes.

MonoTouch 1.0 Beta 8 Released

MonoTouch (monotouch@novell.com) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:11:00 -0500

MonoTouch 1.0 Beta 8 has been released. Release here.