Last month, we were all surprised with the announcement that Microsoft was bringing the core features of its .NET development platform to Linux and Mac, taking .NET cross-platform. Previously, Microsoft’s .NET platform was a Windows-only club, but now Microsoft is extending its technology to more developers. S. “Soma” Somasegar, the Microsoft vice president of development, said it is a goal of Microsoft’s to start meeting developers where they are instead of making them use Windows over Mac or Linux.
Matt Henley, vice president of 27 Global’s Kansas City headquarters, commented, “Microsoft’s approach of meeting developers ‘where they are’ is a great way to continue to improve the .NET stack and provide greater opportunity for rapid advancement of the platform.
“Developers today are increasingly working from Linux and/or Mac workstations for many reasons over Microsoft,” Henley continues. “This step to extend their platform to developers on other workstations shows Microsoft’s willingness to strive for overall improvement of their products. Additionally, there are obvious cost and performance reasons to use Linux for the web application tier over Mac or Windows.”
Making the .NET development platform available to Mac and Linux is an opportunity for Microsoft to improve the ecosystem surrounding the technology. With more developers gaining access, they can build and leverage .NET platform into a bigger entity.
Part of the wonder in taking .NET to the next level is the realization the Microsoft had to utilize open source technology to achieve its goals. Many were surprised to see Microsoft active in open source projects and applications.
