WinXP and FreeBSD

.NET CLI/C# compiler source code now available

Learn how .NET and Visual Studio do their thing by getting down and dirty with the Shared Source release.

Posted by Chris Maunder on 2 Apr 2002.   Source: Microsoft

Rotor, the Microsoft Shared Source CLI Implementation is now available for download. This release includes over a million lines of code and contains working source code for the ECMA-334 (C#) and ECMA-335 (Common Language Infrastructure, or CLI) standards for Windows XP and FreeBSD.

The release is aimed at those looking to implement their own versions of the CLI and C# compiler; teachers and researchers; developers wishing to understand virtualized object systems, designing object frameworks, JIT compilers and garbage collectors; and those with way, way too much spare time.

The release is still considered a beta product and will be updated in time. It is not the commercial release, in that it is only a subset of the full .NET implementation and has been modified to aid portability and readability.

The CLI beta can be downloaded here.

Also of interest to those wondering if this version will be ported to Linux is the Microsoft Shared Source Philosophy: Frequently Asked Questions. Due to the viral nature of the GNU General Public License, the CLI will not be ported to Linux. Other operating systems that are not under the GPL are potential targets for porting.