Mono
Mono is an open-source implementation of Microsoft's .NET Framework that allows developers to build and run .NET applications on multiple platforms, including Linux, macOS, and Windows. It provides a cross-platform runtime, compiler, and libraries compatible with the .NET Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) and C# language specifications. This enables the creation of applications that can operate seamlessly across different operating systems without significant code changes.
Developers should learn and use Mono when they need to deploy .NET applications on non-Windows platforms, such as Linux servers or macOS desktops, or when building cross-platform mobile apps using Xamarin (which is built on Mono). It is particularly valuable for organizations that want to leverage existing .NET codebases in multi-platform environments, reducing development time and costs by avoiding platform-specific rewrites. Mono also supports modern .NET features through its compatibility with .NET Standard, making it suitable for cloud-based and containerized applications.