Is there a way to install .net framework 4.5.2 or higher on Mac OS X?

Question

I want to compile c# project with .net 4.5.2 framework in Xamarin Studio. When I open project and look for Target Framework, there is .NET Framework 4.5.2 (not installed). So it doesn't compile. Is there a way to install .net framework 4.5.2 or higher on Mac OS X?

Jerejereld

Answer 1

Target Mono / .Net 4.5 for right now for cross platform development.

The Mono team is integrating Microsoft's reference source and Mono is being currently built using one profile, net_4_x, with contract assemblies for the other profiles.

Mono 4.2.0 Alpha:

While Microsoft is working towards .NET Core: a redistributable and re-imagined version of .NET, the project remains a work in progress. Mono at this point continues to provide an API that tracks the .NET desktop/server version.

This means that most of the code that we have integrated comes from the ReferenceSource drop. In the future, we will deliver a “Mono Core” along the same lines of .NET Core to allow the use of the Mono runtime with the new library distribution system that is being developed with CoreFX.

In this release, we have either ported components that were either incomplete or buggy in Mono and were relatively easy to port to Mono. There is much more to be done in this area. If you are interested in tracking those efforts, check the project status.

Mono ships now with a subset of the referencesource that have been adjusted to work with Mono’s class libraries or have been updated to be cross platform.

Veneaux

What's xplat? External platform? – Fardel

@Fardel xplat = cross-platform, i.e. linux, windows, osx, etc. – Denunciatory

xplat = fork the Windows version and have failing tests / builds. – Dissepiment

Answer 2

If you just mean to build against (not to actually run), then the reference assemblies now ship on nuget, so simply add a package reference:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NETFramework.ReferenceAssemblies"
    Version="1.0.0" PrivateAssets="all" />

You can now build against netfx on mac. This is mostly useful when multi-targeting against something that targets netfx and .NET Core, and you're mostly running against .NET Core during development.

Financier