visual studio for Mac

Comparatively few folks write C# code on macOS. Swift, Objective C, C, C++, and some other languages are all more common, and I’d guess that there’s probably more Fortran code around on Mac than there’s C# code on Mac.

Per the following PDF, the Varian ESAPI can be programmed with C# and Python. Looking at the Varian ESAPI, it’s built on Microsoft .NET, which means you’re headed for .NET Core on macOS. Or .NET on Windows. But both C# and Python can be gotten to work on both platforms.

Some info: https://varianapis.github.io/VarianApiBook.pdf

Installing and booting Windows in Boot Camp or as a guest in a hypervisor is probably the fastest way to get where you want, and with the best support assistance from others, if you have an Intel Mac. That’ll get the Windows version of Visual Studio too, which differs in various ways from the Visual Studio for Mac tool.

I did not go looking for C# macOS grumbling, but did find a fair amount of it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/csharp/comments/9gappt/does_c_work_the_same_way_on_an_apple_mac_os_as_it/

https://www.reddit.com/r/csharp/comments/eupciw/drawbacks_of_using_c_on_mac/

As someone learning about programming, you’re going to be integrating and supporting and potentially debugging and researching rather more of your development tooling here than would be typical for someone just starting out.

mauede33 wrote:

I am not a professional s/w developer.

I am a medical physics trainee. I am trying to streamline treatment planning automation which requires embedding ESAPI library calls in C# code.

I don't see how a Mac is going to help you with that.

In September 2020 I bought my third Mac and had to purchase new licenses for all the 3rd party applications I use because Mac OS does not support 32-bit applications anymore.

Macs haven't used 32-bit software since the first couple of months of 2007. Macs stopped running 32-bit software at all in 2019. You can't go 15 years between updates.

I also replace the external devices because Mac does not provide any USB2 port anymore.

The last Mac with a USB2 port shipped in 2011 I think. Maybe 2012. USB3 is fully backwards compatible. It just runs 10x slower because USB2 is 10x slower. Modern Macs have USB-C, which is twice as fast again. You might have to buy a couple of £5 adapters.

All together I spent more than £6.5K (with the students' discount) with the goal of using my Mac for some serious (not professional) development.

You should seriously re-evaluate what you are doing. I am a professional developer and my last top-of-the-line MacBook Pro cost 4 times less than that.

Before posting my question to this forum I had googled Visual Studio for Mac and found a number of answers.

I am not sure I can trust any of the websites offering VisualStudio for Mac. I wonder whether such an IDE runs smoothly on Mac.

You seem to suggest that it does not.

I didn't say anything about whether Visual Studio for Mac runs "smoothly" or not. You can absolutely trust the Microsoft Visual Studio web site.

However, what you are describing sounds like something that is simply not going to work on a Mac. It also sounds like something that you should be paid to do, with a computer purchased by your employer. If this is some kind of crazy-expensive hobby, then go for it. But I don't see why you would be complaining about the cost in that case. You need to seriously re-evaluate what you are doing, and why. If money doesn't grow on trees for you, then why are you tossing it into the wind?

I don't believe that there is a Visual Studio for Mac - the requirements page does not list one.

I strongly suggest that you either get a PC or use BootCamp to run PC software.

mauede33 wrote:

I have been loyal to Mac for 15 years.

How much is loyalty paying these days?

hospitals use Windows because of the much lower cost and the easier learning curve for people who have no computer science background.

That's not why they use Windows, but it is a moot point.

My current challenge is to develop C# scripts that make use of the ESAPI that is a proprietary Varian library. Varian builds its s/w on Windows because they manufacture medical devices.

All ESAPI developers use Visual Studio for C# scripting.

OMG. I went to the Varian website. If their attention to detail in their medical equipment is anything like that of their website, I think I'm just going to try to stay out of the hospital for the next couple of decades.

My question is: does Visual Studio work on Mac/Big Sur?

There is a Visual Studio for the Mac, but it isn't what you are thinking.

I assume that if Visual Studio works then I will have no problem with C# (True/False)?

LOL! That's totally false.

Furthermore, I would like to install Tensorflow (Python application) on Visual Studio because I am keen on practicing with Convolutional Neural Networks. Unluckily I already know that Tensorflow runs fast on GPUs but CUDA runs on Windows.

You're getting in pretty deep here.

What are you actually trying to accomplish? Do you currently have a job developing software for medical devices? If so, then what are you doing here? If not, then you are wasting your time with it. Tensorflow isn't much different from a socio-career-economic standpoint.

I suggest you identify a reachable goal and research what you will need to get there. Then do that. Be honest with yourself.

mauede33 wrote:

I wonder whether it is possible to run Visual Studio and C# in a Docker container.

Docker does run on Microsoft Windows and Windows Server, so you could conceivably run a Windows Docker container containing Visual Studio and C# in Docker containers hosted on Windows, yes.

If you’re finding yourself deploying and re-deploying your Windows development environment onto Windows systems enough to warrant the added investment, Docker would be one option for easing and automating those deployment efforts.

As shown in the following webpage excerpt image, Docker provides sharing of the underlying operating system, and not an operating system instance within the container as is typical with a hypervisor. In some ways, containers are both for deployment, and can be licensing arbitrage for the underlying software license charges; for OS and hypervisor license chargers. But containers don’t contain operating systems, which would mean the underlying image would require Windows for tools that expect Windows. (And I don’t know how well this Varian .NET-based ESAPI app would containerize; you’d have to experiment with that.

Docker on macOS would be sharing macOS. Not creating a Windows-app-friendly container on macOS.

Again, the operating system expected for your tooling is Microsoft Windows, which means you’ll be using a native-boot Windows client (Boot Camp on an Intel Mac being one option, not available on Mac M1), Windows booted as a guest in a hypervisor on macOS, or, if you wanted it, Windows in Docker on Windows in a hypervisor on Mac, or supporting rather more of the parts of these tools on macOS yourself to get this all working cross-platform with the ESAPI / Varian frameworks. If this Varian app can even be gotten working cross-platform; if Windows isn’t a hard dependency.