Linux for .NET Dev

Options

• Linux on your PC or in a VM (on-premises or cloud) 🔗
  • Supported distros/OS versions for .NET 🔗
  • Installation types 🔗 (manual, Snap, scripted)
  • ⚠️ Before switching, verify that all required apps are available
• Containerized environment (Docker)
  • Independent of host OS (with Docker Desktop)
  • No installation/update required
  • .NET on docker hub 🔗
• Cloud development environments
  • E.g. GitHub Codespaces, gitpod
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) 🔗
  • Linux environment on Windows without VM or dual-boot
  • My personal favorite

WSL 2

• Windows and Linux kernels run side-by-side
  • Linux kernel nicely integrated with Windows
    (e.g. file system access, running apps with/without GUI)
  • systemd support 🔗
  • USB support via USBIPD 🔗
• Option: Get Linux distros from Windows Store
  • You can also import/create other distros
• Use WSL as backend for Docker Desktop 🔗
  • Better performance than VM
• Enterprise-readiness 🔗
• Tip: Combine with Windows Terminal 🔗

WSL Demos

IDE Options

IDE Options on/for Linux

• IDE on Linux
  • VSCode and VSCode Forks (e.g. Cursor AI)
  • JetBrains Rider 🔗
  • Any other editor with support for .NET LSP (e.g. Neovim)
• Visual Studio on Windows + Debug in container
  • Docker support in Visual Studio
  • Not my personal favorite
• Remote Development with VSCode and forks 🔗
  • SSH, containers, WSL, GitHub Codespaces
  • My personal favorite

Remote Development Demos

.NET on Linux

.NET on Linux

• Linux support in .NET since .NET Core
  • Good Linux support in recent .NET versions
• Target frameworks for .NET 🔗
  • TFM = Target Framework Moniker
  • Portable vs. OS-specific
  • Use multiple TFMs if applicable 🔗
• .NET Runtime Identifier 🔗
  • Identify target platform (e.g. linux-x64)
  • E.g. used when building platform-specific executables

Publishing Demos

Tips for Cross-Platform Development

Tips

• Avoid exploiting platform-specific behaviors. Examples:
  • Case-insensitive file names on Windows
• Write platform-independent code. Examples:
  • Use Path to combine folder names
  • Use Environment.NewLine
  • Use UTF-8 encoding for text files
  • Use Environment.GetFolderPath to get special folders
• Avoid platform-specific features. Examples:
  • Configuration files or environment variables instead of Windows Registry
  • gRPC over Sockets instead of Windows Named Pipes
  • Open Telemetry instead of Windows Event Log

Tips

• Be aware of platform specifics. Examples:
  • Higher path length limit on Linux
  • File permissions work differently on Windows and Linux
  • Symbolic links on Linux
  • Consider platform-specific implementations via DI
• Avoid platform-specific UI technologies
  • Avalonia or MAUI for desktop apps
  • Web UI
• Use cross-platform script platform for automation tasks
  • TypeScript instead of bash
  • PowerShell on Linux

Tips (Skills)

• Get foundational knowledge about Linux
  • Basic commands, package management, Linux monitoring tools, networking fundamentals, etc.
• Become familiar with dotnet-related CLIs
  • Frequently used when developing on Linux
• Containers are important on Linux
  • Get familiar with Docker or similar technology