Installing XSP on Fedora 19

Today I'm going to keep it very short and simple. To be able to test our ASP.NET (MVC) applications we'll need a server for ASP.NET (MVC) pages. Luckily there is one available: XSP.

From Wikipedia:

XSP is a simple, standalone webserver written in C# that hosts ASP.NET's System for Linux and other Unix operating systems. As well as running on the mono runtime for Linux it also runs on the .NET runtime, making it usable as a light weight web server on any .NET supporting platform.

So how do we install XSP (v4)?

If you want to install the server using yum or through the GUI and want the latest updates, you'll first need to add the correct repository:

• sudo cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
• sudo wget http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:tpokorra:mono/Fedora_19/home:tpokorra:mono.repo

We then can use yum:

• Open a terminal and issue the following command:
• 64 bit:
•  sudo yum -y install mono-xsp-opt.x86_64.rpm
• 32 bit:
• sudo yum -y install mono-xsp-opt.i686.rpm

Or use the GUI:

• Activities > Show Applications > Software
• Enter your sudo password
• Search for XSP and install the appropriate package

Or simply download the rpm from rpm.pbone.net:

• Download the rpm from one of the following locations:
• 64 bit:
• http://rpm.pbone.net/index.php3/stat/4/idpl/23756850/dir/fedora_19/com/mono-xsp-opt-3.2.0-4.2.x86_64.rpm.html
• 32 bit:
• http://rpm.pbone.net/index.php3/stat/4/idpl/23756840/dir/fedora_19/com/mono-xsp-opt-3.2.0-4.2.i686.rpm.html
• When shown a dialog to choose what to do with the package, you can save it to your disk or choose to immediately open it with the "Software installer"
• When choosing to save the package to your disk, you can still install the package by going to the appropriate directory and double clicking the package or using rpm -ivh /[directory]/[filename]

Once installed, no extra configuration should be needed. If you should encounter problems when trying to debug a project from within MonoDevelop you can find your XSP settings in the following way:

• Open MonoDevelop and open your project
• Click on Solution
•    Right click your project name
•    Choose 'Options'
•    At the left underneath the section "Run" you'll find XSP Web Server

Installing Nuget

In my last blog post I explained how to install the latest version of MonoDevelop. If we really want to start developing .NET applications we should at least install Nuget since it makes installing extra items like bootstrap, jquery, MVC, ... and making sure we've got the latest version a lot easier.

Basically I followed the guide on this page, but I'll explain it shortly below. Before we start, take note of your version of MonoDevelop. This you can find in the "Help" menu option "About". Take the first 2 decimal groups (e.g. 4.0 in following image.

1. To start, open the latest version of MonoDevelop.
2. Select "Add-in Manager" in the "Tools" menu. 
3. Select the "Gallery" tab in the dialog that just opened.
4. In the "Repository" dropdown, select "Manage Repositories...".
5. Click on the "Add" button.
6. Choose "Register an on-line repository".
7. In the "Url" field enter the following url:
1. http://mrward.github.com/monodevelop-nuget-addin-repository/4.0/main.mrep
1. Be sure to replace the 4.0 by the version of MonoDevelop you are running.
   
8. Click on "OK" and "Close".
9. Underneath the "IDE Extensions" section, select the "NuGet Package Management" item.
   
10. Install by pressing "Install...".
11. A confirmation dialog will show on which you should again choose the "Install" option.
12. Wait for the operation to complete, after which the dialog should be closed.
13. Click on the "Close" button to get back to the IDE.

Now the Nuget package manager should be available. There are multiple ways to show the Manager.

• Underneath the "Project" menu you can choose "Manage NuGet Packages".
• Right click solution or project name or "References" folder and again select "Manage NuGet Packages".

Install latest version of MonoDevelop in Fedora 19 (64 bit)

Here's how to install the latest version of MonoDevelop (and Mono) on Fedora 19 (64 bit).

Open a terminal and enter the following commands:

sudo cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
sudo wget http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:tpokorra:mono/Fedora_19/home:tpokorra:mono.repo
sudo yum install monodevelop-opt

This can also be found here