First of all, sorry if this is in the wrong place - I wasn't sure if it should go here or in the XNA Framework forum, or somewhere else.

Although XNA is a very, very cool set of tools that I'm really enjoying using, I have to say I'm not a great fan of the C# language itself. I've been looking at some of the other languages that compile to the .NET platform (sorry if discussing them is a faux pas around here, heh), and the language Boo seems pretty cool and easier for someone like me to work with. Using the C# and Boo IDE SharpDevelop I've been able to write XNA-based code in Boo, and have compiled it for the PC. However, I would also eventually like to be able to use the game that I'm writing on the 360. I do not at this point have a 360 though, so testing whether or not I can upload a game written in Boo to a 360 is hard. I understand that since I'm working with a 3rd party language and IDE and compiler, I can't expect any guarantees, but does anyone have any idea if a program written in Boo can be deployed onto an XBox?

In theory as long as the game uses only the set of .Net APIs that exist in the 360 assemblies they should run on the 360.

I know people have compiled C++ (as long as they use the /safe flag) and Chrome (a pascal variant) so there is a good chance. See Other Languages FAQ

However be careful that Boo doesn't have any runtime libraries of its own as they may not run. e.g. VB.Net has own extra runtimes that people often assume are part of the language or .Net - they don't work on the 360 unless you are careful to avoid those things (e.g. the My. namespace)

You can deploy to the xbox wihtout using C# express if you use the command line packer tool (though you have to install C# express and GSe to get the DLLs and tools).

Let us know if it works...

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX

The Compact Framework used on Xbox also does not support the full set of IL instructions available on Windows, and does not support the Reflection.Emit namespace.

I have no idea whether Boo uses those features, but it would be a problem if it does.

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XNA Framework Developer
blog - homepage

Thanks for the responses. I have used the command-line tools mentioned to make a package for the XBox without any errors, but I'd guess that errors will only become apparent at runtime. I'm pretty new to Boo so I don't know if it uses any of those libraries. Regardless, thanks for the help, and if anyone's curious I'll update this thread when I get a chance to try.

I updated the XNA and other languages FAQ with information from this thread.

If you get Boo working and you blog it or have samples then reply to the FAQ or this thread and I will get your notes added to the FAQ

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX