IronPython and IronRuby for .NET 4.0 Beta 2

By Michael Foord -
If you're part of the Python community then it may well have passed you by that a major new release of the .NET framework is imminent. .NET 4.0 is a new version of the Common Language Runtime (CLR), unlike 3.0 and 3.5 which were primarily new libraries and language enhancements for C# and VB.NET.

A big part of .NET 4.0 is the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR), on which IronPython and IronRuby are both built, and parts of the DLR are moving into the core .NET. This enables the introduction of the dynamic keyword in C# 4.0 and VB.NET 10.

One of the major use cases for the dynamic keyword is to make it easier to integrate dynamic languages with the statically typed ones, for embedding or for hybrid applications.

A minor addendum to the new .NET 4.0 is Visual Studio 2010. .NET 4.0 Beta 2 is the second beta (Community Technology Preview - CTP) of both .NET 4.0 and Visual Studio 2010. To go with this CTP there are new releases of both IronPython and IronRuby.
We’re quite pleased to announce the release of "IronPython 2.6 CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2". This is our third preview of IronPython running under the Dynamic Language Runtime that is built directly into a .NET 4.0 release! As before, this release allows you to use IronPython objects and types as .NET 4.0 dynamic objects from within C# and Visual Basic code. This release is extremely similar to IronPython 2.6 RC 1. Please also note that "IronPython 2.6 CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2" will run only under .NET 4.0 Beta 2.
To try out this preview release:
1. Install some variant of .NET 4.0 Beta 2 or Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2.
2. Install IronPython 2.6 CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2.msi
3. Follow any of the many dynamic walkthroughs online. Dynamic programming in VB.NET 10 and C# 4.0 would be a good start.
We’re pleased to announce the release of the IronRuby CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2. This is our third preview of IronRuby running under the Dynamic Language Runtime that is built directly into a .NET 4.0 release! As before, this release allows you to use IronRuby objects and types as .NET 4.0 dynamic objects from within C# and Visual Basic code. These binaries are roughly equivalent to the functionality found in IronRuby 0.9. Please also note that the IronRuby CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2 will run only under .NET 4.0 Beta 2.

This release also includes includes the binaries for the IronPython 2.6 CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2.
Interesting that the IronRuby guys are pleased, whereas the IronPython guys are only quite pleased...

Another interesting fact is that with a release of IronPython and IronRuby built on the same version of the DLR you can use it to create applications that embed both Ruby and Python or to interoperate directly between the two languages (hybrid applications written in both Python and Ruby and sharing libraries and objects).

Harry Pierson and Jimmy Schementi have blogged about these new releases:
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock (or maybe just aren’t tracking developments in the .NET community outside of IronPython), Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010 beta 2 this week. Of course for me personally, the most important feature in Visual Studio 2010 is C# 4.0 new dynamic type (also available in Visual Basic, but since VB already supported some level of late binding it’s not exactly “new” to VB).

For those of you who want to experiment with this cool new feature, may I present IronPython 2.6 CTP for .NET 4.0 Beta 2. If you can’t think of any cool things to try with this new feature, the VB team blog has some scenarios to get your started.
I’m pleased to announce the release of the IronRuby and IronPython CTPs for .NET 4.0 Beta 2. This is the third preview of IronRuby and IronPython running under the Dynamic Language Runtime that is built directly into .NET 4.0. As before, this release allows you to use IronRuby objects and types as .NET 4.0 dynamic objects from within C# and Visual Basic code. These binaries are roughly equivalent to the functionality found in IronRuby 0.9 and IronPython 2.6 RC. Take a look at Harry Pierson’s blogpost about this release as well, especially if you’re more into snakes than gemstones.

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