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As I recall, WP7 supports C# but does not support any of the .Net dynamic languages (Ruby or Python). Are any other programming languages besides C# supported? Could an app be developed using Boo?

Timwi
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Kevin Rood
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5 Answers5

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Officially, only C# is supported so far. Unofficially, any language that can compile to a verifiable managed assembly (the verifiability requirement applies to all dependencies, too!) is good - so you should be able to use e.g. C++/CLI, F#, Delphi Prism...

Pavel Minaev
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    Actually, not really - you cannot use C++/CLI due to the dependency restrictions and targeted platforms. – Den Sep 12 '10 at 22:04
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    C++/CLI does not have any dependencies if used in `/clr:safe` mode (but then, of course, you don't get the full C++ language, nor the runtime library). As well, it outputs pure IL in that mode. So it should work. – Pavel Minaev Sep 13 '10 at 08:00
  • This is a comprehensive and accurate answer to the OP. Some links to known demonstrations ie vb, f#, etc wouldn't go astray. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dsyme/archive/2010/08/20/f-windows-phone-7-silverlight-templates-now-on-visual-studio-gallery.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0 and http://justinangel.net/WindowsPhone7VBnetAndFSharp – Mick N Sep 14 '10 at 13:37
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Currently, officially supported is C#. In the medium term (although no time frame officially announced) will be full support for VB.Net & F#. In the longer term will be official support for dynamic languages (IronRuby & IronPython) - although expect a restriction in what you can do with these languages due to marketplace restrictions.

Update:
The CTP of the Visual Basic tools are now available from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=a808a69d-6119-47b7-b858-262be5c49915

Matt Lacey
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5

F# is supported on the phone. The templates are not baked into Visual Studio yet but are available from this blog entry by Don Syme

JaredPar
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If you can compile it down to a .NET CF assembly, you could probably hack it to work - there's nothing explicitly stopping other languages from being used.

Ana Betts
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IronRuby http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff960707.aspx

Russel Yang
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  • I think though, languages that require the DLR will not be "verifiable" until a later time. – Kevin Rood Sep 20 '10 at 18:34
  • IronRuby and DLR are horribly outdated, deprecated, unsigned, and incompatible with Windows Phone 7 Visual Studio Express 2012. :( – mcandre Jan 27 '13 at 19:39