Saxon

We're working hard to get the .NET version of Saxon 9.9 out - we're probably still two or three weeks away from code freeze. It will use the same IKVM approach as previous releases.

We've done enough experimentation with JET to have a feel for what is possible and what isn't. Our next priority with Saxon/C and JET is to provide a Python binding. This approach probably won't give as close an integration into the .NET world (e.g. direct use of the Microsoft DOM) as we currently achieve with IKVM, though it probably will give improved performance. So it's a tricky decision. At some stage we may be forced into it if IKVM stops working with the versions of Java and/or .NET that people want to target.

Michael Kay wrote:

We're working hard to get the .NET version of Saxon 9.9 out - we're probably still two or three weeks away from code freeze. It will use the same IKVM approach as previous releases.

As according to http://saxonica.com/html/documentation/about/gettingstarted/gettingstartedjava.html Saxon 9.9 requires Java 8 or later while Saxon 9.8 only requires Java 6 or later and as Saxon 9.8 .NET uses IKVM 7.2 which as far as I understand only supports Java 7, will Saxon 9.9 .NET have to use IKVM 8 to be compatible with the Saxon 9.9 Java libraries?

Yes, we're moving forwards to IKVM 8 for the .NET version of Saxon 9.9. As always with IKVM, it was completely trouble-free.

Is there any timeline now for the first Saxon 9.9 .NET release? Any chance we'll see it before the holiday season?

Testing on .NET is taking longer than planned; a release before Christmas is beginning to look less likely: let's say there's a 50% chance.