How can I update monodevelop3.0.6 and retain mono3.0.3 in OSX?

Question

Xamarin update reverts my mono version to 2.10.9. I don't want that as I need mono >= 3.0. F# projects will not load under mono 2.10.9. I explain more below. The issue is made more pointed as I would like to update monodevelop but not mono but I cannot choose which Xamarin updates to install. [I tried the update in the hope it would notice that my current version of mono is higher; but indeed it removed mono3.0.3 and f# 3.0 and my f# projects no longer load]

Am I missing something there? Is there a way of managing updates besides manual download and install as it seems autoupdate is broken for me? I've now reverted the update: is there a way of using my existing monodevelop, or is it necessary to reinstall it too (the same problem remains even after installing mono 3.0.3)?

My current setup appears to work:

Running mono 3.0.3 mre (beta) and monodevelop 3.0.6 on OSX Snow Leopard.

Why the dependence on mono 3.0.3? Because I need fsharpbinding for my projects and in the latest monodevelop that requires f# 3.0 and that (on osx at least) requires mono 3.0.3. I've looked at other so/sx questions but they relate to earlier versions of mono/develop.

Answer 1

The issue is made more pointed as I would like to update monodevelop but not mono but I cannot choose which Xamarin updates to install.

The Update dialog doesn't seem to allow you to choose a particular package to update. Regarding auto-removing Mono runtimes, it is a known bug which has been reported here.

Am I missing something there? Is there a way of managing updates besides manual download and install as it seems autoupdate is broken for me?

I usually do manual update: download the latest MonoDevelop and overwrite the old one in Applications folder. It needs a few clicks but is safer to do. I also do similarly for FSharpBinding: go to Add-in Manager --> F# Language Binding and click Update.

I've now reverted the update: is there a way of using my existing monodevelop, or is it necessary to reinstall it too (the same problem remains even after installing mono 3.0.3)?

Assume that autoupdate gives you a new MonoDevelop and erases Mono 3.0.3. After reinstalling Mono 3.0.3, you need to set Preferences --> .NET runtimes --> Mono 3.0.3 as default and possibly remove and install FSharpBinding again. You don't have to reinstall MonoDevelop once more.

That said, be cautious with autoupdate feature. Unless you are sure that all updates (Mono, MonoDevelop, FSharpBinding) are correct, don't do it.