Cross platform apps using Xamarin
- 1. Cross Platform App Development using Xamarin
- 2. Who cares about Cross Platform? For most developers cross platform was just talk. Prior to 2010 70+% of all computers ran a version of Windows. MS was very good on backwards compatibility. XP was kept alive by .NET Picking Windows or Internet Explorer was a no brainer. Or more correctly WinForms/WPF or Internet Explorer was a no brainer.
- 5. Silo – Write App on every Target Benefits Full native experience Total access to the device as provided by SDK Share Web API Negatives Minimal re-use mostly on back end Web API Higher development cost from multiple teams (silo teams) or expensive multi-device developers Multiple codebases to maintain and extend One platform rules the others are subservient
- 6. Target Browser Not OS Web Site
- 7. HTML – Write App using Mobile Web Benefits Provide consist experience regardless of target Cheap as it is just HTML Single codebase to maintain and extend No need for revenue sharing as no need to be in app stores Negatives User experience tends to be webish and not native Need to still test and debug multiple targets Features tend to be a subset common to all targets
- 8. HTML – Write App using Mobile Web Tools HTML5 jQuery Mobile ASP.NET J2EE
- 10. MEAP – Write App using Mobile Enterprise Application Platform Benefits Provide consist experience regardless of target Cheaper as App is developed once for all targets Single codebase to maintain and extend Apps can be in app store if needed Negatives User experience tends to be webish and not native Need to still test and debug multiple targets even when MEAP only thing updated Features tend to be a subset common to all targets Vendor risk and lock in
- 11. MDAP – Write App using Mobile Development Application Platform Strategies Tool generating target app Write app in single language and compile multiple targets
- 12. MDAP – Write App using Mobile Development Application Platform Benefits Provide consist experience regardless of target Single codebase to maintain and extend Hit a lot of targets at once Negatives Need to still test and debug multiple targets even when MEAP only thing updated Features tend to be a subset common to all targets Vendor risk and lock in May have to wait on new targets
- 13. MDAP – Write App using Mobile Development Application Platform Tools Appcelerator Embarcadero Rhomobile RubyMotion Unity Xamarin
- 15. Xamarin Approach
- 16. Xamarin Benefits Re-use .NET skills Leverage existing .NET technology JSON.NET OAUTH.NET SignalR High code re-use 80+% Tailor UI/UX to target Negatives Need to still test and debug multiple targets even when MEAP only thing updated Multiple codebase for UI No sharing of UI Vendor risk and lock in although Xamarin is a strategic partner for MS May have to wait on new targets like Android
- 17. We get an API which allows us to build sharable user interface code Will still render native UI on iOS, Android and Windows Not only the application logic, but also the UI is contained within the shared project UI can be coded in C# or declared in XAML Xamarin Forms Approach Shared C# Backend Shared UI Code
- 18. Xamarin Forms is a cross-platform natively backed UI toolkit abstraction that allows developers to easily create user interfaces that can be shared across all targeted platforms ( iOS, Android and Windows ). It allows rapid application development It’s an abstraction on top of the native OS and UI elements It will result in native apps with native look and feel What is Xamarin Forms
- 19. Xamarin + Xamarin.Forms Quickly and easily build native user interfaces using shared code Xamarin.Forms elements map to native controls and behaviors Mix-and-match Xamarin.Forms with native APIs Shared UI Code
- 20. Pages Content MasterDetail Navigation Tabbed Carousel
- 21. Layouts Stack Absolute Relative Grid ContentView ScrollView Frame
- 22. Controls ActivityIndicator BoxView Button DatePicker Editor Entry Image Label ListView Map OpenGLView Picker ProgressBar SearchBar Slider Stepper TableView TimePicker WebView EntryCell ImageCell SwitchCell TextCell ViewCell