Developing Cross-Platform

Native Apps with Xamarin

for Boston Tech Workshops

by Dan HermesXamarin MVP, Software ConsultantLexicon Systems

dan@lexiconsystemsinc.comwww.mobilecsharpcafe.com@danhermes

About Me

Dan HermesPresident of Lexicon SystemsMobile and .NET software consultantAuthor, speaker

My Xamarin Book

Now Available on Amazon

“This weighty book gives clear guidance that will help you build quality apps, starting with architectural considerations, and then jumping into practical code strategies.” - Bryan Costanich, Vice President, Xamarin

“Dan Hermes’ extraordinary book is the most intelligent work on cross-platform mobile development I’ve seen.” – Jesse Liberty, Director of New Technology Development, Falafel Software, Xamarin Certified Developer / Xamarin MVP

Why are we building mobile apps for business?

Explosive Mobile v. PC GrowthQuarterly unit shipments (m)

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

PCs iOS & Android

March-95 March-97 March-99 March-01 March-03 March-05 March-07 March-09 March-11 March-13

Source: “Mobile is Eating the World” (Benedict Evans)

How do we buildmobile apps for business?

Mobile App Types

• Mobile Web /Responsive• Browser-based

• Native• iOS, Android, OR Windows

• Hybrid• Web app wrapped in a native app

• Cross-platform• iOS, Android, AND Windows

Native vs. Hybrid

Native User Interface and Native User Experience vs. Hybrid

People Expect Great Experiences

Which platforms do we build for?

Smartphone OS Market Share

• Android – 66%• iOS – 28%• Windows Phone – 3%

What does this mean?

Single platform apps are risky

Cross-platform Apps

• Develop using a single technology (ex. C#, HTML5)• Can run on all platforms

• iOS• Android• Windows Phone

What Are the Benefits of Cross-platform Apps?

• Shared Code• Code reuse

• One technology stack• Instead of several

• Native app quality• Native app performance• Native phone functionality (location, camera, etc.)

Biggest Challenges of Multi-platform Development

Code Divergence Development Complexity Team Divergence Process Complexity

Schedule Cost=

Cross-Platform Solutions

Xamarin Code in C# then compile to respective native platforms

Titanium, NativeScript & React Native Native shell around a JavaScript core app with some UI compiled to native

Cordova Device-resident web app that can be wrapped in a native shell

Xamarin’s Approach

Native UI

C# + XAML

Fully native apps written entirely in C#

Shared App Logic in C#

Xamarin delivers fully native user interfaces and app functionality

Complete access to 100% of the native APIs for iOS, Android and Windows in C#

Share app logic and UI code across device platforms

Xamarin Studio

Optimized for cross-platform mobile development

Explore native APIs with code completion

World class Android and iOS designers

Powerful debugging on simulator or device

Xamarin Plug-in for Visual Studio

Native Performance

Xamarin.iOS does full Ahead Of Time (AOT) compilation to produce an ARM binary for Apple’s App Store.

Xamarin.Android takes advantage of Just In Time (JIT) compilation on the Android device.

Mobile Visionary in Gartner Magic Quadrant

“Xamarin's architectural approach provides completely native UIs with better performance than other cross-platform techniques… Xamarin uses multifaceted technology built by a cohesive team with a solid long-term track record.”

Mobile Visionary in Magic Quadrant

Xamarin’s Enterprise Partnerships

The experiences your users expect.The security and connections your organization requires.

Benefits of Cross-Platform Development • Combine code and development teams

• Shared codebase• Same programming skillset

• Run on multiple platforms• iOS• Android• Windows Phone

Xamarin’s Default App Architecture

Native UI

C# + XAML

Shared app logic, platform-specific UI, all in C#

Shared App Logic in C#

iOS C# UI Android C# UI Windows C# UI

Shared App Logic

Platform-specific UI code in C#

Shared app logic code in C#

Fine-grain control over the app user interface

Good for apps with sophisticated UX requirements (complicated gestures, animations, design)

Xamarin.Forms

• Cross-platform user interface for Xamarin• Announced in May of 2014• Growing set of cross-platform controls• Each control will be mapped to its native equivalent at runtime

Xamarin.Forms UI

Xamarin.Forms features first developed for C# (code-first)

XAML implementation then provided, so…

Anything you can do in C#, I can do in XAML

What is XAML?

C# or XAML for UI Development

The Xamarin.Forms App Architecture

Shared App Logic

Xamarin.Forms

Increase Code Sharing Up to 100% and Deliver a Fully Native App

Shared UI code in C#

Shared app logic code in C#

Mix-and-Match the use of Xamarin.Forms with platform-specific code.

Good for forms-based, apps with a lot of data entry screens

Easy to learn API makes you productive immediately, without platform-specific knowledge

Xamarin App Architectures

iOS C# UI Android C# UI Windows C# UI

Shared App Logic Shared App Logic

Xamarin.Forms

Platform-specific Xamarin.Forms

Page, Layout, View

Pages

Layouts

When to Use Xamarin.Forms?

• Learning Xamarin• Cross-platform scaffolding• Basic business apps• Basic design• Simple cross-platform screens• Device-unique controls are not needed• Complex graphics processing is not needed

Microsoft acquired Xamarin

Miguel de Icaza, Xamarin CTO

Automatically test your app on hundreds of real devices in the cloud

Xamarin Test Cloud – Testing Made Easy

What do I do all day?

• Develop web and mobile apps

• Xamarin experts• Founded in 1999• Microsoft technology stack

We advise on and build apps for business.

What We Do

a continuum of services from advisement to hands-on

Our Clients Include

and many small and medium-sized companies.

Our Proficiencies

•Web applications• Microsoft Technologies• C#, .NET, ASP.NET, MVC, HTML5,

Javascript

•Mobile apps• iOS, Android, Windows Phone• Built using Xamarin

MOBILE APPS IN THE WILD

(Case Studies)

        

Certification training and professional platform for orthopedic surgeons

•50,000 orthopedic surgeon user base•Surgical topics, case studies, images•Sample tests and test questions•Surgeons can vote, comment, and cite journal entries

Cross-platform

iOS Android

Feature-rich and Intuitive UI

          Biotech market leader

•DNA and breast cancer research •Engage lab techs more deeply through their ThermoFisher equipment•Bring real-time data directly from DNA-processing laboratory equipment into the hands of scientists

Xammy Finalist

Thermo Cycler orPCR Device (polymerase chain reaction)for DNA Duplication

PCR Essentials

Internet of Things (IoT)Real-time Integration with Lab Devices

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• Recreational drone use presents risks and threats

• FAA announcing new regulations

• Help drone flyers fly safely

B4UFLY

• Plan your trips• Airport locations• Controlled Airspace• Special Airspace• Flight Warnings• No-fly Zones

Xamarin gives us cross-platform reach

with native power and performance

Web and Mobile Work Together

• Modern biz apps combine web and mobile technology• They share data sources, look and feel, and support one another• A Unified technology foundation simplifies this• Mobile and web apps all built with C# provides this foundation

• Xamarin• .NET• ASP.NET MVC• Angular and other JavaScript options

Need Something Xamarin-flavored?

• I do Xamarin consultations• I do Xamarin coaching and training• My firm does Xamarin development• We help make Xamarin projects work

Developing Cross-Platform Native Apps with

XamarinDan Hermes

developer, author, consultant, founder of Lexicon Systems

dan@lexiconsystemsinc.com

Available on Amazon

My blog: www.mobilecsharpcafe.com

Twitter: @danhermes