The document discusses Xamarin and Azure mobile apps, emphasizing Xamarin's unique approach of using a shared C# codebase for iOS, Android, and Windows development, allowing full native API access and high performance. It explains the differences between traditional and Xamarin.Forms approaches, noting use cases for each, including data entry apps and those requiring specialized interaction. Additionally, it highlights Azure Mobile Apps functionalities such as storage, authentication, and push notifications, designed to enhance mobile development efficiency.

1. Xamarin & Azure Mobile Apps
Alessandro Pozone
@TPOZ1
Xamarin Student Partner

2. MOBILE APPS
ARCHITECTURES

3. Silo Approach
No shared code • Many languages & development environments • Multiple teams
iOS
Objective-C
Xcode
Android
Java
Android Studio
Windows
C#
Visual Studio

4. Write Once, Run Anywhere
App Generator
Lua
Javascript
Actionscript
HTML+CSS
Limited native API access • Slow performance • Poor user experience

5. Xamarin’s Unique Approach
Shared C# codebase • 100% native API access • High performance
iOS C# UI Windows C# UIAndroid C# UI
Shared C#

6. C#
Microsoft.Phone Microsoft.Networking Windows.Storage Windows.Foundation Microsoft.Devices
System.Data System.Windows System.Numerics System.Core System.ServiceModel
System.Net System System.IO System.Linq System.Xml
Windows APIs

7. MapKit UIKit iBeacon CoreGraphics CoreMotion
System.Data System.Windows System.Numerics System.Core System.ServiceModel
System.Net System System.IO System.Linq System.Xml
C#
iOS APIs

8. Text-to-speech ActionBar Printing Framework Renderscript NFC
System.Data System.Windows System.Numerics System.Core System.ServiceModel
System.Net System System.IO System.Linq System.Xml
C#
Android APIs

9. 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.
.NET
C#
Compile
and Link
.APK
Bindings
Runs
Natively
IL
+
JIT
Native Performance
.NET
C#
Compile
and Link
.APK
Bindings
Runs
Natively
IL
+
JIT
AOT .APP
ARM
BINARY
Runs
Natively

10. ANYTHING YOU CAN DO IN OBJECTIVE-C, SWIFT, OR
JAVA CAN BE DONE IN C# WITH XAMARIN

11. XAMARIN
FORMS

12. Build native UIs for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone
from a single, shared C# codebase.
XAMARIN.FORMS

13. Xamarin + Xamarin.Forms
Traditional Xamarin Approach With Xamarin.Forms:
More code-sharing, all native
iOS C# UI Windows C# UIAndroid C# UI
Shared C# Backend
Shared UI Code
Shared C# Backend

14. Native UI from shared code
<xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<TabbedPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
x:Class="MyApp.MainPage">
<TabbedPage.Children>
<ContentPage Title="Profile" Icon="Profile.png">
<StackLayout Spacing="20" Padding="20"
VerticalOptions="Center">
<Entry Placeholder="Username"
Text="{Binding Username}"/>
<Entry Placeholder="Password"
Text="{Binding Password}"
IsPassword="true"/>
<Button Text="Login" TextColor="White"
BackgroundColor="#77D065"
Command="{Binding LoginCommand}"/>
</StackLayout>
</ContentPage>
<ContentPage Title="Settings" Icon="Settings.png">
<!-- Settings -->
</ContentPage>
</TabbedPage.Children>
</TabbedPage>
</xml>

15. Xamarin.Forms is best for: Xamarin.iOS / Xamarin.Android is best for:
• Data entry apps
• Prototypes and proofs-of-concept
• Apps that require little platform-specific
functionality
• Apps where code sharing is more important
than custom UI
Learn more: xamarin.com/forms Learn more: xamarin.com/platform
• Apps that require specialized interaction
• Apps with highly polished design
• Apps that use many platform-specific APIs
• Apps where custom UI is more important than
code sharing
Which Xamarin approach is best for your app?

16. Accelerate your mobile
development journey with this
book legendary Charles Petzold
Learn everything from
introductory concepts to
advanced topics like adding
custom views and using platform-
specific features
100% FREE

17. AZURE
MOBILE APPS

18. Storage
Authentication
Push
What is Mobile Services?

19. STORAGE

20. Structured Storage
Powered by SQL Database
Supports rich querying capabilities
Data management in:
• Azure Portal
• SQL Portal (Silverlight)
• SQL Management Studio
• REST API
• Azure CLI Tools
• SQL CLI

21. PUSH
NOTIFICATIONS

22. Push Notification Flow

23. AUTHENTICATION

24. User Auth Flow (client) GOOGLE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
MOBILE SERVICE
DEVICE
MICROSOFT
ACCOUNT
AAD

25. DEMO