This document discusses building cross-platform geospatial apps with C# using Xamarin. It provides an overview of the GIS world and why combining GIS with mobile is important. It discusses various mapping providers like Google Maps, Bing Maps, and ESRI ArcGIS and considerations for which mobile map control to use on different platforms. It also describes designing cross-platform solutions using location data and services from multiple providers. Finally, it previews a demo of a cross-platform MyGIS app for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8.

1. Building Mobile Cross-Platform
Geospatial Apps with C#
By Nick Landry,MVP
Senior Product Manager –Infragistics
activenick@infragistics.com
@ActiveNick –www.ActiveNick.net

2. Who is ActiveNick?
• Senior
Product
Manager,
Mobile
&
Data
Visualiza8on
Developer
Tools
–
Infragis8cs
• Microso?
MVP:
Windows
Phone
Development
– Mobile
Publisher
–
Big
Bald
Apps:
h"p://bit.ly/bbawp
• Speaker.
Blogger.
Author.
Tweeter.
Gamer
• 20+
Years
of
Professional
Experience
• Special8es:
– Mobile
Development
– Loca8on
Intelligence
&
Geospa8al
Systems
– Data
Visualiza8on,
HPC,
Cloud
– Mobile
Game
Development
• Blog:
www.Ac1veNick.net
• TwiTer:
@Ac1veNick

3. Disclaimers & Assumptions
• You
know
the
basics
of
Xamarin
development
• You’re
a
.NET
developer:
C#
(or
VB.NET),
Visual
Studio,
XAML
• You
know
some
basics
of
Microso?
device
development:
Windows
8/RT
or
Windows
Phone
• You
know
some
basics
about
calling
REST
services
• You
know
liTle
to
nothing
about
GIS
development
• You
have
access
to
a
Mac,
and
preferably
an
iPad
or
iPhone
too
• You
want
to
learn
cross-­‐pla_orm
techniques
&
best
prac8ces
for
mobile
development
on
iOS,
Android,
Windows
Phone
/
Windows
8
– I
am
NOT
covering
general
mobile
design
considera8ons
– I
am
NOT
covering
Hybrid
HTML5
App
Development
(i.e.
PhoneGap)

4. Agenda
• Overview
of
the
GIS
World
• Why
GIS
+
Mobile?
• Mapping
Imagery
Providers
Across
Pla_orms
• Geospa8al
Services
• Cross-­‐Pla_orm
Demo:
MyGIS
• Geocoding
Services
Demo
• Q&A

5. Mobile Platform Options

6. More
than
Maps
&
GPS…
Overview of the GIS World

7. What is GIS?
Maps
(Raster
/
Vector)
Aerial
/
Satellite
Imagery
Data
Processing
Geocoding
Rou8ng
&
Direc8ons
Spa8al
Data
(Capture,
Storage,
Search)
Spa8al
Storage
&
Search
Repor8ng
&
Analy8cs
Loca8on
Services

8. Maps help you visualize critical business data
Business IntelligenceSupply Chain Customer Locations
70-80% of business data has a
geospatial component
Why GIS?

9. Why GIS + Mobile?
• Every
company
that
has
a
web
site
needs
a
map
of
where
their
loca8on
is
• BeTer
Imagery
and
New
Perspec8ves
• Personalizing
the
Mapping
Experience
• Going
Mobile
– Mobile
devices
are
loca8on
aware,
generally
smarter
and
more
powerful
– Mobile
devices
will
overtake
the
PC
– The
boundary
between
Personal
Naviga8on
Devices
and
Smartphones
is
blurring
– Loca8on
Based
Adver8sement
is
becoming
a
reality
• New
Emerging
Technologies
and
Techniques
– Geofencing,
Background
Loca8on-­‐Tracking,
etc.

10. Geospatial Services for Developers

11. Key GIS Players
Microso?
Google
Maps
Nokia
Maps
TomTom
Esri
MapQuest
Apple
Maps
OpenStreetMap

12. About ESRI ArcGIS
• ESRI
ArcGIS
is
a
broad
name
given
to
a
suite
of
GIS
tools
created
by
ESRI
• Many
of
these
tools
are
designed
to
perform
complex
GIS
opera8ons
– ESRI
develops
GIS
so?ware
that
is
used
by
more
than
300,000
organiza8ons
worldwide
• Different
flavors
of
ArcGIS
include:
– Desktop,
Mobile,
Server,
and
Online
• ESRI
&
Microso?
have
been
partners
since
1986
• ArcGIS
built
using
Microso?
Technology
• Solid
Developer
Support
– Map
Controls
on
virtually
every
pla_orm
– REST
API
for
backend
/
cloud
GIS
services
– No
Xamarin
bindings
yet…
sadly

13. Which Mobile Map Control?
Control/Pla<orm
iOS
Android
Windows
8
Windows
Phone
Google
Maps
SDKXB
YesXB
(Yes,
WinJS)
Bing
Maps
(Yes,
Old)
(OSS,
JS,
Old)
Yes
Yes
Esri
ArcGIS
Yes
Yes
Beta
Yes
Nokia
Maps
Yes,
WP8
Apple
Maps
YesXB
OpenStreet
(via
MQ
SDK)
(via
MQ
SDK)
(Yes,
IG,
WinJS)
MapQuest
SDK
SDK
XB:
Denotes
the
availability
of
Xamarin.iOS
bindings
Denotes
a
“na8ve”
mapping
provider
for
this
pla_orm

14. SDK Wars: Apple Maps vs.Google Maps
Google
Maps
• Data:
Google
• BeTer
Hybrid
&
Satellite
imagery
• 3D
Buildings
• Semi-­‐transparent
roads
in
hybrid
view
(Apple
Maps
app
too!)
• Rotate
&
Tilt
map
+
Camera
System
• No
8le
overlays
• Performance
capped
at
30fps
• Geocoding,
Direc8ons,
Places
API
• Consistent
across
iOS
&
Android
• App
bundle
increase
by
2-­‐6MB
• Limited
Quotas,
can
be
expensive
• Fast
SDK
updates
&
releases
possible
Apple
Maps
• Data:
TomTom
&
others
• Opaque
roads
in
hybrid
view
• Supports
gradient
polylines
• Supports
8le
overlays
• Animated
“pin
drop”
(markers)
• Can
automa8cally
move
to
follow
the
user's
loca8on
• Loca8on
Search
API
• BeTer
performance,
smoother
feel
• Proprietary
iOS
experience
• Built-­‐in
SDK,
no
app
size
increase
• Free,
no
quotas!
• Mature
API
(since
iOS
v1.0!)
• More
community
resources
Comparison
Reference:
hTp://bit.ly/GMapsvsAMaps

15. Cross-Platform Solution Design
Client
Pla_orms
GIS
Providers
Loca8on
Data
Loca8on
Data
Google
Maps
iOS
Android
Nokia
&
Bing
Maps
Windows
Phone

16. Demo
Overview
of
MyGIS
for
iOS,
Android,
and
Windows
Phone
8

17. Google Maps SDK for iOS
• Available
for
free
in
the
Xamarin
Component
Store
– Official
iOS
Product
Page:
developers.google.com/maps/documenta8on/ios
• Google
Maps
imagery
control
– Views:
Normal/Road,
Satellite,
Hybrid,
Terrain/Topographic
– Scroll/Pan,
Zoom,
Rotate
&
Tilt
gestures
– Programma8cally
control
the
map
camera
– Supports
Markers,
Info
window,
Polylines,
Overlays
(images)
– Map
Events:
Camera
change,
Market
Tap,
etc.
• Requires
an
API
Key
– Obtain
at
hTps://code.google.com/apis/console
– Request
a
key
for
iOS
apps
based
on
bundle
iden8fiers

18. Creating a Bing Maps Account
1. Go
to
hTp://bingmapsportal.com
2. Select
the
Create
buTon
3. Sign
in
using
a
Windows
Live
ID
4. Fill
in
the
form
and
Save

19. Creating a Bing Maps Key
1. Log
into
the
Bing
Maps
Portal
2. Select
“Create
of
view
keys”
3. Provide
an
applica8on
name
4. Select
the
proper
Key
Type
5. Select
the
proper
Applica8on
Type
6. Fill
in
the
CAPTCHA
7. Press
submit
8. Your
key
will
be
generated
and
displayed
below
the
form

20. Available Geospatial Services
Nomina8m
Geocoding
API:
2,500/day
quota
Places
Search
API:
100K/day
quota
50K
transac8ons
/
day
for
mobile
5
x
50
batch
geocoding
/
day
10K/30-­‐days
for
evalua8on
No
turn-­‐by-­‐turn
naviga8on
allowed
All
paid
services

21. Demo
Calling
Geocoding
Services
in
C#
Display
Results
on
Google
Maps

22. Libraries Referenced in the Demo
• JSON.Net
(iOS,
Android,
Windows
Phone
8)
– REST
calls
to
Google
Maps
Geocoder
• Mapping
Controls
– Google
Maps
SDK
for
iOS
– Google
Maps
Android
API
v2
(part
of
Google
Play
Services
– Default
Nokia
Maps
Control
(Windows
Phone
8)
• Xamarin.Mobile
• Infragis8cs
NucliOS
IGGridView
(iOS)

23. NucliOS Native iOS Controls
www.infragis8cs.com/ios

24. Infragistics NucliOS 13.1
• Na8ve
Controls
for
iOS
Developers:
Objec8ve
C
or
C#
• Second
Release
in
April
2013
• Data
Charts
+
New
Pie
Chart
Control
– 40
data
chart
types,
composite
charts,
full
data-­‐binding
support
– 13
trend
lines,
10
built-­‐in
data
markers,
legends,
34
financial
indicators
– Iner8al
zooming
&
panning
in
real
8me
using
mul8-­‐touch
gestures,
with
charts
showing
over
a
million
data
points
– Mo8on
Framework
support
for
animated
transi8ons
– Styling,
themes,
gradients,
gorgeous
charts!
• Grid:
Data
or
Layout
– Can
be
styled
&
templated
to
look
like
almost
anything
– Grouping,
sor8ng,
insert/remove,
filter,
reorder,
etc.
• Radial
Gauges
• Rich-­‐Text
Label

25. NucliOS Samples Browser
• Available
for
iPad
&
iPhone
today
– hTp://bit.ly/igiossb

26. Infragistics NucliOS –Grid
• Context
Menu
(Tap
&
Hold)
• Data
Binding
&
Data
Source
Helper
• Row
Inser8on
and
Dele8on
• Column
Inser8on
&
Dele8on
• Filtering
• Grouping
&
Sec8on
Headers
• Pull-­‐down
to
refresh
• Column,
Row
&
Cell
Re-­‐ordering
• Fixed
/
Frozen
Columns
• Scrolling
Shortcut
• Infinite
Scrolling
• Selec8on
• Shortcut
Bar
• Star
(
*
)
Sizing
on
Columns
• Sor8ng
• Styling
• Slide
Row
Op8ons
• Full
Xamarin.iOS
Bindings

27. Infragistics NucliOS –Grid

28. Infragistics NucliOS –Chart
Category & Scatter Series
Category
Series
• Area
• SplineArea
• Bar
• Column
• Line
• Spline
• StepArea
• StepLine
• Waterfall
• Point
Range
Category
Series
• RangeArea
• RangeColumn
Sca"er
Series
• ScaTer
• Bubble
Financial
Series
• FinancialPriceSeries
–
Candles8ck
• FinancialPriceSeries
–
OHLC
Financial
Indicators
• TypicalPriceIndicator
• AbsoluteVolumeOscillatorIndicator
• AverageTrueRangeIndicator
• Accumula8onDistribu8onIndicator
• AverageDirec8onalIndexIndicator
Polar
• PolarLine
• PolarArea
• PolarScaTer
Radial
• RadialColumn
• RadialLine
• RadialPie
13
types
of
trend
lines
built-­‐in
10+
types
of
markers
Animated
data
transi1ons
with
the
Infragis1cs
Mo1on
Framework
More
Features
Coming
in
13.1
(April)
• Radial
Gauge
Control
• Pie
Chart
Control
• Rich-­‐Text
Label
Control
• 17
New
Data
Chart
Series
• 29
New
Financial
Indicators
• New
Grid
Features
• MonoTouch
Support
for
All
Controls
• Japanese
Language
Support
• New
Samples
Browser
• New
Samples
Financial & Scientific Series More Chart Features
28

29. Infragistics NucliOS –Chart

30. Summary and Next Steps…
Get Ready to Become a Cross-Platform Mobile Developer
Register
for
a
free
account
at
www.Xamarin.com
Download
Xamarin
Studio,
along
with
Xamarin.iOS
&
Xamarin.Android
Geospatial Development Resources
Google
Maps
Developer
Resources:
developers.google.com/maps
Esri
ArcGIS
Developer
Resources:
developers.arcgis.com
Don’t forget Windows Phone & Bing Maps
Windows
Phone
Dev
Center:
dev.windowsphone.com
Bing
Maps
Portal:
www.BingMapsPortal.com
Download Additional Resources & Become an Expert
Download
NucliOS:
www.infragis1cs.com/ios
NetAdvantage
for
Windows
Phone:
www.Infragis1cs.com/mobile
30
1
2
3
4

31. More Maps & Location at EVOLVE
• Wednesday
–
1:30PM
“Mapping
on
iOS
and
Android”
By
Wally
McClure,
in
Crick
Salon
(Level
6)
– iOS:
Apple
Maps
&
MapKit
API
– Android:
Google
Maps
for
Android
– Loca8on
Services
– Maps,
placing
pins
on
maps
– Responding
to
events

32. References Links
• Generate
JSON
Parsing
Classes
in
C#:
hTp://json2csharp.com
• Google
Maps
– Google
Maps
Developer
Resources:
developers.google.com/maps
– Google
APIs
Console:
code.google.com/apis/console
– Google
Maps
SDK
for
iOS:
developers.google.com/maps/documenta8on/ios
– Google
Maps
Android
API
v2:
– Geocoding
API:
developers.google.com/maps/documenta8on/geocoding
• OpenStreetMap
(OSM)
– Nomina8m
Geocoding
Service:
• Bing
Maps
– Management
Portal:
www.bingmapsportal.com
• Esri
ArcGIS
– Esri
ArcGIS
Developer
Center:
developers.arcgis.com

33. Recommended GIS Learning References

34. Thank You!
Slides
and
demos
will
be
posted
on
my
blog
at
www.Ac1veNick.net.
Please
fill-­‐out
an
evalua8on.
Your
feedback
is
important
and
appreciated.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/infragis8cs
Blog: www.Ac8veNick.net
Twitter: @Ac8veNick
Mobile Apps: bit.ly/bbawp
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ac8venick
Website: www.infragis8cs.com
Infragistics Twitter: @infragis8cs
Email: ac8venick@infragis8cs.com