The document outlines key highlights from the Evolve 2016 conference, focusing on Xamarin's transition to open-source under Microsoft and the integration of .NET into Mono. It details updates on the Xamarin SDKs, new features in Xamarin Studio, improvements in Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android, and the introduction of Xamarin Forms enhancements. Additionally, it emphasizes the expanded resources available through Xamarin University and various new tools and functionalities introduced during the conference.

1. Highlights from
Evolve 2016
What does “Xamarin from Microsoft” mean for you?

2. Chris Miller
Senior R&D Engineer for Tyler Technologies, currently working on mobile apps for
the K-12 transportation market.
@anotherlab
http://www.rajapet.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophermiller

3. Overview
• Sold out (3 for 3)
• 2 Days of training
• 2 days of conference sessions
• Included sessions by the Woz and a Mythbuster
• Open sourcing of Xamarin SDKs

4. Xamarin SDKs
• open.xamarin.com
• All repos on Github
• Xamarin.iOS
• Xamarin.Android
• Xamarin.Forms
• MIT license
• Ready for pull requests
• Consider filing a bug before going in and changing the code

5. Licensing
• What’s covered
• How do I get me some free Xamarin
• What was lost

6. Licensing
• What’s covered
• Included in every edition of Visual Studio
• Including Visual Studio Community Edition
• Test Cloud and Xamarin University are separate products

7. Licensing
• How do I get me some free Xamarin
• Install Visual Studio 2015 Update 2

8. Licensing
• What was lost
• The Enterprise Edition of Xamarin included a set of 3rd party controls (like SQLcipher)
at no extra charge. Those controls are no longer bundled in.
• Having to find $1900 in budget money each year.

9. Open Source
• The Mono Project to be re-released under the MIT License
• Xamarin SDKs for Android, iOS, and OS X
• Xamarin.Forms

10. Microsoft/Xamarin integration
• Parts of .NET are being integrated into Mono
• Addresses missing features
• Improved performance
• Easier sell for Xamarin technology as part of the Microsoft stack
• Xamarin is now saying that they acquired Microsoft.

11. Changes to Xamarin Studio
• New “dark” theme
• All new icons
• First class support for F#, the only IDE to
support shared projects for F#
• Uses the Roslyn compiler as a service
• Better code compilation
• Better refactoring
• Full C#6 support
• Will pick up C#7 features at the same time as Visual Studio
• New Project Model with parallel compilation of projects and better support for
MSBuild

12. Changes to Xamarin.iOS &
Xamarin.Android
• New Java Invocation Architecture – reduce app size by 2MB (API-23) by shrinking
the size of Mono.Android.dll. Fewer round trips from managed code to JNI
• HttpClient uses new platform specific handlers for better performance and
access to platform specific network & encryption protocols such as TLS 1.2.
• Visual Studio Community Edition now supported. No more application size limits.
Command line builds, P/Invoke, All assembly types: all supported in all editions,
Trial version splash screen has been removed

13. Workbooks
• Live documents that mix a blend of
documentation and code to test with
and experiment on code.
• Live results for Android, iOS, OS X, or
WPF.
• A REPL for drilling into C# and platform
APIs with visualizers for data
• Runs on both Mac and Windows via the Inspector App

14. Workbooks
• Support Rich Text Editing
• All Xamarin documentation is being moved over to use Workbooks. This will let
you see step by step invocations of the code.
• Rich Visualizations of data
• Early preview, get it from the Beta Channel
• https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/workbooks/

15. iOS Simulator on Windows
• A screen and touch share from the iOS Simulator running
on a Mac
• Unlike the Mac, true touch is supported
• Pen support on devices that support it (Surface)
• No longer have to interrupt your workflow to switch
between VS on your PC and the simulator on the Mac
• Visual Studio developers can leave their Mac in the corner
• Currently in Preview on the Beta Channel

16. iOS USB Remoting
• You can debug an iOS app on actual device plugged into Windows
• Still requires the Mac, but pushes it further back in the corner
• Will be available soon

17. Xamarin.Forms
• Now supports native deep linking
• Datapages let you create master/detail pages from json or Azure data
• Theming support to change styles quickly and easily
• Embedded Platform specific controls
• Xamarin.Forms Previewer

18. DataPages
• Fast way to create master/detail pages from data
• Prebuilt data sources for JSON, Azure Easy Tables
• Three prebuilt pages
• ListDataPage (master/detail list)
• DirectoryPage (a list with grouping)
• PersonDetailView (single view for specific data objects, like a contact entry)
• Read only, CRUD at a later date

19. Linus Torvalds
“Talk is cheap.
Show me the code.”

20. Themes
• Define specific styling for the standard controls
• Comes with a Light theme and a Dark theme
• Create your own theme
• The StyleClass property of a view allows the view to be changed to a definition
provided by the theme
• Preview release and requires Xamarin.Forms 2.3 preview release (or later)

21. Xamarin.Forms Previewer
• Support live previews of XAML on iOS and Android.
• Supports custom renderers
• Works with latest release of Xamarin.Forms (2.3 Prerelease)
• Preview release in Alpha Channel, Xamarin Studio Mac only

22. Xamarin Test Recorder
• As you interact with your app, Xamarin.UITest code will be generated
• Run the test locally on the device or on thousands of devices in Xamarin Test
Cloud
• Preview

23. DevOps
• Check your code into Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) and VSTS will run the
unit tests
• Push the code to HockeyApp and enable testers to get the latest builds.
• Xamarin Insights is now part of HockeyApp. All of the Xamarin Insights metrics
and crash reporting have been brought to HockeyApp

24. Test Cloud Live
• Remote debugging into one of the thousands of devices currently
hosted in Test Cloud
• Private preview

25. Xamarin University
• Still one of the best ways to learn Xamarin
• As part of Microsoft, more resources means more classes
• Self-Guide Learning
• Certification Exam Improvements

26. Xamarin University
• Still one of the best ways to learn Xamarin
• Live lessons with instructors
• Scheduled around the clock for a global audience
• Class size is limited
• Covers Xamarin coding, C#, F#, Testing

27. Xamarin University
• As part of Microsoft, more resources means more classes
• More instructors mean more sessions available
• More topics
• Azure
• Data
• Best Practices

28. Xamarin University
• Self-Guide Learning
• Follow at your pace
• Tracked like a live class and counts towards certification
• Still includes labs and quizzes
• Video Chapter Navigation
• Responsive design, scales to your device

29. Xamarin University
• Certification Exam Improvements
• New inhouse exam system to replace 3rd party exam site
• Better user experience
• Status updated instantly

30. Xamarin University Demo

31. Watch the Keynote and the sessions
• The keynote and individual sessions were all recorded and available online
• https://evolve.xamarin.com/#sessions
• Updates are posted to http://releases.xamarin.com/