This document provides an overview of mobile development approaches and introduces Xamarin as a platform that allows developers to write native mobile apps once in C# and share code across platforms like iOS, Android and Windows. It discusses Xamarin's unique approach of using C# for a native user interface and shared code while having full access to each platform's APIs. The document also covers Xamarin's history, integrated development environments, costs and tools.

1. Introduction to mobile
development with Xamarin

3. Mobile Development Approaches

4. Silo’d Approach
Build Apps Multiple Times
• Multiple Teams
• Multiple Code Bases
• Different toolsets

5. Write Once, Run Anywhere Approach
Black Box
• Mobile Web site
• PhoneGap/Cordova

6. Write Once, Run Anywhere Approach
• Build a mobile version of an existing
Web site
• No apps to deploy to the stores

7. Write Once, Run Anywhere Approach
• Use PhoneGap/Cordova with HTML5
• Basically, a native app with a Web
viewer displaying HTML5 pages
• Native look is simulated with CSS
• Apps are packaged as native apps

8. Xamarin approach

9. Xamarin’s Unique Approach
• Native User Interface
• Native Performance
• Shared code across platforms
• C# & .NET Framework
• Full API Coverage

10. Xamarin?

11. Xamarin History
Over a Decade of Enterprise Production Use
2000
Ximian
Founded
2001
Mono
Started
2003
Ximian
Acquired
by Novell
2009
First iOS
product (now
Xamarin.iOS)
launches
2011
Xamarin
Founded
First
Release of
Xamarin.Android
2012
First
release of
Xamarin.Mac
Launch
Partner
Program
2013
Xamarin 2.0
Component
Store
Evolve 2013
Xamarin Test
Cloud
Microsoft
Partnership
Reach 200,000
Developer
Mark
500,000+
Developers
100+ Partners
100+ Components
2014
Xamarin 3.0
Xamarin Forms
Evolve 2014
Insights
Simulator

12. Microsoft and Xamarin Partner Globally
With Xamarin, developers combine all of the
productivity benefits of C#, Visual Studio 2013 and
Windows Azure with the flexibility to quickly build
for multiple device targets.”
S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft

13. How does this work?

14. Write Everything in C#
iOS, Android, Windows, Windows Phone, Mac
2.5+ Billion Devices!

15. 100% API Coverage
•Anything you can do in Objective-C or
Java can be done in C# and Visual
Studio with Xamarin!

16. 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.

17. Code Sharing: Accelerate Development
• Up to 90% Code Reuse
• Leverage existing libraries
NuGet Support
Code-sharing stats from iCircuit, built with Xamarin and featured on the App Store.
Source: http://praeclarum.org/post/42378027611/icircuit-code-reuse-part-cinq

18. Portable Class Libraries
• 1 Assembly
• Multiple Platforms
• Including:
• Xamarin.Android
• Xamarin.iOS

19. Distribute Everywhere
A Xamarin app is an app, distribute it everywhere

20. 2 Xamarin UI approaches

21. Platform Specific UI
• UI Is platform specific
• Tuned for each platform
• UI code is non sharable
• Best to get the optimal UI on
each platform

22. Xamarin.Forms
• Cross-platform UI
toolkit abstraction
• Share UI code across
platforms
• Rendered natively on
each platform
• 95% code reuse
• OK for many apps styles
but not for everything

23. Development Environment
Xamarin Studio
PC or Mac
Visual Studio Plugin
VS 2010/2012/2013

24. Cost - Software
Cost per dev and per
device platform:
• iOS
• Android

25. Cost - Hardware
• Android
Development can be done on Windows or Mac
• iOS
A Mac is required
Development can be done on a Windows
machine but compilation MUST be done on a
Mac
Compilation can be done on a networked Mac

26. Cost - Hardware
• Emulators are OK for
development
• But always test on
physical devices

27. 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

28. Android Designer
• Worlds best Android designer
• Available in:
• Xamarin Studio
• Visual Studio
• Create UI with drag & drop
simplicity
• Target multiple screen sizes,
resolutions and Android
versions
• Layouts saved in standard
Android XML files

29. iOS Designer
• World’s first iOS Designer
available in Xamarin Studio
and Visual Studio
• Follows familiar Visual Studio
designer idioms
• Supports all UIKit elements
• Edit custom and 3rd party
components
• Live preview of changes to
properties

30. Visual Studio Integration
A single solution:
• iOS
• Android
• Windows Phone
• Windows Store
Leverage the entire
Microsoft ecosystem:
• ReSharper
• Team Foundation Server
• Your favorite code coverage
and profiling tools

31. Visual Studio Integration
Debug to:
• Emulators
• Devices
Integrated into toolbar
• Status
• Logs
• List of devices
Just Click Start Debugging!

32. Tools

33. Xamarin Android Player
• VT-x and AMD-V hardware
accelerated virtualization
• Boots in seconds
• Runs on Windows and Mac

34. Xamarin Component Store
Build Apps Faster
• Add high quality pre-built
app components directly
from Visual Studio and
Xamarin Studio
• Beautiful cross-platform UI
controls, cloud services and
enterprise backend
integrations are just a few
clicks away

35. .NET Mobility Scanner
How mobile is your .NET?
• Scan .exe or .dll to determine compatibility
• Generates full report:

36. Demo

37. Conclusion

38. Xamarin benefits
• Xamarin enables developers to reach all major mobile platforms!
Native User Interface
Native Performance
Shared Code Across Platforms
C# & .NET Framework

39. Questions?