Xamarin essentials : learn how to efficiently develop Android and iOS apps for deployment using the Xamarin platform

Xamarin is a Mono-based suite of products that allows developers to create iOS and Android apps using C# and .NET. This learning guide is your first port of call to quickly learn Xamarin. Starting with the foundations by understanding the architecture behind Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android, you will be guided through creating your first Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android applications. In addition, you will learn how to utilize frameworks such as MvvmCross and Xamarin.Forms to increase the amount of code reuse. To conclude your journey, you will be shown how to develop your own Xamarin apps for distribution. Xamarin Essentials is the guide to use in order to quickly gain practical working knowledge of developing robust commercial mobile apps using C# and sharing large portions of your code base across iOS and Android apps. Cover Copyright Credits About the Author About the Reviewers www.PacktPub.com Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1: Xamarin and Mono -- A Pathway to the Unnatural Understanding Mono The Xamarin product suite Evaluating whether Xamarin is the right tool Learning C# Installing Xamarin Installing Xamarin on OS X Installing Xamarin on Windows Development environments Using the Xamarin Studio environment Using Xamarin Studio to develop Android apps Using Xamarin Studio to develop iOS apps Using the Visual Studio environment Using Visual Studio to develop Android apps Using Visual Studio to develop iOS appsComparing IDEs Version control Summary Chapter 2: Demystifying Xamarin.iOS Xamarin.iOS and Ahead-of-Time compilation Understanding Mono assemblies Xamarin.iOS bindings The design principles C# types and type safety Use of inheritance Mapping Objective-C delegates Via .NET events Via .NET properties Via strongly typed delegates Via weakly typed delegates Creating binding libraries Memory management Disposing of objects Keeping objects around Limitations of using the AOT compilation Runtime features disabled Generating code for XIB and storyboard filesGenerated classes Designer files Non-designer files Outlets properties Action properties Xamarin.iOS Designer Summary Chapter 3: Demystifying Xamarin. Android Mono CLR and Dalvik VM -- working side by side Introducing the Java Native Interface Peer objects Xamarin. Android application packaging Understanding Mono assemblies Xamarin. Android bindings The design principles Properties Events versus listeners Special help with collections Interfaces Mapping nested classes Mapping the Runnable interface Enumerations Resources Attributes for the ApplicationManifest.xml fileEditor for the ApplicationManifest.xml file Garbage collection JNI global and weak references Mono collections Automatic collections Helping the GC Xamarin. Android Designer Summary Chapter 4: Developing Your First iOS App with Xamarin.iOS The sample national parks app Creating the sample app The Project Options view Running and debugging within Xamarin Studio Extending the sample app Storing and loading national parks Adding Json.NET Creating an entity class Adding a JSON-formatted file Loading objects from a JSON-formatted file Saving objects to a JSON-formatted fileRunning the app Enhancing the UI Touring the Xamarin.iOS Designer Adding EditViewController and segues Implementing the DoneClicked event handler Implementing the DeleteClicked action Passing data Running the app Finishing the sample app Finishing DetailViewController Finishing EditViewController Running the app MonoTouch. Dialog Summary Chapter 5: Developing Your First Android App with Xamarin. Android The sample app Creating NationalParks. Droid Reviewing the app Resources The Resource.designer.cs file The MainActivity.cs file

Xamarin is a Mono-based suite of products that allows developers to create iOS and Android apps using C# and .NET.

This learning guide is your first port of call to quickly learn Xamarin. Starting with the foundations by understanding the architecture behind Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android, you will be guided through creating your first Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android applications. In addition, you will learn how to utilize frameworks such as MvvmCross and Xamarin.Forms to increase the amount of code reuse. To conclude your journey, you will be shown how to develop your own Xamarin apps for distribution.

Xamarin Essentials is the guide to use in order to quickly gain practical working knowledge of developing robust commercial mobile apps using C# and sharing large portions of your code base across iOS and Android apps.

Annotation;Cover; Copyright; Credits; About the Author; About the Reviewers; www.PacktPub.com; Table of Contents; Preface; Chapter 1: Xamarin and Mono -- A Pathway to the Unnatural; Understanding Mono; The Xamarin product suite; Evaluating whether Xamarin is the right tool; Learning C#; Installing Xamarin; Installing Xamarin on OS X; Installing Xamarin on Windows; Development environments; Using the Xamarin Studio environment; Using Xamarin Studio to develop Android apps; Using Xamarin Studio to develop iOS apps; Using the Visual Studio environment; Using Visual Studio to develop Android apps Annotation If you are an experienced iOS and Android developer and have a desire to learn about the Xamarin platform, then you will find this tutorial to be the most efficient, interesting, and relevant path. You will find this guide to be especially useful if you wish to become proficient in creating apps using the Xamarin platform, as Xamarin Essentials teaches you the fundamentals of iOS and Android development