CROSS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT WITH XAMARIN TOOLSJoe KoletarMobile Solution Lead - Application Development
RBA
Microsoft National Systems Integrator
Gold Certified Microsoft Partner 7 Gold Competencies6 Silver Competencies
Named Best Places to Work in the Twin Cities 4 times
Xamarin Premier Partner
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Joe Koletar
Mobile Solutions Lead
MOBILE DEVICE OPPORTUNITY
Opportunity– Mobile devices present an opportunity to reach users
where its most convenient • Business to Consumer (B2C) Applications
• Business to Business (B2B) Applications
Challenge– How to develop applications to reach the broadest
range of users in the most effective manner possible for the least cost
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CROSS PLATFORM TOOL OPTIONS
There are a spectrum of technology options to provide cross platform support for enterprise apps
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Cross Platform Solutions
Mobile
Web
Native
WrapperInterpreted
Cross
CompiledNative
MOBILE WEBDefinition
Web site with a mobile customized UI
– Detect user device and customize display to device form factor
• Responsive Design
– HTML 5 encourages a common browser experience and provides some offline support
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MOBILE WEBHow it works
Users access web site from device browser
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iOS
Web Browser
Android
Web Browser
Windows Phone
Web Browser
Business/Data Code
HTML5/CSS/JavaScript
MOBILE WEB
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Cost
Maintainability
User Experience
Offline Capability
Sensors
Toolset Choices
Performance
NATIVE APPDefinition
Native App is written custom for each device
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NATIVE APPHow it works
Native App is written custom for each platform
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iOS
Native App
Android
Native App
Windows Phone
Native App
Objective C Java C#
NATIVE APP
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Cost
Maintainability
User Experience
Offline Capability
Sensors
Toolset Choices
Performance
NATIVE WRAPPERDefinition
Web App is wrapped in device specific code to run as a Native App
– Web app is hosted in a chromeless browser window.
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NATIVE WRAPPERHow it works
Web App is wrapped in device specific code
– Access to sensors is achieved through a bridge
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HTML5/CSS/JavaScript
Android
Web View
Bridge
Native API
iOS
Web View
Bridge
Native API
Windows Phone
Web View
Bridge
Native API
NATIVE WRAPPER
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Cost
Maintainability
User Experience
Offline Capability
Sensors
Toolset Choices
Performance
INTERPRETEDDefinition
Interpreted applications map a common language to platform specific APIs
– Abstraction layer is provided on top of the native API
– Code is written to run on the abstraction layer
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INTERPRETEDHow it works
Application is written in scripting language
Script proxies provide access to native widgets
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JavaScript
Android
Script
Interpreter
Native API
Windows Phone
Script
Interpreter
Native API
iOS
Script
Interpreter
Native API
INTERPRETED
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Cost
Maintainability
User Experience
Offline Capability
Sensors
Toolset Choices
Performance
CROSS COMPILEDDefinition
Cross compiled applications map a common language to platform specific languages
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CROSS COMPILEDHow it works
Common business logic is combined with platform specific UI code into native app
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iOS
Native App
Android
Native App
Windows Phone
Native App
C# Business/Data Code
C# iOS UI C# Android UI C# Win Phone UI
CROSS COMPILED
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Cost
Maintainability
User Experience
Offline Capability
Sensors
Toolset Choices
Performance
XAMARIN TOOLS – A DEEPER LOOK
Allows programming C# to iOS and Android– Access to .NET Base Libraries– Full featured language support:
• LINQ• Generics• Task Parallel Library• Lambdas
– C# 5.0 support targeted for March• Async feature
C# bindings for nearly the entire underlying platform SDKs– UI code is platform specific– Supports native User Experience– Also imposes a learning curve
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XAMARIN – HOW IT WORKS
Built on top of Mono
Open source version of the .NET Framework
Ported to numerous platforms
On Android, Xamarin’s compiler compiles down to Intermediate Language (IL), which is then Just-in-Time (JIT) compiled to native assembly when the application launches.
On iOS, Xamarin’s Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compiler compiles Xamarin.iOS applications directly to native ARM assembly code.
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XAMARIN PRODUCTS
Mono for Android– Targets Android platform– Can code in either Visual Studio or MonoDevelop
MonoTouch– Targets iOS platform– Requires Macintosh computer running at least OSX Lion– Can code in MonoDevelop
Free Trial versions do not support deployment to device– Must perform testing in an emulator/simulator
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XAMARIN DEMO
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ANDROID LAYOUT
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XAMARIN ARCHITECTURE
TaskyPro Architecture across platforms
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XAMARIN LINKS
Download trial software at:– http://xamarin.com/trial
TaskyPro Source Code– https://github.com/xamarin/mobile-samples/tree/master/TaskyPro
TaskyPro Case Study– http://docs.xamarin.com/Android/Guides/Application_Fundamentals/B
uilding_Cross_Platform_Applications/Case_Study%3A_Tasky
Numerous tutorials available at Xamarin Dev Center– http://docs.xamarin.com/– http://forums.xamarin.com/
YouTube Xamarin Channel– http://www.youtube.com/user/xamarinhq
X86 Emulator install instructions– http://docs.xamarin.com/Android/Guides/Deployment,_Testing,_and_Metrics/Confi
guring_the_x86_Emulator
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MOBILE TOOLS SELECTIONConsiderations
Your mobile technology is a vital strategic selection
– Must consider immediate and future needs
– Assess skills needed to build and maintain
– Determine best fit for the application
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CLOSING
Questions
Giveaways
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