Mastering Xamarin Forms

Create high-quality multi-platform native apps with Xamarin.Forms Key Features Packed with real-world scenarios and solutions to help you build professional-grade mobile apps with Xamarin.Forms Build an effective mobile app architecture with the Xamarin.Forms toolkit Find out how, when, and why you should use architectural patterns and get best practices with Xamarin.Forms Book Description Discover how to extend and build upon the components of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit to develop an effective, robust mobile app architecture. Starting with an app built with the basics of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit, you'll go step by step through several advanced topics to create a solution architecture rich with the benefits of good design patterns and best practices. You'll start by introducing a core separation between the app's user interface and its business logic by applying the MVVM pattern and data-binding. Then you focus on building out a layer of plugin-like services that handle platform-specific utilities such as navigation and geo-location, and on how to loosely use these services in the app with inversion of control and dependency injection. Next you connect the app to a live web-based API and set up offline synchronization. Then, you delve into testing the app logic through unit tests. Finally, you set up Visual Studio App Center for monitoring usage and bugs to gain a proactive edge on app quality. What you will learn Implement the Model-View-View-Model (MVVM) pattern and data-binding in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Extend the Xamarin.Forms navigation API with a custom ViewModel-centric navigation service Leverage the inversion of control and dependency injection patterns in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Work with online and offline data in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Test business logic in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Use platform-specific APIs to build rich custom user interfaces in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Explore how to improve mobile app quality using Visual Studio AppCenter Who this book is for This book is intended for C# developers who are familiar with the Xamarin platform and the Xamarin.Forms toolkit. If you have already started working with Xamarin.Forms and want to take your app to the next level with higher quality, maintainability, testability, and flexibility, then this book is for you.

New edition of the bestselling guide to building an effective mobile app architecture with Xamarin.Forms 4 that maximizes the overall quality of apps. Key FeaturesUpdated for Xamarin.Forms 4Packed with real-world scenarios and solutions to help you build professional grade mobile apps with Xamarin.FormsIncludes design patterns and best practice techniques that every mobile developer should knowBook Description Discover how to extend and build upon the components of the most recent version of Xamarin.Forms to develop an effective, robust mobile app architecture. This new edition features Xamarin.Forms 4 updates, including CollectionView and RefreshView, new coverage of client-side validation, and updates on how to implement user authentication. Mastering Xamarin.Forms, Third Edition is one of the few Xamarin books structured around the development of a simple app from start to finish, beginning with a basic Xamarin.Forms app and going step by step through several advanced topics to create a solution architecture rich with the benefits of good design patterns and best practices. This book introduces a core separation between the app's user interface and the app's business logic by applying the MVVM pattern and data binding, and then focuses on building a layer of plugin-like services that handle platform-specific utilities such as navigation and geo-location, as well as how to loosely use these services in the app with inversion of control and dependency injection. You’ll connect the app to a live web-based API and set up offline synchronization before testing the app logic through unit testing. Finally, you will learn how to add monitoring to your Xamarin.Forms projects to track crashes and analytics and gain a proactive edge on quality. What you will learnFind out how, when, and why to use architecture patterns and best practices with Xamarin.FormsImplement the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern and data binding in Xamarin.Forms mobile appsIncorporate client-side validation in Xamarin.Forms mobile appsExtend the Xamarin.Forms navigation API with a custom ViewModel-centric navigation serviceLeverage the inversion of control and dependency injection patterns in Xamarin.Forms mobile appsWork with online and offline data in Xamarin.Forms mobile appsUse platform-specific APIs to build rich custom user interfaces in Xamarin.Forms mobile appsExplore how to monitor mobile app quality using Visual Studio App CenterWho this book is for This book is intended for .NET developers who are familiar with Xamarin mobile application development and the open source Xamarin.Forms toolkit. If you have already started working with Xamarin.Forms and want to take your app to the next level, making it more maintainable, testable and flexible, then this book is for you.

Build rich, maintainable multiplatform native mobile apps with Xamarin.Forms About This Book Build an effective mobile app architecture with the Xamarin.Forms toolkit Maximize the testability, flexibility, and overall quality of your Xamarin.Forms mobile app This step-by-step tutorial is packed with real-world scenarios and solutions to build professional grade mobile apps with Xamarin.Forms Who This Book Is For This book is intended for C# developers who are familiar with the Xamarin platform and the Xamarin.Forms toolkit. If you have already started working with Xamarin.Forms and want to take your app to the next level and make it more maintainable, testable, and flexible, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn Find out how, when, and why you should use architecture patterns and get best practices with Xamarin.Forms Implement the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern and data-binding in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Extend the Xamarin.Forms navigation API with a custom ViewModel-centric navigation service Leverage the inversion of control and dependency injection patterns in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Work with online and offline data in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Test both business logic and user interface code in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Use platform-specific APIs to build rich custom user interfaces in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Explore how to improve mobile app quality with analytics and crash reporting using Xamarin Insights In Detail Discover how to extend and build upon the components of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit to develop an effective, robust mobile app architecture. Starting with an app built with the basics of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit, we'll go step by step through several advanced topics to create a solution architecture rich with the benefits of good design patterns and best practices. We'll start by introducing a core separation between the app's user interface and the app's business logic by applying the MVVM pattern and data binding. Discover how to extend and build upon the components of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit to develop an effective, robust mobile app architecture. Starting with an app built with the basics of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit, we'll go step by step through several advanced topics to create a solution architecture rich with the benefits of good design patterns and best practices. We'll start by introducing a core separation between the app's user interface and the app's business logic by applying the MVVM pattern and data binding. Then we will focus on building out a layer of plugin-like services that handle platform-specific utilities such as navigation, geo-location, and the camera, as well as how to use these services with inversion of control and dependency injection. Next we'll connect the app to a live web-based API and set up offline synchronization. Then, we'll dive into testing the app—both the app logic through unit tests and the user interface using Xamarin's UITest framework. Finally, we'll integrate Xamarin Insights for monitoring usage and bugs to gain a proactive edge on app quality. Style and approach This easy-to-follow, code-rich guide will walk you through building a real-world Xamarin.Forms mobile app from start to finish. Each chapter builds upon the app by applying new advanced functionalities, design patterns, and best practices.

Learn how to build stunning, maintainable, cross-platform mobile application user interfaces using C# 7 with the power of both the Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms frameworks. Key Features Build effective native and cross-platform user interfaces using the Xamarin frameworks for iOS and Android, as well as Xamarin.Forms. Maximize the testability, flexibility, and overall quality of your Xamarin mobile apps. Step-by-Steps guide that is packed with real-world scenarios and solutions, to build professional grade mobile apps and games for the iOS and Android platforms, using C# 7. Book Description This book will provide you with the knowledge and practical skills that are required to develop real-world Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms applications. You’ll learn how to create native Android app that will interact with the device camera and photo gallery, and then create a native iOS sliding tiles game. You will learn how to implement complex UI layouts and creating customizable control elements based on the platform, using XAML and C# 7 code to interact with control elements within your XAML ContentPages. You’ll learn how to add location-based features by to your apps by creating a LocationService class and using the Xam.Plugin.Geolocator cross-platform library, that will be used to obtain the current device location. Next, you’ll learn how to work with and implement animations and visual effects within your UI using the PlatformEffects API, using C# code. At the end of this book, you’ll learn how to integrate Microsoft Azure App Services and use the Twitter APIs within your app. You will work with the Razor Templating Engine to build a book library HTML5 solution that will use a SQLite.net library to store, update, retrieve, and delete information within a local SQLite database. Finally, you will learn how to write unit tests using the NUnit and UITest frameworks. What you will learn Build native and cross-platform apps for both iOS and Android using the Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms platform using C# 7. Implement and customize different user-interface layouts and Animations within your application and use the PlatFormEffects API to change appearance of control elements. Understand the MVVM architectural pattern and how to implement this with your apps. Build a NavigationService class to enable. navigation between your ViewModels as well as Implementing Data-Binding to control elements within your XAML pages and ViewModels. Work with the Razor Templating Engine to create Models and Razor Pages that communicate with an SQLite database. Build a LocationService class to incorporate location-based features within your cross-platform apps to display the user’s current location by creating a custom cross-platform map control and handle location tracking updates. Work with the Microsoft Azure App Services Platform and Implement Social networking features within your app using the Twitter API. Unit Testing your Xamarin.Forms apps using the NUnit and UITest Frameworks Who this book is for This book is intended for readers who have experience using at least the C# 6.0 programming language and interested in learning how to create stunning native, and cross-platform user interfaces for the iOS and Android platforms using the Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms frameworks using C# 7.

Discover how to extend and build upon the components of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit to develop an effective, robust mobile app architecture. Starting with an app built with the basics of the Xamarin.Forms toolkit, you'll go step by step through several advanced topics to create a solution architecture rich with the benefits of good design patterns and best practices. You'll start by introducing a core separation between the app's user interface and its business logic by applying the MVVM pattern and data-binding. Then you focus on building out a layer of plugin-like services that handle platform-specific utilities such as navigation and geo-location, and on how to loosely use these services in the app with inversion of control and dependency injection. Next you connect the app to a live web-based API and set up offline synchronization. Then, you delve into testing the app logic through unit tests. Finally, you set up Visual Studio App Center for monitoring usage and bugs to gain a proactive edge on app quality.

New edition of the bestselling guide to building an effective mobile app architecture with Xamarin.Forms 4 that maximizes the overall quality of apps. Key Features Updated for Xamarin.Forms 4 Packed with real-world scenarios and solutions to help you build professional grade mobile apps with Xamarin.Forms Includes design patterns and best practice techniques that every mobile developer should know Book Description Discover how to extend and build upon the components of the most recent version of Xamarin.Forms to develop an effective, robust mobile app architecture. This new edition features Xamarin.Forms 4 updates, including CollectionView and RefreshView, new coverage of client-side validation, and updates on how to implement user authentication. Mastering Xamarin.Forms, Third Edition is one of the few Xamarin books structured around the development of a simple app from start to finish, beginning with a basic Xamarin.Forms app and going step by step through several advanced topics to create a solution architecture rich with the benefits of good design patterns and best practices. This book introduces a core separation between the app's user interface and the app's business logic by applying the MVVM pattern and data binding, and then focuses on building a layer of plugin-like services that handle platform-specific utilities such as navigation and geo-location, as well as how to loosely use these services in the app with inversion of control and dependency injection. You'll connect the app to a live web-based API and set up offline synchronization before testing the app logic through unit testing. Finally, you will learn how to add monitoring to your Xamarin.Forms projects to track crashes and analytics and gain a proactive edge on quality. What you will learn Find out how, when, and why to use architecture patterns and best practices with Xamarin.Forms Implement the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern and data binding in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Incorporate client-side validation in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Extend the Xamarin.Forms navigation API with a custom ViewModel-centric navigation service Leverage the inversion of control and dependency injection patterns in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Work with online and offline data in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Use platform-specific APIs to build rich custom user interfaces in Xamarin.Forms mobile apps Explore how to monitor mobile app quality using Visual Studio App Center Who this book is for This book is intended for .NET developers who are familiar with Xamarin mobile application development and the open source Xamarin.Forms toolkit. If you have already started working with Xamarin.Forms and want to take your app to the next level, making it more maintainable, testable and flexible, then this book is for you.

Build stunning, maintainable, cross-platform mobile application user interfaces with the power of XamarinAbout This Book- Create, configure, and customize stunning platform-specific features as well as cross-platform UIs with the power of Xamarin Forms.- Maximize the testability, flexibility, and overall quality of your Xamarin apps.- Get the most out of Xamarin.Forms and create your own reusable templates with C# scripting in Xamarin.Who This Book Is ForIf you are a mobile developer with basic knowledge of Xamarin and C# coding, then this book is for you.What You Will Learn- Develop stunning native cross-platform apps using the Xamarin.Forms framework- Work with the different UI layouts to create customized layouts using the C# programming language and tweak it for a given platform- Customize the user interface using DataTemplates and CustomRenderers and the Platform Effects API to change the appearance of control elements- Build hybrid apps using the Razor Template Engine and create Razor Models that communicate with a SQLite database- Use location based features within your app to display the user's current location- Work with the Xamarin.Forms Map control to display Pin placeholders based on the stored latitude and longitude coordinates- Understand and use the MVVM pattern architecture to navigate between each of your ViewModels and implement Data Binding to display and update information- Work with the Microsoft Azure Platform to incorporate API Data Access using Microsoft Azure App Services and the RESTful API- Incorporate third-party features within your app using the Facebook SDK and the Open Graph API- Perform unit testing and profile your Xamarin.Forms applications- Deploy your apps to the Google Play Store and Apple App StoreIn DetailXamarin is the most powerful cross-platform mobile development framework. If you are interested in creating stunning user interfaces for the iOS and Android mobile platforms using the power of Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms, then this is your ticket.This book will provide you the practical skills required to develop real-world Xamarin applications. You will learn how to implement UI structures and layouts, create customized elements, and write C# scripts to customize layouts. You will create UI layouts from scratch so that you can tweak and customize a given UI layout to suit your needs by using Data Templates.Moving on, you will use third-party libraries - such as the Razor template engine that allows you to create your own HTML5 templates within the Xamarin environment - to build a book library Hybrid solution that uses the SQLite.Net library to store, update, retrieve, and delete information within a SQLite local database. You'll also implement key data-binding techniques that will make your user interfaces dynamic, and create personalized animations and visual effects within your user interfaces using Custom Renderers and the PlatformEffects API to customize and change the appearance of control elements.At the end of this book, you will test your application UI for robust and consistent behavior and then explore techniques to deploy to different platforms.Style and approachThis easy to follow guide will walk you through building a real world Xamarin.Forms mobile app from start to finish. Each chapter builds upon the app using a step-by-step methodology that applies new advanced functionalities, design patterns, and best practices.

This second Preview Edition ebook, now with 16 chapters, is about writing applications for Xamarin.Forms, the new mobile development platform for iOS, Android, and Windows phones unveiled by Xamarin in May 2014. Xamarin.Forms lets you write shared user-interface code in C# and XAML that maps to native controls on these three platforms.