+1 for big leaning curve. Played around with it a bit few years ago then didn't touch it til a few months ago and I was lost like never before. That said, the Xamarin people have added so much to it now so stability is probably much better now
On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 3:22 PM, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> wrote: > > ... but that said, Xamarin is pretty heavy weight, it's s big learning > curve.. if you want something lightweight and 'pretty' good you should try > out Ionic... > > > > > On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 3:19 PM, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> >> Go Xamarin it's the best! (Opinion may be bias www.michaelridland.com) >> >> Traditional Xamarin (Native API) as the platform is awesome and solid and >> fast, the IDE and some of the tools around it can be a bit buggy. >> Xamarin.Forms is pretty early, and can be frustrating but I have build some >> XPlat app pretty rapidly with it. >> >> Actually I'm doing a 'Introduction to Xamarin' at SydMobile in a few >> weeks, you should come along I'd love to answer any questions you have. >> http://www.meetup.com/SydMobile/ >> >> Below is a unpublished blog post on why you should use Xamarin... >> >> *Should I use Xamarin for Mobile Development? YES you should!* >> >> In my opinion you'd be insane if you didn't use Xamarin for mobile >> development. Many people don't know what they're missing out on by not >> using Xamarin so I'm going to highlight some reasons I think people >> should be using Xamarin. >> 1) It's Native but with 80%+ code share? >> >> So for those that aren't aware of Xamarin or how it works, Xamarin allows >> you to develop apps for iOS, Android and Mac from a single code base. When >> I say this I don't mean in a webview or customised API, it actually usesthe >> Native APIs. So when developing you use UITableView which is the same >> API that a native developer would be using. >> 2) C# and F# are Modern languages >> >> C# might not be the hipster language of the year it is a continually >> evolving language with solid features like type interference, dynamic >> types, language integrated query (LINQ), async/await and first class >> functions. C# is designed for developing large robust applications. >> >> And for the functional types there's F#, which from what I've been told >> it's like scala but faster and better thought out. >> >> I'd argue they're better languages than java, javascript and >> objective-c... and seeing that they're currently the only languages with >> built in async you could say their even better than swift... >> 3) async/await >> >> .. 'wait but javascript is all async' i hear you say... C#/F# >> async/await is different to what people normally think async is. C#/F# >> async/await tackles the callback hell problems in rich clients, anyone who >> works with rich clients will know of these problems. This is a problem >> that's attempted to be solved with promises and generators but neither are >> at the level of async/await. >> >> Here's a little before/after sample: >> >> *Before:* >> >> doAsync1(function () { >> >> doAsync2(function () { >> >> doAsync3(function () { >> >> doAsync4(function () { >> }) >> }) >> }) >> }) >> >> *After:* >> >> await doAsync1() >> await doAsync2() >> await doAsync3() >> await doAsync4() >> 4) Watches, Google Glass wearables and the future of devices. >> >> In case you haven't noticed the future isn't just mobiles it's wearables, >> devices and IOT. Xamarin has same day support for all these platforms >> including android wear, google glass, Amazon TV and more. As I've said >> beforeXamarin uses the Native APIs and compiles down to native so using >> Xamarin you're in the perfect position develop all modern platforms. >> 5) It's ready now! >> >> All the time I hear people say 'html is a fast moving target' or 'it will >> get there eventually'. Xamarin is here now, it's Native and it's cross >> platform. Why wait to have a great app when you can have it now and as a >> bonus know that your application is future proof for future devices. >> 6) It's fast and stable >> >> From personal experience the Xamarin traditional (Xamarin.iOS and >> Xamarin.Android) >> platform is solid, fast and stable. You'd be hard pressed to find a problem >> with the core parts of the platform, any app bugs will probably be your own >> bugs. >> 7) Documentation >> >> The documentation for Xamarin is solid, it's generally better than the >> Apple and Android documentation. >> 8) Xamarin.Forms >> >> So how about 100% codeshare and still be Native? Xamarin.Forms allows >> you to program against a single API and have that single API mapped to >> native controls on each platform. Hanselman describes it well, 'Write Once >> Run Everywhere AND Be Native'. >> >> It's still early days for the product but the top component developers >> like Telerik and DevExpress are already developing components for Xamarin >> .Forms. >> 9) It's the best of all worlds (Hybrid and Native) >> >> If you've taken a look at my Xamarin mashup blog >> <http://www.michaelridland.com/mobile/asp-net-mvc-xamarin-mashups/> you'd >> already know that the possibilities with Xamarin are vast, you can >> essential create your own Cordova and you can completely integrate it with >> your C# Mvvm/c# Native Code. So you have the full power of the .net >> framework to build your client application architecture which becomes very >> useful when you have complex requirements like Offline. >> 10) Large Community >> >> Xamarin uses the .net framework and because of this it's inherited the >> pre-existing community, this means that even though it's a fairly new >> platform we already have support for Awesome projects like Json.net, Fody >> and ReactiveExtensions/ReactiveUI. >> 11) Profitable Innovative Company >> >> Xamarin as a company has a passion for enabling mobile developers to >> deliver leading experiences. Their products cost money Yes but it's good >> for us, I see many people complain about the pricing but Xamarin charging >> money for products allows them to put money back into building amazing >> products for us. This year at EvolveXamarin released some great new >> products, a Analytics Cloud Service, a faster Android emulator and a >> performance profiler. In the future Xamarin is on the rise and this >> means our tools are only going to get better and better. >> >> This is why I choose Xamarin and I think you should too.... >> >> If you have any questions regarding Xamarin or need any help please >> contact me I'm always happy to help. >> >> Thanks >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 2:58 PM, Stuart Kinnear <stu...@skproactive.com> >> wrote: >> >>> I've got a bit of free time so I'm starting to play around with mobile >>> development and getting somewhat bewildered with the options offered. >>> >>> The dream is to knock up a business style app that will allow >>> persistence of data to the local database eg. sqlite then a transfer to a >>> base server. >>> >>> Looked at Android dev kit, and that is OK but of course that strikes out >>> Ios & Windows. >>> >>> Looked at PhoneGap/Cordova and got infuriated by the simple task of >>> posting data (jsonp is a bit of a security risk in my books) >>> >>> Early last year I did play with Xamarin and found it unstable, crashing >>> at a whim. Is it worth giving it another go, or should I just suck it up >>> and work on platform specific development tools. >>> >>> -- >>> >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Stuart Kinnear >>> Mobile: 040 704 5686. Office: 03 9589 6502 >>> >>> SK Pro-Active! Pty Ltd >>> acn. 81 072 778 262 >>> PO Box 6082 Cromer, Vic 3193. Australia >>> >>> Business software developers. >>> SQL Server, Visual Basic, C# , Asp.Net, Microsoft Office. >>> >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >> >> >
