Xamarin is mostly preferred for developing cross platform mobile apps.
Xamarin with visual studio or Xamarin studio gives all the advantages of
powerful IDEs such as Eclipse or Netbeans. Xamarin has the capability to
deliver high performance compiled code; this compiled code provides full access
to all native APIs for creating native apps with device specific experiences.
Whatever the developer does in Objective C or Java for native development, the
same can be done in C# with Xamarin.
Evolution of
Technology
We are in an
age of technology where there are more mobile phones than public utilities.
During the past 10 years, technology has taken a giant leap and has changed the
lives of millions of people around the world.
There was a time when the technology was easily available in developed
countries but due its far reach and advantages it has evolved at a faster pace
in developing countries. Currently,
almost all the people ranging from developing to developed countries have the
presence of technology in their hands. When we talk about the technology, its
not computers or Internet but both packed in a single miniature thing called as
a mobile phone. Mobile phones play a crucial role in a person’s everyday life.
Right now, they are not just used for making calls or sending text messages but
indeed they are packed with an operating system, which provides almost
everything that we require.
Almost
everything meaning applications, these applications are provided by the
available platforms in the world. What makes these mobile phones available to
every one? Earlier there was a time when mobile phones were costlier and the
rich were only able to afford it but thanks to the shear competence between the
mobile phone manufacturers the costs of mobile phones have dropped very
drastically. Due to this, everyone is able to afford a mobile phone. For these
mobile phones, applications play a pivotal role. There are many applications
available in the market and they can even become a part of a person’s life. So,
for mobile phones to evolve, there is a constant need of applications. At the
same time, for bringing out the applications to users, developers play a pillar
role. What technology should the developers choose to develop a mobile
application? When we talk about the mobile application development, the first
thing that comes in to a developers mind is Native Development. Native
development is faster, better and produces more responsive applications meaning
applications that can give native feel. Though, native applications are good
but if a developer wants to develop a native application on android, windows
and IOS he needs to develop 3 different applications, which at the end give the
same result. Because of this reason, the cost for native mobile application
development increases.
An
alternative form of developing a mobile application is by using phone gap.
Costs wise phone gap development is cheaper when compared to native
development. Phone gap development has its own pros and cons. The good thing
about phone gap development is that a single code base can work for all the
platforms such as android, windows and IOS. But one of the negative aspects of
phone gap development is the applications do not give a native feel and they
always have a lag for a certain amount of duration. But these can be overcome
by hiring a good designer and JavaScript developer.
Another way
of developing a mobile application is by using Xamarin platform. Xamarin
provides two types of development:
·
Xamarin
using native
·
Xamarin
using forms
Xamarin using
native is always preferred if a developer wants to develop an app using Xamarin
technology. Xamarin using forms is complex and most of the developers around
the world have reported some critical issues on it. Xamarin development makes
use of C# coding and the look and feel of a Xamarin application is almost
similar to a native application. In Xamarin development, front end i.e., user
interface is developed by using native platform, whereas the back end is
developed by using C# programming language.
Reasons for
Choosing Xamarin Development
Xamarin
is mostly preferred for developing cross platform mobile apps. Xamarin with
visual studio or Xamarin studio gives all the advantages of powerful IDEs such
as Eclipse or Netbeans. Xamarin has the capability to deliver high performance
compiled code; this compiled code provides full access to all native APIs for
creating native apps with device specific experiences. Whatever the developer
does in Objective C or Java for native development, the same can be done in C#
with Xamarin.
Xamarin technology allows the developer to
keep native UI across all the three platforms. With the help of this, native
performance can be preserved and at the same time it gives access to full API
coverage, shared code base and application logic. The most important factors
that a developer can re-use in Xamarin technology is the Code. This indeed,
saves the time and resources.
Android, IOS and Windows SDKs are integrated
with Xamarin. This integration is very helpful to the developer as he can access the native controls that exist for the I Pad,
Android or Windows but only coded once. The ability to re-use 60-80% of the
code cuts the development time in half. At the same time, a single code base
reduces the costs for support and new features introduction.
Xamarin for android also provides support for
Google glass devices. Basically, development on windows and windows phone is
natively supported by visual studio and Xamarin is not involved here. This
means, Xamarin applications for windows platform can be developed without the need of Xamarin SDK for
windows.
At times, the
developers may not test the application on specific devices. This shortcoming
can be overcome with the help of Xamarin Test Cloud. The developers can test
the application directly on Xamarin Test Cloud, which offers hundreds of
devices. It also offers continuous integration, reports, and tests of
fragmentation and object based UI testing.
Today, nearly 500,000 developers are
already using Xamarin to create amazing apps.
I would like to conclude by noting that,
with Xamarin you write your entire apps in C#, share the same code on Android,
IOS, and Windows. Get the flexibility to reuse .NET libraries and easily
incorporate platform specific frameworks and libraries when you want to. In
this way, you can develop faster, modern, reliable and user-friendly
applications in a cost effective way.
About Ray Business
Technologies Pvt Ltd
Ray Business
Technologies Pvt Ltd, www.raybiztech.com, is a global Information Technology (IT)
Services and Solutions company. Raybiztech offers comprehensive end-to-end IT
Services for Business Application Development & Maintenance, Enterprise
Solutions, Testing & Quality Assurance, Embedded Systems, Cloud Computing
and IT Infrastructure Management to organizations in the Banking &
Financial Services, Insurance & Healthcare, Life Sciences, Manufacturing,
Retail, Distribution & Logistics, Media & Entertainment, Leisure &
Travel, Communication, Energy & Utilities, Federal Government verticals and
Independent Software Vendors. Raybiztech's innovative IT Solutions in
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Enterprise Portals and Content Management
(EPCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Enterprise Mobility
including Product Development and Life-Cycle Support, have resulted in
significant strategic and cost advantage for their clients worldwide.
Raybiztech
is now leading the way in powering next-generation enterprises with its Cloud,
Mobility, Big Data and Social Media solutions. Our excellent team of Technology
Professionals work with enterprise clients in North America, Latin America,
Australia, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
