Writing code once and implementing it on multiple platforms has always been a dream of software developers. Although this has become possible from the last few years, at the cost of maintainability, simple testing, or poor user experience. Developing mobile apps using the conventional SDK is probably a very complicated job as code needs to be written multiple times for the mobile apps having different OS. But with the introduction of the Xamarin SDK, this problem is addressed completely.
In this blog, you will learn how Xamarin is beneficial and its important features to share code across multiple platforms without compromising other aspects of Android app development. The blog will focus on its key features for app developers for smooth app development.
What Is Xamarin?
Xamarin allows you to build cross-platform apps for iOS, Android, and Windows OS in C# and .NET. Xamarin offers C# bindings this gives the power to use all Android and iOS’ native features like user interface, graphics, notifications, and animation.
Each new Android and iOS version is matched by Xamarin, with a new release that comprises bindings for their new APIs.
Xamarin’s port of .NET comprises features like data types, generics, garbage collection, language-integrated query, asynchronous programming patterns, and a subset of the Windows Communication Foundation. Xamarin. Form is a layer on top of the UI bindings which provides a completely cross-platform UI library. This set of features makes it one of the top Android development frameworks to use for mobile app development.
Features of Xamarin Platform
API Integration
Xamarin wraps APIs and UIs of the iOS and Android platforms for better development work. API and UI plays a vital role in app development work. The availability of the integration feature is possible with the help of:
- Xamarin.Android for Android UIs and APIs
- Xamarin.Mac for Mac UIs and APIs
- Xamarin.iOS for iOS UIs and APIs
This advanced feature of binding diverse UIs and APIs into a single module helps in integrating the latest features for fast app development.
Fast Development
Businesses are outsourcing the Xamarin Mobile App Development Company to build a mobile app in a fast & economical manner. This platform is highly-advanced in comparison to other development platforms. It provides advanced performance and a friendly user-interface.
It offers code reusability which is possible because of the libraries available with it. Libraries offer code sharing features as well thus saving a lot of development time & operational cost. A lot of resources of the developers are saved.
C# Benefits
C# is the higher version of C++. It has all the important features, functionalities, and properties that a programming language needs.
- Easy and simple to understand
- Robust programming language
- General-purpose language
- Support ASP.NET framework
- Object-oriented language with additional features
- Functionality to build an asynchronous layout
- Data types are referred to as objects. This helps in reducing the efforts and time required to define the object.
- It has eliminated pointers, operators, namespace, and headers implementation with the introduction of a period.
Low-Priced
The other advantage of Xamarin is being a low-priced platform. One of the major reasons to support it is the availability of the code reusability feature to build mobile apps for different OS. Earlier, the rewriting code required too much time and cost. This is completely removed with its usage. The sharing of code across multiple platforms is made easy, saving a lot of costs.
Easy Testing
Testing a mobile app before making it available for the general public is a crucial factor. A lot of loopholes are identified during the testing of a mobile app. Testing of Cross-platform mobile app needs a lot of additional time and effort. The testing of mobile apps on the cloud with features like the Xamarin test helps the testers to make the process smooth and shorter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Xamarin technology?
Xamarin is an open-source platform to build modern and innovative mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows with .NET. This platform is an abstraction layer that manages the communication of shared code with platform code.
What is Xamarin used for?
Xamarin is used for cross-platform app development that implements the CLI and CLS with a C# shared codebase. With the help of this tool, the developers can build native Android and iOS apps with the same feel and look that a native app offers to have the same user-interface and different platform shared codes.
Why is Xamarin the best?
Xamarin is the most economical and time-efficient platform used to build apps for different operating systems. Instead of building an app for each system separately, the app developers can reuse 75 % of the developed code across all renowned mobile platforms which reduces cost and time-to-market.
Is Xamarin open-source?
Xamarin.Forms is an open-source mobile UI framework from Microsoft to build iOS, Android, & Windows apps with .NET from a single shared codebase. Whether you want a regular look across platforms or prefer native look and feel, Xamarin.Forms will help you build and deploy in very little time.
Wrapping Up:
These are some remarkable features of Xamarin for Cross-Platform app development. All these features point towards a smooth and innovative mobile app development. If you need to hire Android developers having the right expertise in a similar domain, contact Android Developer. We are specialists in building mobile apps for all verticals. At the same time, we build them with the latest trends and technologies offered with the tools. Share your business requirements with us and we will build an app that is customized as per your requirements.