Prerequisites
Students should have experience developing applications or websites using C#; the course assumes you are familiar with the language. XAML knowledge is a plus but is not required.
Chapter 1: Introduction to cross-platform development with Xamarin
In the first chapter, we are looking at a complete, high-level overview of the Xamarin platform. We will look at the different development environments (Visual Studio and Xamarin Studio) and explore all the different building blocks that make up the Xamarin toolset. An overview of the setup when creating your own environment is also included.
Hello Xamarin!
C# everywhere
How Xamarin works
Xamarin components
Visual Studio integration
Xamarin Studio
Xamarin Forms and XAML
Xamarin Test Cloud
Preparing your environment for Xamarin
Chapter 2: Cross-platform code-sharing approaches and architectural considerations
In chapter 2, we are exploring the different approaches which are possible to create cross-platform applications which share code between Windows Phone, iOS and Android (and even Windows 8.1). This chapter focuses mostly on the architectural considerations.
Code sharing options
Architecture
Cross platform solutions
Dealing with platform specific items
Demo
Shared Projects
Course Outline :: Xamarin Development::
Portable Class
Libraries
Labs
Chapter 3: Building our first Xamarin.Android application
Starting with Chapter 3, we are going to focus on Xamarin.Android. In this chapter, we are introducing the most important aspects of Android development by means of a large instructor-led demonstration. Along the way, you'll learn about activities, intents and much more.
Activities
Intents
Services
Permissions
Resources
Labs
Chapter 4: UI Development with Xamarin.Android
In Chapter 3, we've seen the basic concepts of Android development. In Chapter 4, we are digging deeper in the UI aspects. We will see how Xamarin.Android makes it possible to create a good-looking UI. You'll learn about the most important views, the layout managers and fragments, a very important aspect when it comes to building Android apps.
Introduction to UI layout
Working with the designer tools
Layout in Android
Views in Android
ListViews and Adapters
Working with Fragments
Labs
Chapter 5 covers more advanced concepts in Android development. This topic contains a collection of topics which
are vital to understanding more advanced programming concepts in Android development.
More on Activities
Rotation of the device
Resources
Course Outline :: Xamarin Development::
Graphics
Permissions
Navigation in Android apps
Working with services
Chapter 6: Deploying your Xamarin.Android apps
In this final topic covering Android development, we will look at what it takes to deploy apps to the store. We will look at the different stores and see how we can make our app ready for deployment in Google Play.
Debugging and logging
Packaging and deploying to the store
Chapter 7 is the first one which covers iOS development using Xamarin.iOS. Similarly to what we have done with
Android, we will look at the basic concepts in iOS development by means of a large instructor-led demonstration.
Along the way, the most important iOS development concepts are explained.
Getting started in iOS
UIViewController
NavigationController
Storyboards
Labs
Chapter 8: Controllers in-depth
iOS development has a couple of very important concepts that you need to grasp. Controllers is one of them. In this chapter, we are digging into the specifics of controllers and will take a look at some of the built-in controllers in iOS.
Protocols and delegates
UIViewController
UINavigationController
UITabController
Modal controller iPad controller
UI flow creation in Storyboards
Chapter 9: Views in-depth
Course Outline :: Xamarin Development::
Building a good-looking UI in iOS requires the use of views. In Chapter 9, we are exploring the different views we get by default in Xamarin.iOS. We can create our UIs with the designer in Visual Studio, we'll look at using this designer as well.
Working with the designer
Text input
Buttons
Images
Progress
Scrolling
Alerts
Labs
Chapter 10: Table and collection views
Using Table views is a very important aspect in almost every iOS application. This chapter digs deep into the use of table views and how they get their data.
TableViews
TableSource
Indexing
Headers and footers
Cell appearance
Editing data
Collection Views
Labs
Chapter 11 includes a number of more advanced topics in iOS development.
Using images
Using graphics
Resources
Permissions and plists
Working with local files on the device
Creating apps in code entirely
Chapter 12: Deploying your Xamarin.iOS applications
Course Outline :: Xamarin Development::
Once your app is ready, it needs to be deployed in the App Store. Making sure it passes certification requiresfollowing a number of steps. In this chapter, we will look at the different steps we need to follow.
Debugging
Deploying to the store
Chapter 13: Introduction to Xamarin.Forms
Recently, Xamarin added Xamarin.Forms to the Xamarin product family. Using Forms, we can easily create apps using a single code-base, including the UI, targeting iOS, Android and Windows Phone, while still creating a native app. In this chapter, we will explore Xamarin.Forms.
Introduction to Xamarin Forms
Project structure
Pages
Views and layouts
Lists
Navigation
Platform features
Working with the DependencyService
Chapter 14: XAML and databinding in Xamarin.Forms
Xamarin.Forms lends itself to being used with XAML and even supports data binding. This final chapter will look at how we can use these.
What is XAML?
Building an app with XAML
XAML Syntax
XAML Markup Extensions
Data binding
Labs
Programme scope, delivery arrangements and suitability are confirmed during enquiry.