NEW EXPERIENCES IN 6 SHORT STEPS

WORKS FOR ALL APPS, INCLUDING CROSS PLATFORM & HYBRIDS

Apple announced that the new Mac computers with the ARM 64 processor will be able to install compatible iOS & iPad apps. Just like you, I was super curious to know if my apps would be “compatible” too. I tried to search multiple articles and blogs to understand what the requirements are, especially for apps created with cross-platform frameworks, but I couldn’t find anything. Aside from compatibility though, there is a way to “opt-out” through the Apple Developer portal, so your app is not available for Macs. While clicking around, I figured this out and thought I would share.

Here’s how to find out

While you don’t need need the newer Silicon Mac to test this, you can use an existing Mac computer that has the app store. All you have to do…

GUIDE ON WHERE TO LEARN XAMARIN FOR FREE

When we were learning Xamarin a few years ago, “Xamarin University” was a great resource to learn and understand the fast-growing Xamarin framework (now MAUI). It was the official way of gaining Xamarin Certification and ramping up on a recognized skill. There’s a void that Xamarin University filled, it was a structured path to learn and become a confident Xamarin professional, so we partnered with Luis Pujols to dive into what beginners can do.

A Xamarin University existed?

For 6 years, anyone who was interested in getting into C#-based Native Mobile Development, could simply follow through the well-taught courses on “XamarinUniversity.com” for as little as $83/month. Some courses were recorded, while some others were required to be taken during the live-stream. The decision was made to discontinue XamU, and due to its value in the industry, a lot of people rushed in to get their certification before it was shut. …

SENIOR MOBILE DEVELOPERS ALREADY USE THIS TO SAVE TIME

If you have done a weeks’ worth of Xamarin mobile development, you know the need to frequently delete the bin & obj folders in each sub-directory of your solution. This tedious process essentially clears the cache and deletes any improperly built code, so that you can recompile your code, and this magically solves half the problems you face.

How does this work?

To achieve this we are going to take advantage of how projects with git version controlling setup correctly, will only “track” the necessary files that are not “auto-generated”. So in order to make this work, you need a file named .gitignore file in your solution directory. The GITIGNORE is a text file that is hidden, thanks to the . in front of it. If you initialized your solution using a git client with a VisualStudio gitignore, this step will already be done for you. …

SIMPLE TRICKS TO STEP UP YOUR PRESENTATION GAME

Have you have ever needed to share your app screenshots with other team members, but skipped adding the frame just to save time? Taking a screenshot is as simple as a click, but designing & dealing with image editing tools is definitely not a developer’s forte. Well, adding a device frame is now a simple keyboard tap!

While lurking in the iOSProgramming subreddit, I saw an answer to a question taking me to Fastlane’s page teaching how to take screenshots using automated UI Tests. And there, I stumbled upon the frameit command.

Getting Started

There are several ways you can follow mentioned in the docs. I prefer using homebrew. First you need to install homebrew, then install fastlane and finally install imagemagick using the commands shown…

Using cross platform frameworks like Xamarin has a lot of pros, in terms of the shorter learning curve and time of development. But changes needed due to unforeseen change in the native iOS & Android SDK’s is one of the disadvantages, as you will see in this article.

Introduction

You must have read about the important changes to the Android Play Store requirements, from an article just published by Microsoft. It’s based on the deadline outlined by Android and summarized in this image:

The Google Play Store requirements state that, after November 2nd 2020 all app updates to Android apps will need to target the Android 10 (Q API Level 29) framework. …

OPENS A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR APPS

There have been questions on StackOverflow asking how to use Google Sheets to store data using Xamarin, as a quick and simple database. After finding no articles online, I decided to spend a few hours to figure it out. Using the steps below, you can use a Restful POST API call to send data from Xamarin iOS & Android apps, to instantly populate rows in a Google Sheet.

Introduction

We are going to demonstrate adding rows to a Google Sheet using a Feedback form to collect user feedback. Why did I choose this specific use case? If you are an Indie mobile developer, you probably know that collecting feedback can be important, so if you know a user is not satisfied with the app, you can redirect the user to this Feedback page instead of the Play/App Store. Note that this procedure doesn’t implement any authentication, so it cannot replace a backend, and I would also not recommend using this in production apps that require security. …

Get Started with Reliable Robust Libraries

Many of you must have heard/read about NFC, and possibly used it to pay using Google Wallet or Apple pay. As developers, we are gifted with the knowledge and ability to actually interact and create products that use such technologies. It may seem intimidating since you may not be familiar with electronics at first, but the good thing is that these cost about a dollar a piece, so it’s alright even if you blow one up. …