GETTING STARTED
Book Review: Azure and Xamarin Forms
If you are about to start your first Xamarin app that is backed by cloud computing with Azure, then this book may just be for you!
Book Review: Azure and Xamarin Forms: Cross Platform Mobile Development by dotNetDave
Mobile Apps of Tomorrow Lab
This is a self-guided workshop that covers how to build a cloud-connected, AI powered mobile app that runs on iOS, Android and UWP using Xamarin and Xamarin.Forms.
jimbobbennett/MobileAppsOfTomorrow-Lab by Jim Bennett and Laurent Bugnion
DESIGN
FlexBox cheatsheet
This is not really a Xamarin thing, but Flex layout was added and this might help you understand how the various properties work.
10 Do’s and Don’ts of Mobile UX Design
Mobile design can be a tricky subject, with many things to consider when creating a mobile app. Here are some tips on what you should and what you shouldn’t do when designing a mobile app.
Best Practices For Mobile Form Design
Users can be hesitant to fill out forms. That is why it is our goal as designers to make the process of filling out a form as easy as possible. Nick shares some techniques that can help you design effective forms.
Best Practices For Mobile Form Design by Nick Babich
BUSINESS & MARKETING
How to Reply to iOS and Google Play Reviews
Here is a cheat sheet you should keep in mind when replying to app reviews. TLDR; don't be a jerk.
OPEN SOURCE
Introducing Source Code Link for NuGet packages
NuGet.org now supports surfacing source code repository link for NuGet packages. For those of you building open source libraries, this is something to check out.
Introducing Source Code Link for NuGet packages by Maxime Rouiller
Awesome Xamarin
Awesome Xamarin is a hand-picked bookmark collection of libraries and tools for Xamarin development. It's been around for a while, but until recently there were two different versions. These have now been consolidated, so it's worth providing the new URL to rule them all.
ANAYLTICS
NLog vs log4net vs Serilog: Compare .NET Logging Frameworks
Logging information in .NET, or really in any production application, is invaluable. But which logging framework is best? In this blog post, Simon Timms compares and contrasts the pros and cons of each framework.
NLog vs log4net vs Serilog: Compare .NET Logging Frameworks by Simon Timms
TOOLS
Using the New Xamarin.Forms Controls Toolbox
You can now drag and drop Xamarin.Forms elements from the toolbox straight into your XAML. Well, I guess, it's one step closer to a designer ;-)
Using the New Xamarin.Forms Controls Toolbox by Maddy Leger
Improving your productivity in the Visual Studio Editor
Here are some really cool new productivity features and tips for VS 2017 15.8. You won't believe number #4 ;-)
Improving your productivity in the Visual Studio Editor by Allison Buchholtz-Au
ANDROID
Android Pie Reports "9" for Release Version instead of "9.0"
Google made a subtle (but important) change in how they report the version number of Android. James explains.
Personally, I think they should have numbered it: 9.0.3.1415
PSA: Android Pie Reports "9" for Release Version instead of "9.0" by James Montemagno
OpenJDK
You may have noticed a little status bar appearing in Visual Studio talking about OpenJDK. The idea is to get a smaller version (smaller download, less disk space), avoid problems with third-party installers and tools, as well as improve the development experience, preventing future updates of JDK (9, 10) from affecting Android development. You can read about getting started with OpenJDK here.
Exploring the Android App Bundle
At Google I/O there was an announcement of a new app bundle format. Not only does this format provide a new upload format for our applications, but it will help to influence how we build and structure our applications in a modular format. This post dives into the Android App Bundle so that we can get a thorough understanding of what it is, the way it works and how we can add support for it in our own applications.
WINDOWS UNIVERSAL
Debugging Not Working for .NET Standard library in UWP Application
Nick Randolph got the bottom of an annoying problem with debugging on UWP Xamarin apps.
Debugging Not Working for .NET Standard library in UWP Application by Nick
XAMARIN FORMS
Particle follower with CocosSharp and Xamarin.Forms
CocosSharp is a library for building 2D games using C# and F#. It is a .NET port of the popular Cocos2D engine. Marco created a demo app that shows how to create a Particle follower.
Particle follower with CocosSharp and Xamarin.Forms by Marco
Slider - Min/Max dynamic update issue.
René Ruppert fixes an annoying bug feature in the Slider on Android.
Xamarin.Forms Slider: dynamically changing Minimum and Maximum value on Android won’t update indicator position by René Ruppert
How to create a popup form in Xamarin Forms
Are you looking for an easy way to create a popup with forms? Would you like to create an awesome login modal page? Let Devlin show you the way.
Xamarin Forms 101: How to create a popup form in Xamarin Forms by Devlin
Xamarin Forms on the new Tizen 4.0 Samsung Galaxy Watch
Damian Mehers got a Xamarin.Forms app running on his new Samsung Galaxy Watch. Because, well, why not!
Running Xamarin Forms apps on the new Tizen 4.0 Samsung Galaxy Watch by damian
Getting Started with Xamarin.Forms and Effects
At some point in building a cross platform application using Xamarin.Forms you’ll need to build out some platform specific features. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending on what you want to achieve. One of those ways is to use an Effect.
MVVMCROSS
Getting Started with Xamarin.Forms and Navigation with MvvmCross
Nick Randolph continues his blog posts on MvvmCross. This time he covers navigation.
Getting Started with Xamarin.Forms and Navigation with MvvmCross by Nick
PODCASTS & VIDEOS
Merge Conflict 112 - Decrypting Encryption
On this week's Merge Conflict, Frank and James take a look at the current state of web and app security for developers. They discuss options when dealing with TLS/SSL, database encryption, and how to store items securely in mobile apps.
Gone Mobile 76: Building Untappd with Greg Avola
Untappd is a super popular app for beer lovers around the world. In this episode of Gone Mobile the team talks to the creator about the beer app's humble beginnings and how it grew into a keg-sized success. Find out how it's built, what the backend is like, and what new suds are to come!
Gone Mobile 76: Building Untappd with Greg Avola by Greg Shackles, Jonathan Dick