Issue 210

KYM PHILLPOTTS

Hey everyone,

Welcome back to another Weekly Xamarin and my apologies for the late publication. I am heading to Seattle over the weekend so lots of things to get finished up.

This week we have a great set of links, including all the stuff from WWDC.

Have an amazing weekend everyone!

❤ Kym

NEWS

Apples World Wide Developer Conference

So of course, WWDC happened, this week, and that means it's a good time to catch up on all the announcements. There has been a lot of jokes about the $999 monitor stand, but has also been some interesting announcements that we should care about as mobile developers.

Here are some resources to check out to get up to speed:

WWDC 2019 Links - very thorough list of links to all the announcements and changes,
The 9 biggest highlights from Apple WWDC 2019 & WWDC 2019 in 13 Minutes
WWDC 2019 Flash Briefing
WWDC 2019 Flash Briefing

GETTING STARTED

Why use Xamarin in 2019?!

After some discussions, Daniel Hindrikes was inspired to write a blog post about what tools and frameworks to start with for a developer that is new to mobile app development.

Why use Xamarin in 2019?! by Daniel Hindrikes

CODE

Apple Introduces SwiftUI; So What?

Nick Randolph considers the implications of SwiftUI which was announced by Apple. What does it mean, and more specifically what does it say about the future of declarative vs coded UIs?

Apple Introduces SwiftUI; So What? by Nick

Extension Methods Guidelines in C# .NET

Extension methods are an excellent feature of the C# language. They enable us to write nicer, more readable code. They allow for more functionally styled programming, which is very much needed in an object-oriented language. They also should be used with care. Inappropriate use of extension methods can create less readable code, make it harder to test and even be prone to errors.

Extension Methods Guidelines in C# .NET by Michael Shpilt

DESIGN

Why Text Buttons Hurt Mobile Usability

The usability standards for buttons are higher for mobile apps than desktop apps. With a smaller screen and finger navigation, mobile buttons must be easy to tap and read. Most solid buttons meet this standard, but text buttons rarely do. Find out why buttons are so hard!?!

Why Text Buttons Hurt Mobile Usability by anthony

TOOLS

Visual Studio Productivity Tips

In this episode, Robert is joined by Kendra Havens. Every version of Visual Studio introduces new productivity features. If you want to see some of the ones introduced in Visual Studio 2019, check out Kendra's video here.

There is also a handy Visual Studio 2019 Productivity Cheat Sheet related to this video over at Visual Studio Magazine.

Visual Studio Productivity Tips by Robert Green

IOS

What the Heck is Sign In with Apple?

This week at Apple’s developer conference WWDC, Apple announced a new feature, “Sign In with Apple” enabling users to sign in to apps using their Apple ID. This new feature is positioned as a secure and privacy-friendly way for users to create an account in apps... but what is it all about?

What the Heck is Sign In with Apple? by Authorization

XAMARIN FORMS

Machine Learning in Xamarin.Forms

Juliano shows how you can use the Machine Learning ML.NET framework in your Xamarin.Forms applications in a very simple way.

Note: post is in Portuguese

Utilizando ML.NET em aplicações Xamarin.Forms by Juliano Custódio

Setting pickup location marker using Google Maps

Rendy is doing a great series of posts going in-depth with Google Maps. In this blog post he extends it by allowing the user to move the map with a centralized pin marker over it to set the pickup location (kind of like how uber does pickup locations).

Setting pickup location marker using Google Maps in Xamarin Forms by Rendy

Sharing information in Xamarin Forms

Sometimes, we need to share information from our App to other apps, such as an address, a file, an URL among others. Xamarin Essential gives us the power to do it! In this post, we will be learning how to do it.

Sharing information in Xamarin Forms by Leomaris Reyes

Passing Information Between Pages with Shell

Eduardo continues his series of posts on Shell, this time focusing on what you need to do to get data flowing between your pages.

Jun 3 Routing in Shell - Passing Information Between Pages by Eduardo Rosas Osorno

Building a Floating Label Entry

Here is a lovely implementation of the "Float Label Pattern" for Xamarin.Forms. The pattern is a nice way to show what a user needs to type into a text box and has become part of the Material Design guidelines from Google. This implementation is just straight Xamarin.Forms, no renderers or magic.

Building a Floating Label Entry with Xamarin.Forms – Trailhead Technology Partners by Valeriy Kovalenko

Welcome to Snppts

Some of you may be familiar with Snppts its a website that lets Xamarin.Forms developers and designers to share interface snippets. The great news is that it is being relaunched.

Please, if you have some UI goodness that you want to share, please contribute it so it can be shared with the community.

Snppts

AZURE

Introduction to the final Azure Roadmap

This roadmap focuses on creating Azure-hosted services and accessing them from your Xamarin client apps. Topics include the Azure portal, Azure Mobile App Service, connecting to Azure from a mobile client, and authentication.

Introduction to the final Azure Roadmap by Luis Matos

Building a Real-Time Chat App With SignalR and Xamarin

I think there are going to be more and more "real time" applications going forward. One way you can achieve this is with SignalR, and it'll save you a bunch of work. In this post (and linked code) Bryan shows how you can get a chat application working, lickity-split!

Building a Real-Time Chat App With SignalR and Xamarin by Bryan Anthony Garcia

PODCASTS & VIDEOS

Compass (Xamarin.Essentials API of the Week)

Xamarin.Essentials provides developers with cross-platform APIs for their mobile applications. On this week's Xamarin.Essential API of the week we take a look at the Compass API to enable you to monitor the device's compass sensor to read the magnetic north heading.

Compass (Xamarin.Essentials API of the Week) by James Montemagno

MergeConflict 152 - Refreshing Hanselman.Forms

What does it look like to refresh a 5 year old app with the all of the changes in iOS, Android, and Xamarin.Forms? James walks through all of the UI and backend changes he has been making to fully optimize the app. Additionally, he walks through how he is using Azure Functions to revolutionize his backend.

152: Refreshing Hanselman.Forms - Visual, CollectionView, & Serverless Backend

Merge Conflict Special WWDC19 Edition

It is that time of year where Apple pulls out all the stops for developers and this year is no different at WWDC. There is a new watchOS, tvOS, iOS, dark mode, project catalyst, SwiftUI, Xcode updates, accessibility improvements, and so much more! We have you covered in this very special edition.

Special Edition: WWDC19 Recap: Mac Pro, Project Catalyst, SwiftUI, iPadOS, & Security by soundbite.fm

Xamarin.Forms 4 - Who Could Ask For More?

Wait no more to set a high score with Xamarin.Forms 4, it ain't no bore! That's right, Xamarin.Forms 4.0 has officially been released and it's on fire! Join James and Matt as they discuss the new features of 4.

Xamarin.Forms 4 - Who Could Ask For More? by Xamarin

App Center Distribution Enhancements And Auto Provisioning | The Xamarin Show

This week, James is joined by friend of the show Amanda Chew, App Center Program Manager, shows us the latest features in App Center distribution for mobile applications. She also shows how to easily auto provision your iOS applications all from inside of App Center.

App Center Distribution Enhancements And Auto Provisioning | The Xamarin Show by James Montemagno

Xamarin- .NET Community Standup

Join the Xamarin.NET Teams for our community standup covering great community contributions for Mobile .NET, Xamarin, Xamarin.Forms, and more.

Xamarin- .NET Community Standup - June 6th 2019 - AndroidX with Jon Dick

RELEASES

Xamarin.Forms 4.1 - Pre Release

Just a few weeks ago, Xamarin.Forms 4.0 shipped. Already the team has shipped a pre-release of 4.1, and it's looking like it'll have an amazing feature set too.

Nice work Xamarin.Forms team!

CheckBox with Xamarin.Forms 4.1.0 Pre-Release by David Ortinau

Xamarin Introductions

Xamarin Introductions - Charlin Agramonte

Charlin, or better known as XamGirl to many of us in the Xamarin community is a developer, speaker and writer based in the Dominican Republic. You'll often see her articles featured in the WeeklyXamarin newsletter, but we thought we would reach out to her to find out more, so here goes:

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I have 5+ years of experience in .NET, developing in Xamarin Forms since it started (in 2014). Currently Xamarin Certified Developer and Microsoft MVP. In my free time, I write articles in my blog Xamgirl.com

Tell us one thing we probably don't know about you?

Before becoming a developer I was a musician, I used to play the trumpet :P.

How did you first get into Xamarin development?

I started with a Xamarin Forms project in 2014. I remember the pain it was (Not much documentation and lot of issues) but sill then fall in love with XAML.

What has been the most enjoyable project you have built using Xamarin?

A project about AI + Xamarin Forms, was great because I learned a lot of new stuff. (Sadly, cannot talk much about it. NDA :P).

What advice would you give someone looking at getting started with Xamarin development?

The Xamarin community is awesome, so don't be afraid to ask questions, you will always find someone willing to help. Also, you can check this guide I wrote a few months ago with some tips to learn Xamarin: https://xamgirl.com/learning-xamarin-forms-personal-recipe/

What are the MUST HAVE tools, resources and libraries that you use when building Xamarin apps?

Where do you think mobile will be in 5 years?

Probably doing less code to achieve greater things :)

Any other things you would like to share or promote?

If you are looking for rockstars developers http://www.crossgeeks.com/ :)

Thanks Charlin for telling us a little bit more about yourself and sharing so much with the community over the years. If you want to find out more about what the XamGirl is working on, check out:

Blog: https://xamgirl.com/

Twitter: @Chard003

Github: Char0394