In regards to a sample app, Xamarin has a huge amount on their github and docs website. The Store app is a good sample, https://github.com/xamarin/xamarin-store-app
But I can't think of a production app that's opensource. Actually just found this <http://motzcod.es/post/99906299427/announcing-bike-now-on-android-for-seattles>, it's in production https://github.com/jamesmontemagno/BikeNow. On Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 12:40 PM, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Man that Droid emulator sucks, try Geny motion it's a better emulator. > > Yes you pay for Xamarin, but think about the other side of that. The more > money they make the more money they have to build better tools, and you > don't want your product vendor in financial difficulties. > > The trial is great as it's actually fully featured for 30 days. The > starter edition is the one that's useless. > > > > On Saturday, October 25, 2014, Greg Keogh <g...@mira.net> wrote: > >> Xamarin certainly is the hottest thing on the plate recently, popping up >> in news and discussions everywhere. I feel compelled to become familiar >> with it just to keep myself viable. Last April I downloaded and fired-up >> the full Android SDK but despite several hours of suffering I couldn't even >> get the Hello World app to run (due to emulator problems). I haven't >> gathered the courage to return to that suffering and overcome it, so I >> might as well discard it and learn something more generally useful, like >> Xamarin ... and best of all it's C# instead of Java. >> >> I would like to create a simple demo app for phones or iPad that gets XML >> from a web service and shows it as a table or chart, which could generate >> some interest in "real" development. However I notice on the Pricing Page >> <https://store.xamarin.com/> that $1000/year for the "Business" level, >> which is pretty steep for a one man business who just wants to try it out. >> The FAQ says software built in trial mode is crippled or splashed. I also >> see that you variously need iOS, Google and Android SDKs installed, which >> is a huge footprint. You need an OS X 10.8 machine to build for iOS. Fair >> enough, but phew! Xamarin is expensive and has cruel trial system. >> >> *Greg K* >> >> On 25 October 2014 01:22, William Luu <will....@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> There's a free preview of a Xamarin Forms book being written by Charles >>> Petzold if anyone is interested - >>> http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2014/10/06/free-ebook-creating-mobile-apps-with-xamarin-forms-preview-edition.aspx >>> >>> >>> — >>> Sent from Mailbox <https://www.dropbox.com/mailbox> >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 4:40 PM, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> Nice blog post... but if they had just used Xamarin their job would >>>> have been alot easier. >>>> >>>> They wouldn't of had to write their own persistance layer, with Xamarin >>>> you can use the Native SQLite instances. Their serious backend code eg >>>> Offline, Caching, would have been able to use C# and the full .net >>>> framework. >>>> >>>> Actually the project I'm working on at the moment is more complicated >>>> than the dropbox app, more feature with offline support etc.... and I've >>>> been able to implement as a single developer... >>>> >>>> For serious applications Xamarin is hands down the best! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 4:29 PM, William Luu <will....@gmail.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> On a related note, Dropbox used C++ for their Android/iOS apps - >>>>> http://oleb.net/blog/2014/05/how-dropbox-uses-cplusplus-cross-platform-development/ >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 24 October 2014 15:22, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> http://ionicframework.com/ >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 3:22 PM, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> ... but that said, Xamarin is pretty heavy weight, it's s big >>>>>>> learning curve.. if you want something lightweight and 'pretty' good you >>>>>>> should try out Ionic... >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 3:19 PM, Michael Ridland <rid...@gmail.com> >>>>>>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Go Xamarin it's the best! (Opinion may be bias >>>>>>>> www.michaelridland.com) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Traditional Xamarin (Native API) as the platform is awesome and >>>>>>>> solid and fast, the IDE and some of the tools around it can be a bit >>>>>>>> buggy. >>>>>>>> Xamarin.Forms is pretty early, and can be frustrating but I have build >>>>>>>> some >>>>>>>> XPlat app pretty rapidly with it. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Actually I'm doing a 'Introduction to Xamarin' at SydMobile in a >>>>>>>> few weeks, you should come along I'd love to answer any questions you >>>>>>>> have. >>>>>>>> http://www.meetup.com/SydMobile/ >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Below is a unpublished blog post on why you should use Xamarin... >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> *Should I use Xamarin for Mobile Development? YES you should!* >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> In my opinion you'd be insane if you didn't use Xamarin for mobile >>>>>>>> development. Many people don't know what they're missing out on by not >>>>>>>> using Xamarin so I'm going to highlight some reasons I think >>>>>>>> people should be using Xamarin. >>>>>>>> 1) It's Native but with 80%+ code share? >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> So for those that aren't aware of Xamarin or how it works, Xamarin >>>>>>>> allows >>>>>>>> you to develop apps for iOS, Android and Mac from a single code base. >>>>>>>> When >>>>>>>> I say this I don't mean in a webview or customised API, it actually >>>>>>>> usesthe Native APIs. So when developing you use UITableView which >>>>>>>> is the same API that a native developer would be using. >>>>>>>> 2) C# and F# are Modern languages >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> C# might not be the hipster language of the year it is a >>>>>>>> continually evolving language with solid features like type >>>>>>>> interference, >>>>>>>> dynamic types, language integrated query (LINQ), async/await and first >>>>>>>> class functions. C# is designed for developing large robust >>>>>>>> applications. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> And for the functional types there's F#, which from what I've been >>>>>>>> told it's like scala but faster and better thought out. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I'd argue they're better languages than java, javascript and >>>>>>>> objective-c... and seeing that they're currently the only languages >>>>>>>> with >>>>>>>> built in async you could say their even better than swift... >>>>>>>> 3) async/await >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> .. 'wait but javascript is all async' i hear you say... C#/F# >>>>>>>> async/await is different to what people normally think async is. C#/F# >>>>>>>> async/await tackles the callback hell problems in rich clients, anyone >>>>>>>> who >>>>>>>> works with rich clients will know of these problems. This is a problem >>>>>>>> that's attempted to be solved with promises and generators but neither >>>>>>>> are >>>>>>>> at the level of async/await. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Here's a little before/after sample: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> *Before:* >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> doAsync1(function () { >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> doAsync2(function () { >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> doAsync3(function () { >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> doAsync4(function () { >>>>>>>> }) >>>>>>>> }) >>>>>>>> }) >>>>>>>> }) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> *After:* >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> await doAsync1() >>>>>>>> await doAsync2() >>>>>>>> await doAsync3() >>>>>>>> await doAsync4() >>>>>>>> 4) Watches, Google Glass wearables and the future of devices. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> In case you haven't noticed the future isn't just mobiles it's >>>>>>>> wearables, devices and IOT. Xamarin has same day support for all >>>>>>>> these platforms including android wear, google glass, Amazon TV and >>>>>>>> more. >>>>>>>> As I've said beforeXamarin uses the Native APIs and compiles down >>>>>>>> to native so using Xamarin you're in the perfect position develop >>>>>>>> all modern platforms. >>>>>>>> 5) It's ready now! >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> All the time I hear people say 'html is a fast moving target' or >>>>>>>> 'it will get there eventually'. Xamarin is here now, it's Native >>>>>>>> and it's cross platform. Why wait to have a great app when you can >>>>>>>> have it >>>>>>>> now and as a bonus know that your application is future proof for >>>>>>>> future >>>>>>>> devices. >>>>>>>> 6) It's fast and stable >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> From personal experience the Xamarin traditional (Xamarin.iOS and >>>>>>>> Xamarin.Android) platform is solid, fast and stable. You'd be hard >>>>>>>> pressed to find a problem with the core parts of the platform, any app >>>>>>>> bugs >>>>>>>> will probably be your own bugs. >>>>>>>> 7) Documentation >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The documentation for Xamarin is solid, it's generally better than >>>>>>>> the Apple and Android documentation. >>>>>>>> 8) Xamarin.Forms >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> So how about 100% codeshare and still be Native? Xamarin.Forms >>>>>>>> allows you to program against a single API and have that single API >>>>>>>> mapped >>>>>>>> to native controls on each platform. Hanselman describes it well, >>>>>>>> 'Write >>>>>>>> Once Run Everywhere AND Be Native'. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> It's still early days for the product but the top component >>>>>>>> developers like Telerik and DevExpress are already developing >>>>>>>> components >>>>>>>> for Xamarin.Forms. >>>>>>>> 9) It's the best of all worlds (Hybrid and Native) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> If you've taken a look at my Xamarin mashup blog >>>>>>>> <http://www.michaelridland.com/mobile/asp-net-mvc-xamarin-mashups/> >>>>>>>> you'd >>>>>>>> already know that the possibilities with Xamarin are vast, you can >>>>>>>> essential create your own Cordova and you can completely integrate it >>>>>>>> with >>>>>>>> your C# Mvvm/c# Native Code. So you have the full power of the .net >>>>>>>> framework to build your client application architecture which becomes >>>>>>>> very >>>>>>>> useful when you have complex requirements like Offline. >>>>>>>> 10) Large Community >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Xamarin uses the .net framework and because of this it's inherited >>>>>>>> the pre-existing community, this means that even though it's a fairly >>>>>>>> new >>>>>>>> platform we already have support for Awesome projects like Json.net, >>>>>>>> Fody >>>>>>>> and ReactiveExtensions/ReactiveUI. >>>>>>>> 11) Profitable Innovative Company >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Xamarin as a company has a passion for enabling mobile developers >>>>>>>> to deliver leading experiences. Their products cost money Yes but it's >>>>>>>> good >>>>>>>> for us, I see many people complain about the pricing but Xamarin >>>>>>>> charging >>>>>>>> money for products allows them to put money back into building amazing >>>>>>>> products for us. This year at EvolveXamarin released some great >>>>>>>> new products, a Analytics Cloud Service, a faster Android emulator and >>>>>>>> a >>>>>>>> performance profiler. In the future Xamarin is on the rise and >>>>>>>> this means our tools are only going to get better and better. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> This is why I choose Xamarin and I think you should too.... >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> If you have any questions regarding Xamarin or need any help >>>>>>>> please contact me I'm always happy to help. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Thanks >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 2:58 PM, Stuart Kinnear < >>>>>>>> stu...@skproactive.com> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> I've got a bit of free time so I'm starting to play around with >>>>>>>>> mobile development and getting somewhat bewildered with the options >>>>>>>>> offered. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> The dream is to knock up a business style app that will allow >>>>>>>>> persistence of data to the local database eg. sqlite then a transfer >>>>>>>>> to a >>>>>>>>> base server. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Looked at Android dev kit, and that is OK but of course that >>>>>>>>> strikes out Ios & Windows. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Looked at PhoneGap/Cordova and got infuriated by the simple task >>>>>>>>> of posting data (jsonp is a bit of a security risk in my books) >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Early last year I did play with Xamarin and found it unstable, >>>>>>>>> crashing at a whim. Is it worth giving it another go, or should I >>>>>>>>> just suck >>>>>>>>> it up and work on platform specific development tools. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>>>> Stuart Kinnear >>>>>>>>> Mobile: 040 704 5686. Office: 03 9589 6502 >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> SK Pro-Active! Pty Ltd >>>>>>>>> acn. 81 072 778 262 >>>>>>>>> PO Box 6082 Cromer, Vic 3193. Australia >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Business software developers. >>>>>>>>> SQL Server, Visual Basic, C# , Asp.Net, Microsoft Office. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >>
