Welcome to Sands of MAUI, a newsletter-style publication that compiles the latest .NET MAUI content relevant to developers.
Small, harmless sand particles. But when you add together many sand particles, we have a large force to consider. It is the smallest grains of sand that often combine to form huge beaches, dunes, and deserts.
.NET developers are excited about the reality of .NET MAUI (.NET Multiplatform App UI), the latest evolution of the .NET cross-platform developer technology stack. With reliable tools and a rich ecosystem, .NET MAUI helps developers build native cross-platform apps for mobile/desktop from a single, shared codebase while bringing web technologies into the mix.
It may take a long flight to reach the sands of MAUI Island, but developer excitement for .NET MAUI is quite evident in all the content created. Like a grain of sand, every news/article/document/video/tutorial/live stream contributes to the developer experience of .NET MAUI and we grow a community/ecosystem willing to learn and help.
Sands of MAUI is a humble attempt to bring together all the goodness of .NET MAUI in one place. Here are some highlights this week: January 22, 2024:
Getting started with .NET MAUI
.NET MAUI is an evolution of the modern .NET cross-platform development stack, giving developers access to mobile and desktop form factors from a single, shared codebase. After several years of solid engineering and community involvement, today .NET MAUI has a solid framework foundation with mature tools and a rich development ecosystem.
For developers who are new to .NET MAUI, all the terminology, concepts, and code sharing with web apps and support libraries can feel a bit overwhelming. thankfully James Montemagno To kick-start .NET MAUI development in 2024, we’ve come to the rescue with a video covering just about everything related to .NET MAUI.
James starts with the basics: .NET MAUI, supported platforms, installation, and how to get started. With the .NET 8 milestone, .NET MAUI boasts significantly tuned performance across platforms, strong desktop support, and overall framework stability. There’s plenty of developer inspiration available in .NET MAUI apps and a rich ecosystem of UI components that light up great app UX. There is no need for developers to develop from scratch.
Modern .NET MAUI is here, with tons of learning resources, updated migration support with Upgrade Assistant, and a solid story of hybrid app development with Blazor. Lots of promise and welcome to all developers.
UI gradient
.NET MAUI is built to enable .NET developers to create cross-platform apps for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows with deep native integrations, platform-based UI, and hybrid environments that extend the reach of Blazor/JS web UI technologies. Due to improved stability and a rich ecosystem, more developers are using .NET MAUI to build cross-platform apps.
But developer attention is valuable, and knowledge is best obtained in bite-sized pieces. Maddie Montaquilla has launched a new series of short videos for developers called .NET MAUI Minutes, the third video is about using UI gradients in .NET MAUI.
A modern mobile/desktop app should boast a delightful UX, and that often starts with a great UI that drives more app usage. Color is a convenient way to make your app attractive, and .NET MAUI provides flexibility with built-in color gradients. Maddy starts with a basic white frame and shows how to use color gradients. Gradient brushes in .NET MAUI provide a flexible API for developers.
With the easy XAML markup and color gradients built into .NET MAUI, there’s no reason not to create stunning app UIs. Colors make the world beautiful and can do wonders in apps.
January XAML Festival
Although .NET MAUI provides flexibility for .NET developers looking to build cross-platform native mobile/desktop apps, the majority of .NET MAUI developers will end up using C#/XAML to define their app UI. There’s good news for developers looking to hone their UI building skills. Leomaris ReyesA month-long celebration of all things XAML in .NET MAUI.
The goal of the special series is to delve deep into the world of UI design by replicating key parts of popular app UIs. The first article is about recreating the Uber Card UI in .NET MAUI.
Leomaris plans to use XAML Fest in January to release a collection of articles that cover various parts of UI, analyze XAML code, and provide developers with a clear and concise guide to creating UI themselves. The Uber Card UI is a sleek and functional interface element that is an essential part of modern app design. Leomaris starts by breaking down the original UI into blocks that can be recreated. With concise XAML and explanations of every step, Leomaris slowly builds the Uber UI one block at a time. There’s plenty of UI inspiration for .NET MAUI developers.
January’s XAML Fest is a festival of code and design where developers are invited to celebrate, learn, and improve their UI skills.
Screen recording in .NET MAUI
Screen recording within the app – This seems to be a fairly common feature requirement, especially for modern mobile apps. Thanks to Gerald BersluisScreen recording within apps will become a breeze for .NET MAUI developers. Meet the preview of Plugin.Maui.ScreenRecording, now available as a NuGet package.
Using the quick extension method, Plugin.Maui.ScreenRecording can be configured to work in .NET MAUI apps. Platform coverage includes iOS, macOS, and Android. For .NET MAUI apps that want to use Plugin.Maui.ScreenRecording, permission to save screen recording clips to media library must be set for iOS/macOS/Android. Usage is rather easy, with well-defined APIs to check device capabilities and start/stop recording.
Initially, there is a lot of community support, interest, and potential for Plugin.Maui.ScreenRecording, but we encourage its further development.
.NET Productivity
Modern .NET developers have a pretty good setup: mature development frameworks, stable tools, and a healthy, rich ecosystem. Things can always improve, but it doesn’t hurt to explore what’s cool. robert green recently hosted aging developer At the VS ToolBox show, the topic was modern .NET developer productivity.
The discussion began with an exploration of the state of the .NET ecosystem. A mature framework adapts .NET code to virtually any platform/device. Rich tools enhance developer productivity with .NET. Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code meet the diverse needs of developers.
While Blazor for web apps and .NET MAUI for cross-platform app development are often in the .NET spotlight, this is when the two talk about real .NET solutions: console apps, desktop apps, and containerization using Docker with the latest Ubuntu containers. had. . And no modern .NET discussion is complete without mention of artificial intelligence. It is very easy for .NET developers to integrate with ChatGPT or introduce other AI smart features inside their apps for a next-generation user experience.
That’s all for now.
See you next week with more great content related to .NET MAUI.
Cheers, developers!