In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss the concept of slim bindings and their benefits. They explore the challenges of working with full bindings and the need for a more focused approach. The conversation centers around their experience with creating slim bindings for Firebase and other complex controls. They also touch on the difficulties of updating full bindings and the importance of understanding the API being consumed. The episode concludes with a discussion on the role of Sharpie in binding generation and the challenges of dependency management. In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss the challenges and possibilities of Swift interop with .NET and the ongoing work to make Swift interop possible with .NET. They also delve into the differences between Android and iOS bindings, including the ease of Android bindings and the challenges of Kotlin and generics. They explore the AndroidX library and the complexities of dependency management. The conversation concludes with a discussion on community efforts for bindings and the benefits of slim bindings.

Links:

• Plugin Firebase

In this episode, the hosts celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast and engage in a casual conversation about various topics related to Xamarin and .NET MAUI. They introduce themselves and discuss their roles as product managers. The conversation covers the early days of Xamarin, the transition to .NET and mobile development, and the evolution of mobile development over the years. They also talk about the transition to Microsoft and the use of Microsoft tools. The episode concludes with a discussion about geographical locations and some trivia. The conversation covers the journey and challenges of.NET MAUI, including its adoption and success. It also explores the lessons learned and the importance of architecture and migration. The speakers reflect on the evolution of Xamarin and.NET MAUI and provide feedback and assessment of the current state of the project. In this episode, the hosts discuss various topics related to Maui and its tooling. They talk about the success of Maui and ports, the importance of reflecting on code and engineering, and the desired features in Maui. They also discuss the need for better tooling and templates, visualizing app navigation and image assets, and improving the shell and view model lifecycle. The hosts express their appreciation for the positive community and the engineering team. The episode concludes with a celebration of the 100th episode of the podcast.

Special Guests: David Ortinau and Maddy Montaquila.

Links:

• .NET MAUI

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss various topics related to creating and maintaining libraries and NuGet packages. They talk about their experiences with plugin libraries and the importance of supporting open source developers. They also touch on the challenges of avoiding vendor and framework lock-in. Overall, the conversation highlights the value of community-driven development and the need for collaboration and appreciation in the open source world. The conversation explores the process of creating libraries and plugins for cross-platform development. It delves into the challenges of balancing dependencies and code size, as well as the evolution of library development over time. The role of Microsoft Extensions and dependency injection in library development is also discussed. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the improvements in Maui and the use of Microsoft Extensions and DI in the framework. This part of the conversation explores the importance of familiar patterns and dependency injection in Xamarin development. It discusses the trade-off between performance and app size, as well as the challenges of implementing dependency injection in Xamarin.Forms. The conversation also touches on the growth of plugins in the Xamarin ecosystem and the controversy surrounding Reactive Extensions (RX). The creation of Xamarin Essentials and its goal of pleasing the majority of developers is highlighted, along with the focus on testability in Shiny. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the trade-off between performance and interfaces. In this conversation, Jon and Allan discuss various topics related to open source development, including generating interfaces and wrappers, elevating to platform API level, simplifying abstractions, creating custom implementations, using files and folders for caching, managing GitHub repos and libraries, forking and cloning repos, cleaning repos and business continuity, and appreciating open source contributors.

Links:

• Create Your Own .NET MAUI Plugins with This Template

In this conversation, Jon and Allan discuss Blazor hybrid development, specifically in the context of Maui. They explore the benefits and challenges of using Blazor in a hybrid setting, including performance considerations and compatibility with different platforms. They also discuss the use of Blazor web views in Maui apps and the integration of native APIs. The conversation highlights the flexibility and potential of Blazor hybrid for building mobile apps. In this conversation, Allan Ritchie and Jon discuss the challenges of cross-platform development and the differences between Web Assembly and Maui. They also explore the use of view models in Blazor and Maui, as well as the benefits of Maui for businesses. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the slow progress of web standards and the plugin packages of the week: MudBlazor and Radzen.

Links:

• Radzen Blazor Components
• MudBlazor

The Disney experience app is a mobile engineering marvel. Jon and Allan take a slightly less technical conversation on the anatomy of an app and geek out over the happiest app on earth.

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss their recent vacations to Belize and Disney World. They dive into the features and functionality of the Disney mobile app, which allows users to book trips, manage reservations, and access various services. They highlight the seamless integration of the app with hotel check-in, mobile food ordering, and car locator features. The chapter also explores the user interface and navigation of the app, as well as the integration of Magic Bands and Apple Wallet for a convenient and magical experience. The episode concludes with a discussion on the Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes services, as well as the animated passes in Apple Wallet. Disney's attention to detail is evident in their interactive photo experiences, such as the PhotoPass and on-ride photos. The app allows users to book Lightning Lane reservations and participate in scavenger hunts, creating a seamless and engaging experience. Disney's crowd management and analytics ensure a smooth flow of visitors throughout the park. The backend infrastructure supporting these features is a marvel in itself. Overall, Disney's gamification approach enhances the park experience while providing value for the price. In this episode, Allan and Jon discuss the impressive features and functionality of the Disney mobile app. They highlight the interactive droids that react to Bluetooth events in the park and the immersive experience they provide. The conversation then delves into the magic of Disney's app, including its use of Google Maps for detailed mapping and navigation. They also explore the use of Magic Bands for child safety and the seamless integration of various features within the app. The discussion touches on the technical challenges faced by Disney and the solutions implemented to ensure a smooth user experience. The episode concludes with a summary of the main takeaways and a mention of Bluetooth plugin packages for developers interested in similar functionality.

Links:

• Shiny BluetoothLE
• Plugin BLE

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss Reactive Extensions (Rx) and its advantages over traditional event handling. They start by addressing Jon's resistance to dependency injection and his concerns about taking dependencies on external libraries. Allan introduces Rx as a solution to handle events more effectively and efficiently. They explore the benefits of Rx, such as composability, filtering, and transforming events. The conversation delves into the implementation of Rx in different platforms and its integration with Maui. They also discuss challenges and solutions in using Rx, including canceling requests and validating input. Overall, the episode highlights the power and versatility of Rx in simplifying event handling and improving code readability. In this conversation, Jon and Allan discuss Reactive UI and Reactive Extensions. They explore the features and benefits of Reactive UI.net and how it simplifies event handling and data binding in UI development. They dive into topics such as throttling and transforming events, filtering empty or invalid values, canceling and restarting events, and handling complex use cases. They also discuss the challenges and limitations of Reactive Extensions, including assembly size and reflection usage. The conversation concludes with a discussion on identifying use cases for Reactive UI and plans for future discussions on the topic.

Links:

• ReactiveUI
• Reactive Extensions

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss the migration experiences from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI. They highlight the opportunity for architectural improvements during the migration process, such as cleaning up code and removing static untestable components. They also explain the evolution of Xamarin.Forms into .NET MAUI and the introduction of handlers. The benefits of the single project structure and the ease of migrating third-party libraries are discussed. The conversation also covers the customization of entry handlers and the migration of resources, including images and fonts. This conversation covers various challenges and solutions related to image management, including the use of vectors, app icons, and splash screens. It also discusses the migration process from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI, highlighting the importance of a methodical approach. The conversation concludes with a recommendation for the Maui Community Toolkit as a valuable resource for developers.

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss the process of building a mobile app, starting with the analogy of building a lightsaber at Disney. They explore the anatomy of a mobile app, including the use of MVVM architecture and the importance of gluing logic together. They also delve into navigation and the use of Shell in Xamarin.Forms. The conversation then shifts to the benefits of using dependency injection in app development and the considerations for cross-platform development. In this episode, Allan and Jon discuss various aspects of app development, including dependency injection, core services, and cross-platform services. They emphasize the importance of creating a base set of services and thinking outside the box when faced with UI design challenges. They also highlight the significance of solving business problems first and introduce Prism as a comprehensive app architecture framework.

Links:

• Prism

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss the importance of templates for mobile app development. They explore the challenges of remembering details like Android manifest and info.plist, and how templates can help simplify the process. They also discuss the default templates in Maui and the benefits of item templates in VS Code. The conversation covers the balance between complexity and simplicity in templates, and the value of custom templates for saving time. They also touch on managing permissions and entitlements, and the power of MSBuild and CSProj files in customizing projects. The episode concludes with a discussion on the benefits of community templates. In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss different types of templates available for building mobile apps with .NET Maui. They cover item templates, Maui templates, solution templates, Visual Studio templates, VS Code templates, and command line templates. They also talk about the benefits of creating custom templates and how they can help standardize development practices within an organization.

Links:

• dotnet-maui-templates (egvijayanand)
• Shiny Templates
• Plugin.Maui.Feature
• MauiAppAccelerator

In this episode, Jon and Allan discuss backgrounding in mobile development. They start by reviewing the virtual list view and how it solved Allan's problem. Then, Jon reveals the story behind his nickname 'Red.' The conversation then shifts to backgrounding in mobile development, covering common scenarios such as data synchronization, image uploads, and real-time GPS. They explore the different approaches to backgrounding on Android and iOS, including the use of services, broadcast receivers, foreground services, and job scheduling. Finally, they discuss background transfers on both platforms. This episode explores background transfers, background tasks, and code execution in mobile apps. The hosts discuss the challenges of handling slow APIs, managing state in background jobs, and scheduling one-off and periodic jobs. They also delve into the intricacies of background GPS in iOS and Android, as well as the considerations for background tasks in Windows. The episode concludes with a brief mention of background tasks in CarPlay and Android Auto.

Links:

• Shiny Jobs