Chapter 2: Defining Xamarin, Mono, and .NET Standard

Xamarin is the app model implementation for the modern .NET infrastructure. As part of the cross-platform infrastructure, Xamarin uses the Mono runtime, which, in turn, acts as the adaption layer for the .NET Standard base class library/libraries. By means of the abstraction provided by the Mono runtime (MonoTouch and MonoDroid), Xamarin can target mobile platforms such as iOS and Android.

This chapter will try to define the relationship between .NET and Xamarin. You will start by preparing the Xamarin development environment and create your first Xamarin application. You will then discover how the .NET source code is executed with MonoTouch on iOS and the Mono runtime on Android. This will help you understand the cross-platform nature of .NET better and how it is run on mobile platforms.

The following sections will walk you how to implement your first Xamarin application:

• Understanding Xamarin
• Setting up Your...