Introduction to .NET MAUI
This chapter is all about getting to know .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) and what to expect from it. .NET MAUI enables you to build native cross-platform mobile and desktop apps for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows using .NET and C#. This is the only chapter that is purely theoretical; all the others cover hands-on projects. You are not expected to write any code at this point, but instead, simply read through this chapter to develop a high-level understanding of what .NET MAUI is, how .NET MAUI relates to .NET, and how to set up a development machine.
We will start by defining what a native app is and what .NET as a technology brings to the table. After that, we will look at how .NET MAUI fits into the bigger picture and learn when it is appropriate to use the traditional .NET mobile and .NET MAUI apps. We often use the term traditional .NET mobile app to describe apps that don’t use .NET MAUI, even though .NET MAUI apps are bootstrapped through a traditional .NET mobile app.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- Defining native applications
- .NET mobile
- Exploring the .NET MAUI framework
- Setting up our development machine
- .NET mobile productivity tooling
Let’s get started!
