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Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android, Second Edition
Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android, Second Edition

Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android, Second Edition: Develop, test, and deliver fully-featured Android applications using Xamarin

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Xamarin Mobile Application Development for Android, Second Edition

Chapter 2. The Xamarin.Android Architecture

Now that we have an understanding of the Android platform, let's talk about Xamarin. In this chapter, we will take a look at the architecture of Xamarin.Android and how it facilitates the development of Android apps using C# and .NET. This chapter covers the following topics:

  • The benefits and drawbacks of adopting Xamarin.Android
  • What is Mono?
  • Mono and Android Runtime side by side (peer objects)
  • The Xamarin.Android binding libraries
  • Development of IDE choices

Getting started with Xamarin

Xamarin is a San Francisco, California-based software company, which provides commercial software development tools, that leverage the Mono open source project in order to allow you to develop applications for Android, iOS, and Mac using C# and the .NET framework.

Xamarin brings a wide range of products to simplify the mobile application development in a cross-platform way. The following are some of the products offered by Xamarin:

  • The Xamarin platform: Xamarin uses the open source implementation of the.NET framework called Mono. The Xamarin framework implementation includes its own compiler written in C# and the .NET libraries. The Xamarin platform includes the following products:
    • Xamarin.iOS: This is also known as MonoTouch. This is used for building native iOS applications using C# and .NET.
    • Xamarin.Android: This is also known as Mono for Android or formally known as MonoDroid. This is used for building native Android applications using C# and .NET.
    • Xamarin.Forms...

Why Xamarin.Android?

Before we take a dive into the architecture of Xamarin.Android, let's first discuss the question of why Xamarin.Android is our choice. Like any significant platform decision, one size does not fit all, and there are a number of things that should be considered. The following two lists identify some of the key benefits and drawbacks of using Xamarin.Android.

The benefits of using Xamarin.Android

  • It leverages existing C# and .NET skills: Developers invest a great deal of time and energy in mastering the many features of the C# language and the effective use of the .NET framework. Yes, Java and all object-oriented languages have many similarities, but there is a real cost associated with going from being proficient in C# and .NET to making the same claim in Java. Individuals and groups that have made a significant investment in C# and .NET and need to develop Android apps would be well served to at least consider Xamarin.Android.
  • It can be reused in cross-platform development...

What is Mono?

Mono is an open source, cross-platform implementation of a C# compiler, and a Common Language Runtime (CLR) that is binary compatible with Microsoft .NET. The Mono CLR has been ported to many platforms, including Android, most Linux distributions, BSD, OS X, Windows, Solaris, and even some game consoles, such as Wii and Xbox 360. In addition, Mono provides a static compiler that allows apps to be compiled for environments, such as iOS and PS3.

Mono for Android runs natively and provides almost all the capabilities that a typical native Android app can have. It allows developers to reuse a larger portion of the code without a major performance trade-off.

Mono and Dalvik side by side

As you can recall from, Chapter 1, The Anatomy of an Android App, Android apps run within the Dalvik VM, and we now know that Mono apps run within the Mono CLR. So how does a Xamarin.Android app run? A simple answer is that it uses both the Mono CLR and the Dalvik VM. The following diagram depicts how the runtimes coexist:

Mono and Dalvik side by side

Xamarin.Android applications use both Mono CLR and the Dalvik VM side by side and run on top of the Linux kernel. The .Net API resides as a part of the Mono CLR and provides a set of classes (for example, System.Data, System.Net, System.IO, and so on.) to access various device OS features. However, with .Net APIs, you cannot directly access most of the device-specific features, such as Audio, Telephony, OpenGL, and so on. They are made available as a part of the Android SDK or as Java API and can be accessed using the Android binding libraries. The following section covers more on the Android binding libraries.

Since Android 5.0 (Lollipop) release...

The Android bindings design

The core parts of Xamarin.Android are the bindings for the Android APIs. The Xamarin team focused a great deal in developing a consistent approach to create the bindings so that a C# .NET developer would feel at home when using them. This has resulted in a number of key benefits as follows:

  • The Android API feels natural to a C# .NET developer and allows the developer to explore the API using the code completion and pop-up documentation from within the IDE
  • C# developers can leverage the vast array of Java/Android examples and documentation that can be easily transformed for use with C# and Xamarin.Android

Design principles

The following are some of the key design principles for the Xamarin.Android binding. A complete set of design principles can be found on the Xamarin website:

  • Allowing developers to subclass Java classes from the Android application framework
  • Exposing a strongly typed API
  • Exposing JavaBean properties as C# properties
  • Exposing Java event listeners as...

Getting started with Xamarin


Xamarin is a San Francisco, California-based software company, which provides commercial software development tools, that leverage the Mono open source project in order to allow you to develop applications for Android, iOS, and Mac using C# and the .NET framework.

Xamarin brings a wide range of products to simplify the mobile application development in a cross-platform way. The following are some of the products offered by Xamarin:

  • The Xamarin platform: Xamarin uses the open source implementation of the.NET framework called Mono. The Xamarin framework implementation includes its own compiler written in C# and the .NET libraries. The Xamarin platform includes the following products:

    • Xamarin.iOS: This is also known as MonoTouch. This is used for building native iOS applications using C# and .NET.

    • Xamarin.Android: This is also known as Mono for Android or formally known as MonoDroid. This is used for building native Android applications using C# and .NET.

    • Xamarin...

Why Xamarin.Android?


Before we take a dive into the architecture of Xamarin.Android, let's first discuss the question of why Xamarin.Android is our choice. Like any significant platform decision, one size does not fit all, and there are a number of things that should be considered. The following two lists identify some of the key benefits and drawbacks of using Xamarin.Android.

The benefits of using Xamarin.Android

  • It leverages existing C# and .NET skills: Developers invest a great deal of time and energy in mastering the many features of the C# language and the effective use of the .NET framework. Yes, Java and all object-oriented languages have many similarities, but there is a real cost associated with going from being proficient in C# and .NET to making the same claim in Java. Individuals and groups that have made a significant investment in C# and .NET and need to develop Android apps would be well served to at least consider Xamarin.Android.

  • It can be reused in cross-platform development...

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Description

Technology trends come and go, but few have generated the excitement, momentum, or long-term impact that mobile computing has. Mobile computing impacts people’s lives at work and at home on a daily basis. Many companies and individual developers are looking to become a part of the movement but are unsure how to best utilize their existing skills and assets. The Xamarin suite of products provides new opportunities to those who already have a significant investment in C# development skills and .NET code bases, and would like to enter into this new, exciting world. This example-oriented guide provides a practical approach to quickly learn the fundamentals of Android app development using C# and Xamarin.Android. It will lead you through building an Android app step-by-step with steadily increasing complexity. Beginning with an overview of the Android and Xamarin platforms to provide you with a solid understanding of the underlying platform, we gradually walk through building and testing a Points of Interest Android app using C# and the Xamarin.Android product. You will learn to create ListView and add detail view to your Android application. You will handle application behaviors on orientation changes, before learning the different techniques to manage resources and layouts to support multiple screen sizes. You will then access a SQLite database in a cross-platform way and add location features to your application. Finally, you will add camera integration to your application and deploy your app to the various Android app stores.

Who is this book for?

If you are a C# developer who wants to develop Android apps and enhance your existing skill set, then this book is ideal for you. Good working knowledge of C#, .NET, and object-oriented software development is assumed.

What you will learn

  • Build a multiview, orientationaware Android application with navigation
  • Lay out content using the LinearLayout, RelativeLayout, and TableLayout layout managers
  • Use a ListView (AdapterView) and Adapter to build a view that is populated from server data
  • Consume REST web service to perform GET, UPDATE, DELETE operation
  • Use Android SQLite for data persistence and caching
  • Capture the current location of a device, determine the street address, and integrate with the map app
  • Test, debug, and deploy an Android app
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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Aug 24, 2015
Length: 296 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785280375
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Length: 296 pages
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ISBN-13 : 9781785280375
Vendor :
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Table of Contents

12 Chapters
1. The Anatomy of an Android App Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. The Xamarin.Android Architecture Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Creating the Points Of Interest App Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Adding a List View Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Adding a Details View Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Making Your App Orientation-aware Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Designing for Multiple Screen Sizes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Creating Data Storage Mechanisms Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Making POIApp Location Aware Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Adding the Camera App Integration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Publishing an App to the App Store Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2.7
(3 Ratings)
5 star 0%
4 star 33.3%
3 star 0%
2 star 66.7%
1 star 0%
Pietro F. Maggi Sep 13, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Nice book to get C# developer quickly up to speed with Xamarin for Android Development.The first two chapters are a very quick introduction to the basic Android and Xamarin architecture concepts, especially the first chapter on Android is very skinny given the size of the topic, but ehi, this is Xamarin book!The rest of the book, from chapter three to eleven, drive you on the process to build a Point of Interest application from the start to the publishing process.This kind of approach is sometime risky, largely depending on the application the author choose to implement. In this case the application, even if a basic one, allows to touch a lot of the point o a real world application, from Activity/Fragment lifecycle management to data persistence and Webservice integration.Overall I liked the book and I've found some good insight in it. I gave only four star and not five because the approach to write the book around a single application does not allows to touch all the topics of the Xamarin for Android platform. However, if you're looking for a beginner introduction to Xamarin for Android, this book is a really good choice.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Trenton L. Aug 17, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
My Senior Design Project was developing an app using Xamarin mobile development. This book did NOT help
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Anthony Scarpelli Sep 16, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
This book is almost usable, but it is way out of date already.Xamarin Studio IDE no longer exists which is what you would use with this book.You can create the application in Visual Studio 2019 if you try hard enough, but you need to know that the application created in Visual Studio is not quite the same as is described in the book.I was able to get through the building of the app up to a certain point, then the differences will sock you in the head and you just can't go further unless you are more experienced.Too bad.Can't recommend it until they update it again for the current time frame.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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