Cross Platform Development with MonoTouch and Mono for Android

You are tasked with creating apps for the iPhone, IPad, and Android. You are a .NET developer. What should you do? Start with MonoTouch and Mono for Android. Along the way, you will want to check out my training class through LearnNowOnline.. The class is on how to architect your apps to be as cross platform as possible. I hope you enjoy the class.

Databases and Data with MonoTouch and Mono for Android

Learn Now Online (formerly AppDev) has just released a free section of one of my recent training series about relational databases with MonoTouch and Mono for Android. I hope you find it helpful and enjoying!

Android 4 Fragments with Mono for Android

With the release of Android 3.0, Google added support for larger displays and attention-grabbing UI designs and layouts. On a tablet screen, UI components can be used to present better information. How does Android do this? It has a technology called Fragments, and I'll look at its implementation in the currently shipping operating system, Android 4. (Let's get past all the jokes about Android and fragmentation on its device platform.)

For more information on this, check out my article at Visual Studio Magazine - http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2012/12/13/android-4-and-fragments.aspx

Webinar Recording on Cross Platform Development with MonoTouch and Mono for Android

The iPhone and Android are dominant in the marketplace. The two platforms currently have 85% of the smartphone marketplace and are continuing to grow that marketshare. Developers are being tasked with targeting these two platforms. In this session, we’ll take a high level look at how we can use c# and .NET knowledge to share code between iOS and and Android. We’ll look at linked files, using the Xamarin Mobile API, the challenges of running across platforms and frameworks, as well as other features of Visual Studio, Monotouch, MonoDevelop, and Mono for Android that allows us to write as much code that can run on both platforms.

The following link is a recording on Cross Platform Development with MonoTouch and Mono for Android. I am guessing that the link only works in IE. That's out of my control.

MSDN article on jQuery Mobile

My article on jQuery Mobile has been published.  Please check it out.

There’s no doubt about it. Wherever developers look and whoever they talk to, mobile is at the top of the list. Talk to a C-level executive, and the conversation turns to mobile, and the question “How do I get me some of that?” comes up. Talk to other developers, and they tell you they’re targeting mobile devices. Mobile has become a big deal as smartphones have taken hold in the consumer marketplace.

In the years leading up to the current focus on mobile applications and devices, Web developers have been adding more and more client-side functionality to their applications. You can see this in the use of client-side JavaScript libraries like jQuery.

With the growth of the market for mobile devices, the ability to create applications that run across platforms is very important for developers and for businesses that are trying to keep their expenses in check. There are a set of applications, mostly in the area of content consumption (think Amazon.com), that run well in a mobile Web browser. Unfortunately, there are differences between Web browsers on various mobile devices. The goal of the recently introduced jQuery Mobile (jQM) library is to provide cross-browser support to allow developers to build applications that can run across the various mobile Web browsers and provide the same—or at least a very similar—user interface.

The jQuery Mobile library was introduced in an alpha release in the fall of 2010 and released to manufacturing in November 2011. At the time of this writing, the current version of jQuery Mobile is 1.1.1. By the time you read this, jQuery Mobile will almost certainly have reached version 1.2.0. The library has been embraced by Microsoft, Adobe and other companies for mobile Web development. In August 2011, jQM had 32 percent market share compared with other mobile JavaScript frameworks such as iWebKit and jQTouch. This market share is impressive given that it started from zero little more than 12 months ago, and the 1.0 release is the first officially supported release.

Location, Orientation, and Writing a Custom Control with Mono for Android, .NET, and C#

Like real estate, mobile is about location, location, location. That means that direction is an important item. And just as important is how this information is presented to the user. In Nov. 2011, we talked about building a user interface in Mono For Android. In this article, I'll expand a little bit on that by creating a compass that displays north. We'll use Android's built-in sensor support to determine the orientation of the device, then use a custom control to display North. The output will look like

Databinding a ListView with Mono for Android

The world lives on data. Data is all around us and in many forms: salespeople need to know what customers have spent; twitter users want to know what their friends are saying. How do we as developers present data to a user? In Android, we use the ListView in its various forms. In this article, we'll look at using a ListView, how we can work with it, then discuss what we need to do to overcome some of the challenges in a mobile environment.

Article url: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2012/09/14/databind-a-listview.aspx

Develop an iPad app with MonoTouch, C#, and .NET.

Article url: http://www.devproconnections.com/article/mobile-development/ipad-ios-app-monotouch-143636 

Since its release in March 2010, the iPad has taken the world by storm. Each new iPad release has launched the device further and further into our lives. Here are some interesting facts that we have seen over the past few years along with some market share analysis:

• The school that my teenagers attend here in Knoxville, Tennessee, was the first school in the United States to integrate the iPad into its teaching program and its curriculum. Many schools have since followed suit.
• There are a healthy number of applications in a variety of market segments. In fact, there is a market for iPad point-of-sale systems.
• The iPad is a popular device and growing more so each day. comScore states that one in four smartphone owners also owns a tablet. We also know that the iPad comprises 68 percent of the tablet market.
• eMarketer recently issued a report stating that the number of iPad users is expected to grow by 90 percent in the US in 2012.

No matter how you slice the data, tablet usage is growing, and the iPad is currently leading the pack. The question for .NET developers is "How can I get me some of that?" Xamarin's MonoTouch offers help, by providing the means for .NET developers to leverage their C# and .NET coding skills to develop iPad applications. MonoTouch has supported the iPad since the initial release of the iOS 3.2 beta SDK all the way up to the most recent iOS SDK, which supports the iPad. In this article, we'll look at targeting the iPad and how we can take advantage of iPad-specific features in our iOS applications written with MonoTouch.

I hope you enjoy the article and you find it helpful. 

Two new video series on Mono for Android from AppDev

I've had two short video series publish on Mono for Android at AppDev.com. The videos are:

• Mono for Android by Xamarin has become an excellent development platform for creating applications for the Android OS. The release of Mono for Android 4.2 has introduced some new features. This course will cover the Android Java binding library project with use of .NET, library customization and bindings, and API Level 15. Url: http://www.appdev.com/outline.asp?catalog_name=AppDevCatalog&category_name=AM32Product
• Mono for Android by Xamarin has become an excellent development platform for creating applications for the Android OS. The release of Mono for Android 4.2 has introduced some new features. This course will highlight the new features in the Xamarin Designer for Android. Url:http://www.appdev.com/outline.asp?catalog_name=AppDevCatalog&category_name=AM31Product Some of the items covered include:
• Mono for Android Status
• Market Status
• Designer
• Visual Studio
• MonoDevelop
• Designer Features
• Zoom Controls
• Toolbox
• Property Pad
• Outline View
• Resource Qualifiers
• Resource Editing
• Designer Advantages

Review - Professional Android Programming with Mono for Android and .NET/C#

Mike Riley of Dev Pro Connections Magazine has a review of our Mono for Android book.  You can read the full review on their site

Mono for Android has been available for more than a year. The documentation for the product is adequate and has been improving over time, but until recently, finding a good book about the technology was difficult. Such a constraint has been lifted thanks to Wiley's Professional Android Programming with Mono for Android and .NET/C#. Written under the Wrox imprint by several contributors (Wallace B. McClure, Nathan Blevins, John J. Croft, Jonathan Dick, and Chris Hardy), the book is one of the most comprehensive and helpful Mono for Android titles currently on the market.

Please buy 8-10 copies of our book for the ones you love, they make great romantic gifts.

Xamarin Designer for Android Article

The latest version of Mono for Android includes a long-awaited design surface. Learn how it works.

It's interesting to look at the needs of various segments of developers. When I first start looking at an environment, the first thing I need to understand is the UI. I'm not magically born with some knowledge about the environment and don't learn well by just reading, so I need some help in getting started. I found this was true when I started Windows based development in the early 1990s, Dynamic Web in the late 1990s, ASP.NET in 2000, Silverlight/WPF, iPhone and Android.

I find that getting up to speed with a UI is the single biggest deterrent for someone learning a platform. I find that as a beginner I need the features provided by a design surface. It's only as I grow and become comfortable with a platform that I find that building a UI by hand is more productive. Even as I get more advanced, I still can learn from a designer, so it has value as I grow into a platform.

I hope that this article helps you as you dive into Android Development.

Cross-Platform Mobile Development With Mono for Android and MonoTouch

Many years ago, in fact pre-Java, I remember a hallway discussion about the desire to write a single application that could easily run across various platforms. At the time, we were only worried about writing applications on Windows 3.1 and Mac OS 7.x. There were many discussions about windows, user interface concepts, and specifically a rather long discussion as to whether Mac users would accept a Mac application that didn't have balloon help. Thankfully, the marketplace answered this question for us with the Windows API winning the battle.

A similar set of questions is currently going on in the mobile world. Unfortunately, at this point in time, there is currently no winning API and none currently in sight. What's a developer to do? Here are some questions that developers have (and there are many more):

• How can mobile developers target Android and the iPhone with the same code?
• How can .NET developers share their code across Android, iPhone and other platforms?
• How can developers give applications the look and feel of the specific platform and still allow as much code as possible to be shared?
• Mobile devices share many common features, such as cameras, accelerometers, and address books. How can we take advantage of them in a platform independent way and still give the users the look of every other application running on their platform?

In this article, we'll look at some solutions to these cross-platform and code-sharing questions between Mono for Android, MonoTouch and the .NET Framework available to developers.

Xamarin Designer for Android Webinar - Recording

Here is some info on the recording of the webinar that I did last week for AppDev regarding the Xamarin Designer for Android.

Basic Info: Android user interfaces can be created declaratively by using XML files, or programmatically in code. The Xamarin Android Designer allows developers to create and modify declarative layouts visually, without having to deal with the tedium of hand-editing XML files. The designer also provides real-time feedback, which lets the developer validate changes without having to redeploy the application in order to test a design. This can speed up UI development in Android tremendously. In this webinar, we'll take a look at UI Design in Mono for Android, the basics of the Xamarin Android Designer, and build a simple application with the designer.

Here is the link:

http://media.appdev.com/EDGE/LL/livelearn05232012.wmv

I think it will only play in Internet Explorer.  Enjoy!

Xamarin Designer for Android Webinar - Webinar via AppDev May 23

I'll be doing a Webinar on May 23 on the Xamarin Mono for Android Designer that is new with Mono for Android 4.2.  This is a free webinar presented by AppDev, please attend if you can.  Here is some info on the webinar:

Android user interfaces can be created declaratively by using XML files, or programmatically in code. The Xamarin Android Designer allows developers to create and modify declarative layouts visually, without having to deal with the tedium of hand-editing XML files. The designer also provides real-time feedback, which lets the developer validate changes without having to redeploy the application in order to test a design. This can speed up UI development in Android tremendously. In this webinar, we'll take a look at UI Design in Mono for Android, the basics of the Xamarin Android Designer, and build a simple application with the designer.

Video Training - Android Advanced Development Using Mono for Android 4

This course is about how to use Mono for Android with Tablets and the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich release. The course introduces Android Tablets and Fragments, new controls that are available through Android 4.0, new application programming interfaces in Android 4.0, and new features available in the Google Android SDK Release 17 that can improve their development experience. This course also contains a module on the Android Design Experience, what developers can use to improve the user experiences, design suggestions from Google’s Android team, and some thoughts on how to improve the design experience via software code.

eLearning event on HTML5 for Mobile with jQuery Mobile - May 17

I'll be doing an eLearning event on HTML5 for Mobile with jQuery Mobile. There will also be a few items sprinkled in on ASP.NET Razor. 

Mobile development is a hot item. Customers are buying iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and many other mobile computing devices at an ever increasing record pace. Devices based on iOS and Android are nearly 80 percent of the marketplace. RIM continues to be dominant in the business area across the world. Nokia's growth with Windows Phone will grow on a worldwide basis. At the same time, clearly web development is a tremendous driver of applications, both on the public Internet and on private networks. How can developers target these various mobile platforms with web technologies? Developers can write web applications that take advantage of each mobile platform, but that is a lot of work. Into this space, the jQuery Mobile framework was developed. This eLearning series will provide an overview of mobile web development with jQuery Mobile, a detailed look at what the jQuery Mobile framework provides for us, how we can customize jQuery Mobile, and how we can use jQuery Mobile inside of ASP.NET.

Link: http://elearning.left-brain.com/event/mobile-web-development

Lights, Camera, Action with Mono for Android Article in Visual Studio Magazine

Multimedia is expected in today's mobile applications, and the fun isn't only for smartphone and tablet users. Mono for Android, based on the Mono project's open source implementation of the Microsoft .NET Framework, can help you take advantage of Android Camera APIs in Visual Studio. In this article, we'll look at taking pictures, loading pictures, video playback and recording video.

Link: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2012/05/01/plug-in-to-mono.aspx

I don't know about you, but I'm amazed at what you can do with the multimedia in today's mobile devices. I grew up playing "Pong" and remember when games had to fit into big boxes with green screens and ASCII art. About 10 years ago, I had to create an interpreter for the graphics processor in the IBM AS/400 systems (iSeries now) to generate graphics in a screen-scraping application. How did we survive those days?

Now, mobile devices allow you to take pictures, record audio and video, and send it all to friends and relatives in minutes. You're seeing this happen all over the world, even in uprisings, as people compete to get their stories out.

Many people are confused by what multimedia actually is (including me), but for our purposes, I'll look at how .NET developers can use the Xamarin Mono for Android plug-in with Visual Studio 2010 to create Android applications that use pictures and video. If you're new to Mono for Android, check out my tutorial, "Introduction to MonoDroid".

While Mono for Android has definitely grown and matured since then, many of the basics are still applicable. However, the Mono garbage collector (GC) is not quite as advanced as the GC in the Microsoft .NET Framework. Sometimes, you'll need to help the GC along by calling GC.Collect at an appropriate part of your application.

There are a large number of Android devices in the marketplace. What works on one may not work properly on another. The code in this article was tested and validated against Mono for Android 4.0.x. Testing was done on two devices: an HTC EVO 4G running Android 2.3 (code-named "Gingerbread"), and a Motorola Xoom tablet running Android 4.0.3 (code-named "Ice Cream Sandwich").

I've found that if an app will work on my HTC EVO 4G and my Motorola Xoom, it typically works across many devices.

Playing, Recording, and Editing Video in the iPhone with MonoTouch Article

This article resumes where we left off in "Working with Images and Animation on the iPhone and iPad with .NET and C#: Part 1," which looked at multimedia app development on the iPhone and iPad, including how to display simple images, take pictures with the device's camera, and perform some simple animation with the images. In this article, part 2, we'll look at how to perform more complicated animation using the NSTimer and UIView classes, how to display and record video, and how to edit the video.

Link: http://www.devproconnections.com/article/mobile-development/animation-app-iphone-ipad-142265

Better Debugging with Mono for Android

Let's be honest: When debugging with Android -- and Mono for Android (MfA) on Windows by extension -- using the emulator requires patience. This isn't a condemnation of Mono for Android; merely recognition of the reality of having to live within the Android ecosystem. I've noticed that most developers who develop on Android tend to be using a Mac. I think this is due to the development experience on the Mac being better overall for Android.

Let's look at how this debugging has improved recently for Windows developers targeting Android with C#. Link to the article:http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2012/04/25/better-debugging-with-mono.aspx

Working with Images and Animation on the iPhone and iPad with .NET and C#: Part 1

Multimedia has come a long way during my career in programming. I remember the HP-41C, the first calculator that I used day to day in my geeky teenage years (unfortunately, I've only gotten geekier as I have gotten older). It could only output text and a few beeps. I was in nirvana and thought it just couldn't get any better. Now, everyone in my family has an iPhone and an iPad. With these devices, we can use software and hardware to record and play audio and video, take and display pictures, and modify this content.

In this article (part 1) and the one soon to follow (part 2), I will discuss developing multimedia applications for the iPhone/iPad/iOS with .NET and C# using Xamarin's MonoTouch iOS development platform. Specifically, in the two-part series we'll explore taking pictures, displaying pictures, recording video, and playing video in iOS. In my experience, these are the most common operations performed by iPhone and iPad users. And for good measure, along the way we'll bounce a golf ball around the screen of your iPhone, and we'll do it all in C#.

To read the rest of the article, check it out on the Dev Pro Connections web site.

Mono for Android Monthly Column

I can now announce with much excitement that fellow author and friend Greg Shackles and I will be authoring a monthly column for Visual Studio Magazine on Mono for Android.  The link to the introduction is: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2012/04/25/why-mono-for-android.aspx

The list for the articles is at: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/Articles/List/Mono-for-Android.asp

eLearning event on HTML5 for Mobile with jQuery Mobile

I'll be doing an eLearning event on HTML5 for Mobile with jQuery Mobile. There will also be a few items sprinkled in on ASP.NET Razor. 

Mobile development is a hot item. Customers are buying iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and many other mobile computing devices at an ever increasing record pace. Devices based on iOS and Android are nearly 80 percent of the marketplace. RIM continues to be dominant in the business area across the world. Nokia's growth with Windows Phone will grow on a worldwide basis. At the same time, clearly web development is a tremendous driver of applications, both on the public Internet and on private networks. How can developers target these various mobile platforms with web technologies? Developers can write web applications that take advantage of each mobile platform, but that is a lot of work. Into this space, the jQuery Mobile framework was developed. This eLearning series will provide an overview of mobile web development with jQuery Mobile, a detailed look at what the jQuery Mobile framework provides for us, how we can customize jQuery Mobile, and how we can use jQuery Mobile inside of ASP.NET.

Link: http://elearning.left-brain.com/event/mobile-web-development 

Mono for Android Book has been Released!!!!!

If I understand things correctly, and I make no guarantees that I do, our Mono for Android book has been RELEASED!  I'm not quite sure what this means, but my guess is that that it has been printed and is being shipped to various book sellers.

So, if you have pre-ordered a copy, its now up to Amazon to send it to you.  Its fully out of my control, Wrox, Wiley, as well as everyone but Amazon.

If you haven't bought a copy already, why?  Seriously, go order 8-10 copies for the ones you love.  They'll make great romantic gifts for the ones you love.  Just think at the look on the other person's face when you give them a copy of our book.

 Here's a little about the book:

The wait is over! For the millions of .NET/C# developers who have been eagerly awaiting the book that will guide them through the white-hot field of Android application programming, this is the book. As the first guide to focus on Mono for Android, this must-have resource dives into writing applications against Mono with C# and compiling executables that run on the Android family of devices.

Putting the proven Wrox Professional format into practice, the authors provide you with the knowledge you need to become a successful Android application developer without having to learn another programming language. You'll explore screen controls, UI development, tables and layouts, and MonoDevelop as you become adept at developing Android applications with Mono for Android.

Develop Android apps using tools you already know—C# and .NET

Aimed at providing readers with a thorough, reliable resource that guides them through the field of Android application programming, this must-have book shows how to write applications using Mono with C# that run on the Android family of devices. A team of authors provides you with the knowledge you need to become a successful Android application developer without having to learn another programming language. You'll explore screen controls, UI development, tables and layouts, and MonoDevelop as you become adept at planning, building, and developing Android applications with Mono for Android.

Professional Android Programming with Mono for Android and .NET/C#:

• Shows you how to use your existing C# and .NET skills to build Android apps
• Details optimal ways to work with data and bind data to controls
• Explains how to program with Android device hardware
• Dives into working with the file system and application preferences
• Discusses how to share code between Mono for Android, MonoTouch, and Windows® Phone 7
• Reveals tips for globalizing your apps with internationalization and localization support
• Covers development of tablet apps with Android 4

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Now, go buy a bunch of copies!!!!!

If you are interested in iPhone and Android and would like to get a little more knowledgeable in the area of development, you can purchase the 3 pack of books from Wrox on Mobile Development with Mono.  This will cover MonoTouch, Mono for Android, and cross platform methods for using both tools.  A great package in and of itself.  The name of that package is: Wrox Cross Platform Android and iOS Mobile Development Three-Pack 

Mobile: Wrox Cross Platform Mobile Development - iPhone, iPad, Android, and everything with .NET & C#

Wrox has produced a bundle of their 3 best selling mobile development books and it is available as of Today (March 16). A bundle of 3 best-selling and respected mobile development e-books from Wrox form a complete library on the key tools and techniques for developing apps across the hottest platforms including Android and iOS. This collection includes the full content of these three books, at a special price:

• Professional Android Programming with Mono for Android and .NET/C#, ISBN: 9781118026434, by Wallace B. McClure, Nathan Blevins, John J. Croft, IV, Jonathan Dick, and Chris Hardy
• Professional iPhone Programming with MonoTouch and .NET/C#, ISBN: 9780470637821, by Wallace B. McClure, Rory Blyth, Craig Dunn, Chris Hardy, and Martin Bowling
• Professional Cross-Platform Mobile Development in C#, ISBN: 9781118157701, by Scott Olson, John Hunter, Ben Horgen, and Kenny Goers

Remember, go buy 8-10 copies of the 3 book set for the ones you love. They will make great and romantic gifts!!

Android Development with Mono for Android 4 - Training via AppDev

My Android Development with Mono for Android 4 Video Training Series via AppDev is out and available.  That's right, .NET/C# developers can now write native apps for Android devices. I hope that this is helpful to you as you get up to speed with Mono for Android.  Here is some info on the training:

This course will show you how to use Mono for Android 4 by starting with how to install Mono for Android 4, introduce the SDK tools and then debugging of applications. The course then will show how to use the Emulators for items like interface design and controls. Next are the different types of Android devices and how to support them. Application Activities and lifecycles are covered and then Menus, Tables and Data. The course will then show the soft keyboards, advanced controls, user notifications and working with the contacts lists. The course will conclude with working with device hardware for directions, multimedia and Geo location.

In this course, you will learn:

• How to set up an Android Emulator
• About Android application framework support
• How to debug using profiling with Traceview
• How to setup a virtual device for Android emulation
• To design screen layouts for Android tablets
• About the basic set of controls
• What are the different Android application states
• How options menu is used with Action Bar in Android 3.0 and higher
• About the different types of virtual keyboards
• What is a Toast Nortification
• What media types Android supports

Prerequisites: This course assumes that you are comfortable developing applications using Visual Studio 2010 and C#. Mono Android requires Visual Studio 2010 Professional or higher (and will not work with Visual Studio Express editions).

Installation of Mono Droid

• What is Mono for Android
• Mono for Android Installer
• Android SDK
• MonoDeveloper for Windows
• MAC Android SDK

Android SDK Tools

• Android Development
• Android Debug Bridge - ADB
• Dalvik Debug Monitor Server - DDMS

Android Debugging and Testing

• Android Ecosystem
• Debugging Operating System
• Android Debug Bridge

Android Emulator

• Setup an Emulator Session
• Features Available
• Multiple Emulator Sessions

Android User Interface Design

• User Interface
• Selection and Focus
• Layouts for Different Screen Sizes
• DroidDraw

Android Controls

• User Interface Basics
• XML Layout
• Images

Android Devices and their Support

• Screen Resolution
• Android Manifest
• Visual Studio Project Properties

Android Applications - Activities and Lifecycles

• Parts of an Application
• Activity Life Cycle
• Mono for Android Specifics

Mono for Android Menus

• Types of Menus
• Creating Menus via Text
• Creating Menus via Resources

Tables and Data

• Data Terms and Interchange Standards
• Web Services
• Displaying Data

Android Soft Keyboards and User Hints

• Input Types
• Hints

Advanced Controls

• Writing a Custom Control
• Drag and Drop
• User Input
• Toast Notification

Android User Notification

• Dialogs
• Notifications
• Toast

Address Book, Contacts and Content Providers

• Content Providers
• Address Book
• Calendar
• General Guidelines for Queries

Integrating with Device Hardware

• Sensor API
• Vibration
• General Pattern
• Turn by Turn Directions

Multimedia

• Play Video
• Play Audio

Android and Locations

• Location
• Proximity
• GeoCode
• Maps

Recording of the Mono for Android Webinar - Building a User Interface with Mono for Android

My webinar for last week on building a user interface with Mono for Android is now available online. The webinar covered:

We will look at the basics of building a user interface for Android with Mono for Android. The user interface is typically the first thing that a user sees when they work with your application. They will often judge your application based on the user interface. We will examine the basic concepts of UI design with mobile devices, the Android XML based layout language, some of the UI design surfaces for Android, some basic Android controls and finally some suggestions on creating a successful Android User Interface. 

PS. The file seems to stream properly in IE, but not elsewhere.  Oh well, I don't control the formats, so just use IE to view it.  

Webinar on Building a User Interface in Mono for Android

I'll be doing a webinar on Tuesday February 28th on Building a User Interface in Mono for Android.  A little bit about this:

We will look at the basics of building a user interface for Android with Mono for Android. The user interface is typically the first thing that a user sees when they work with your application. They will often judge your application based on the user interface. We will examine the basic concepts of UI design with mobile devices, the Android XML based layout language, some of the UI design surfaces for Android, some basic Android controls and finally some suggestions on creating a successful Android User Interface.

Start Using HTML5 today!

My article on HTML5 and some things that you can use today has gone online at the Dev Pro Connections web site.  Here's a snippet of it:

HTML5 is the direction for web-based applications. All you have to do is listen to the material from any technical conference or keep an eye on web developer online community discussions to know that HTML5 is important. Each day, I read about new and exciting HTML5 features and uses for those features -- witness the many new features in the latest versions of Internet Explorer (IE), Chrome, and Firefox.

Mobile application development is definitely where HTML5 has gotten its start, but HTML5 is not limited to mobile. Here, I will build on the information in "HTML5 for the ASP.NET Developer" along with many other great articles on HTML5 published in DevProConnections and delve into some of the HTML5 features that are available today and that you can use immediately to provide solutions for your customers now. In this article, we'll see what can be done in ASP.NET running in a modern web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and the recently released IE10. (As an FYI, in December 2011 Chrome 15 was named the most popular web browser version by StatCounter, though Internet Explorer is the most popular browser family.)

I want to thank several people for helping me with this article.  Honestly, there are several. I ran across a blog post by Lars Jarlvik last summer that I used as the roadmap for some work and this article as well.  I emailed with Lars about starting with his blog post and he was on board with this.  Many thanks to Lars.  Other folks that should be mentioned are my friends Dave Ward and Spike Xavier.  Both have been really helpful.  I have learned from them and grown professionally by associating with them.  I am forever in their debt.

Review of "Beginning iOS5 Application Development"

I was recently given the opportunity to review Wei Meng Lee's most recent edition of his beginning iOS programming series.  This book is entitled "Beginning iOS5 Application Development."  Admittedly, I know Wei Meng, so that may result in a little bit of bias.

As a developer targeting the iPhone and iOS, I have found Wei-Meng's books and knowledge helpful to me as I write applications, articles,and expand my own personal knowledge of iOS.  If you are anything but an expert developer in iOS, this is a good book that will help you develop and grow in iOS.  For example, I was looking for some animation examples recently and was able to easily understand Wei-Meng's examples and translate them into MonoTouch easily.

A little bit about this book:

If you want to develop apps for Apple's iPhone and iPad, first you need to know how to use the tools--iPhone's new iOS 5 operating system and SDK, and the new xCode toolset that come with it. This full-color book is the perfect starting point. Beginning developers, you'll get a solid introduction to the new xCode 4 and Objective-C and find everything you need to quickly build your first app. The book thoroughly covers all the new iOS 5 features, including new multitasking, location-based services, notification system, cloud-based features, and much more.

• Written by bestselling Wrox author, Wei-Meng Lee, this is an ideal book for beginning developers
• Helps eager developers quickly start building apps for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
• Introduces iOS 5, xCode 4, Objective-C, and the basics you need to create your first Apple device app
• Covers a host of new iOS 5 capabilities, including new multitasking, new location-based services, and a new notification system
• Shows you how to work with iOS 5's cloud-based features for online storage of music, photos, and video

iOS Development with MonoTouch Cookbook

I was recently given the opportunity to review Dimitris' iOS Development with MonoTouch Cookbook. 

My first thought on the book was "do we need another book in this niche?".  I was the first to attack the niche with my book that came out in June, 2010.  Since then, Mike Bluestein's book has shipped.  Right after that Bryan Costanich's book shipped.  My book was based on iOS 3.  Mike and Bryan's books are based on iOS4.  After reading this book, the answer is yes.  There are two reasons for this:

• Dimitris' book covers iOS5 material.  I was glad to read through the section on page turning (the curl), which is an iOS5 feature.   There are also examples about twitter integration and other iOS5 features.
• The book has lots of little self contained examples.  I don't like books that try to build off of one example throughout the whole book, in fact, I HATE them.  There I said it.  If you have one example that builds through out your book, I just don't like it.  This book has lots of little examples.  I LOVE it that way.  These examples are just that, short examples where I can look for what I need, get the content, and bom, get on back with the larger problems I am trying to solve.  This is a danger when  only one author is involved, but thankfully, this issue did not occur in this book.

Bottom line, if you are looking to get into iPhone development and are a .NET developer, this is a good book.

Author Review and Production Editing are complete

What book editing isn't better the second time around?  Like a dog returns to his vomit and the fool to his folly, the author must return to his writing.  And with the past week, my author team and I have finished our AR and Production Editing for Wrox's "Professional Android with Mono for Android and .NET/C#." We are literally 8 months from being AR and PE complete the first time around (I really hope that there isn't a third). 

And with the upload to my editor at Wiley/Wrox, the book known as "Professional Android Programming with Mono for Android and .NET/C#" is now Author Review Complete, barring any slip ups on my part.  Its always a great feeling to get these things done.  A real load off of my shoulders. 

The genesis of this book has been really interesting.  It started while we were still writing our "Professional iPhone Programming with MonoTouch" book.  We started talking about this due to the Apple self FUD starting last April, 2010.  Watching the number of Android devices sold go up each quarter also helped me make the decision to go forward.  Martin Bowling started as the lead author.  Unfortunately, he had family issues and had to drop off during the planning stages. The other authors that joined me on this were Nathan Blevins, Jon Dick, Chris Hardy, and John Croft.

Here is some info from the Amazon web site about our book: 

The wait is over! For the millions of .NET/C# developers who have been eagerly awaiting the book that will guide them through the white-hot field of Android application programming, this is the book. As the first guide to focus on Mono for Android, this must-have resource dives into writing applications against Mono with C# and compiling executables that run on the Android family of devices.

Putting the proven Wrox Professional format into practice, the authors provide you with the knowledge you need to become a successful Android application developer without having to learn another programming language. You'll explore screen controls, UI development, tables and layouts, and MonoDevelop as you become adept at developing Android applications with Mono for Android.

• Answers the demand for a detailed book on the extraordinarily popular field of Android application development
• Strengthens your existing skills of writing applications and shows you how to transfer your talents to building Android apps with Mono for Android and .NET/C#
• Dives into working with data, REST, SOAP, XML, and JSON
• Location, mapping, and the question of "where am I?" with regards to mobile.
• Discusses how to communicate with other applications, deploy apps, and even make money in the process

Professional Android Programming with Mono for Android and .NET/C# gets you up and running with Android app development today.

Please remember to buy 8 to 10 copies for the ones you love.  They will make great presents all year round. If you would like to start by pre-ordering 5, that would be great to.

HTML5 for Mobile Article on DevProConnections

My article on HTML5 for Mobile Devices at Dev Pro Connections Magazine has now been published.

HTML5 is the umbrella term for the next major evolution of markup, JavaScript, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for web applications. HTML5 is becoming an ever-more important mobile development technology -- especially in light of Adobe's recent announcement that it's ceasing development on Flash Player for mobile browsers and increasing its investments in HTML5. To bring you up to speed on this crucial aspect of development, DevProConnections has covered HTML5 extensively in recent months, including my article "HTML5 for the ASP.NET Developer." In this article, I intend to provide a similarly comprehensive overview of HTML5 with an emphasis on features oriented toward mobile development. We'll dive into some specific examples of HTML5 features and focus specifically on what is available with mobile devices. I will focus on what developers can do today as opposed to what is part of the specific set of standards. I'll also mention where a product may have a slightly different outcome than expected. 

I would also like to thank the people that helped me with the article.  There were many people that read through the article and provided suggestions.  Some of them were Dave Wardand Spike Xavier.  I'm sure that there are other folks that helped that I forgot to mention, hopefully, they are not too upset over that.  Thanks to Dev Pro Connections for the opportunity to write the article.  I hope that you find the article helpful as you get into mobile development.

Mapping and Location with Monotouch on DevProConnections web site

My article on Mapping and Location with MonoTouch is now out and available on the DevProConnections web site.  Here's the intro to the article:

Mobile phones are by definition, mobile. A couple of interesting questions that come up when users are mobile are, "What's around me for dinner?" and "Where can I get gasoline?" If you are a retailer or a company, you want to tell potential customers that there is a retail location near them. If you are a user, you might also be interested in learning about how to go from where you are to a specific address. In this article we'll look at these and associated features, so that we can provide them to users via mapping and location services to users in iOS apps. 

I hope the article is valuable to you as you learn about the iPhone, iPad, and MonoTouch.