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.

My Artilcle on the UITableView with MonoTouch and the iPhone/iOS is now online

My article on the UITableView in the iPhone/iOS with MonoTouch is now available online. Hopefully it is of value to you. 

Article overview:

Data is what makes applications go. It could be a Twitter search, a running game score where you are playing against your friends, sales data, or any other type of data that users want to base decisions on. In this article, we're going to look at presenting tabular data to users in a UITableView. The UITableView has a number of visually attractive default styles that you can use. After we're done looking at these, we'll look at creating a custom UITableView layout. Along the journey, we'll look at some optimizations we can do that will give the user an improved experience. After we're done with this, we'll look at some strategies to get at various data sources, such as Representational State Transfer (REST), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), SQL Server, and the on-board SQLite database.

If you are wondering what MonoTouch is, check out http://xamarin.com/monotouch. It’s a great tool for .NET developers looking to get into iPhone development.

How do you get the Virtual Keyboard (aka Soft Keyboard) in the Android 4.0 Emulator?

Ok, getting the Android 4.0 emulator is not obvious.  In previous versions, I had set the "Keyboard Support" to yes.  I did that this time, and nothing.  I played with touch support, and no luck as well.  I finally had to beg to my Android contact for some help.  After much discussion, he pointed me towards turning off the "Keyboard Support" (aka setting the value to no).  Really?  Really?  Ok seriously, I'm glad that this is now working as I thought it should, and that the virtual keyboard support actually looks right in the Ice Cream Sandwich emulator.  But, this is also stupid.  This value is the exact opposite of previous settings.  While I am glad that this now works, the fact that the value is the exact opposite of previous settings is a hassle.

My article on Creating a User Interface with Mono for Android

There's no doubt about it: Smartphones based on the Android OS are hot. Currently, they're generating 550,000 activations per day. Their market share is at approximately 40 percent, and continuing to rise.

That success wouldn't be happening without a friendly, clean UI. Many times, a user will base their feelings about an application on the UI. In this article, I'll look at the XML layout language for Android, some controls that can be used in Android and the tools that can be used to create a UI -- namely, Mono for Android, which enables you to create native apps in C# and Visual Studio using an open source implementation of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Then I'll talk about how choices can factor in with some of the constraints, such as the battery.

Training on MonoTouch for the iPhone and Mono for Android

I'll be in Sandusky, OH on January 9th and 10th to provide two full days on MonoTouch for the iPhone and Mono for Android.  This training is open to the public.  Signups can be done through SharpeAxe Training.  The pricing is $999 for signups before December 1st and $1,199 December 1 and later.

Info about the training:

Abstract

This session will introduce writing native applications geared for the iOS(iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) and Android Platforms based on .NET/C#/Mono.  We’ll examine the overall architecture of MonoTouch and Mono for Android, discuss how they integrate with their respective platforms, build some applications, debug, and look at example apps. Who this session is for:  This session is for the .NET developer who wants to write applications for the iOS and Android Mobile Platforms while still using the C# language and the .NET Framework.  While the session will be introductory for the iOS Platform, it will be intermediate/expert for those on the .NET Platform. What will attendees take away:  Attendees will be able to immediately begin development on iOS and Android using their existing skills. The benefit of attending this session:  Attendees will be able to begin development on the iPhone, iPad, and Android without the learning curve of a new platform and a new development environment.  The benefit is that .NET developers will be effective using MonoTouch at a lower time investment than switching development platforms.

Syllabus

Outline for Day 1 – iPhone:

• Introduction to iPhone.   This will provide an overview of the iOS Platform, acceptance in the marketplace, and basic capabilities.
• Introduction to Mono, MonoTouch, MonoDevelop, and the iOS Provisioning Portal.
• Basics of UI design.  This will provide information on how to create a user interface with iOS and integration between MonoDevelop and the SDK Interface Builder tool.
• Screen Controls. This section will provide the basics of user interface controls, screen issues, menus, various                 keyboards, and widgets.
• Data Controls.  This section will discuss how to successfully display data to the user.
• Working with local data. This will be an overview of how to work with data locally on a device.
• Working with remote data Strategies for working with remote data will be discussed.
• Multimedia.  This section will discuss how to work with multimedia and graphics.
• How to perform background processing with threads and services.
• Mapping and Location.
• Location.
• Application Settings.
• Integrating with Other Applications.
• iPad.

Outline for Day 2:

• Introduction to Android.  This will provide an overview of the Android platform, acceptance in the marketplace, and basic capabilities.
• Introduction to Mono and the Mono for Android plugin for Visual Studio, Mono for Android for the Mac, and support for MonoDevelop for Windows.
• Android Applications.
• Basics of UI Design.  This will provide information on how to create a user interface with Android and how the user interface is compiled into a Mono for Android application.  We’ll see the same application running on a phone as well as tablet.  We’ll look into some ways to take advantage of tablets from a UI perspective.
• Data Controls.  This section will discuss how to successfully display data to the user.
• Working with local data.  This will be an overview of how to work with data locally on a device using SQLite.
• Working with remote data.  We will discuss strategies for working with remote data
• Location.
• Sensors.
• Multimedia.  This section will discuss how to work with multimedia and graphics.
• How to perform background processing with threads and services.

Requirements

• Day 1/iPhone will require an Intel based Mac running OSX. The most recent Apple iOS SDK will need to be downloaded and installed before attending.
• Day 2 can be done with either a Mac running OSX or Windows.  The most recent Android SDK will need to be downloaded and installed before attending.

HTML5 Webcast/Webinar for ASP.NET Developers

I'll be doing an HTML5 Webinar for ASP.NET Developers for DevProConnections Magazine on October 26, 2011 at 10 am PDT.

Here's some info on the webinar:

Building native applications can be costly and time consuming. How can companies effectively target mobile platforms with the same codebase and save development dollars? ASP.NET is a very common development platform. In this hour-long Web seminar, we will look at how we can use ASP.NET to target mobile platforms.

The benefits of this approach are:

• Easy cross-platform development.
• No requirement to learn Objective-C/XCode or Java/Eclipse.
• Applications are immediately upgradeable. There is no requirement to go through the marketplace and app store of either platform.
• Web developers are easier to find than Objective-C or Java developers.

Come to this web seminar to learn:

• What are the features of HTML5?
• How can ASP.NET Developers use their existing knowledge to take advantage of HTML5/Mobile Development.
• jQuery Mobile, and learn how to leverage it to build applications that target mobile applications.

Charlotte .NET User Group - Mono for Android #monodroid

 I'll be speaking at the Charlotte .NET User Group on September 27 (next week).   The subject will be Mono for Android.  Info on the talk:

Tuesday, September 27, at 6:00 PM in the Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. Everest rooms of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus for an introduction on writing native applications geared for the Android Platform based on .NET/C#/Mono. We'll examine the overall architecture of MonoDroid, discuss how it integrates with Visual Studio, debug with MonoDroid, and look at a couple of example apps written with MonoDroid. This session is for the .NET developer that wants to move to the Android Mobile Platform. While the session will be introductory for the Android Platform, it will be intermediate/expert for those on the .NET Platform.

Android development is predominantly with the Java Language based on the Java VM "Dalvik" using the Eclipse IDE. If a developer or company has already made a significant investment in .NET, the time to learn Java and the Android Mobile Platform is significant. An attendee of this session will be able to take their existing knowledge of .NET/C# and Visual studio and immediately apply this to writing apps for the Android Mobile Platform. The significance of this should not be understated. Learning a new language, no matter how similar to .NET/C#, results in a significant learning curve as well as a significant time investment. Add in the time required to learn Eclipse, and there is even more time required. With this session, you will learn how to develop Android Applications using Visual Studio and the Novell MonoDroid plugin. Attendees will be able to immediately begin development on Android in Visual Studio 2010 using their existing language skills and known development environment.

Bio:

Wally McClure graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) with a BS & MS in Electrical Engineering. Since that time, he has done consulting and development for companies large and small. Wally has authored books on iPhone Programming with Mono/Monotouch, Android Programming with Mono for Android, application architecture, ADO.NET & SQL Server, and finally AJAX. He is a Microsoft MVP and an ASPInsider, and a partner in Scalable Development, Inc., where we're ramping up to provide training on Monotouch and Mono for Android. You can read his blog at morewally.com and follow him on Twitter at @wbm.

Wally is married and has two children. When not writing software, Wally plays golf, exercises, and hangs out with his family.