Xamarin and iOS 8: New APIs Training

Url: http://www.learnnowonline.com/course/i8x2/xamarin-and-ios-8-new-apis

Course description

In this course, we will look at how to create an App Extension. Specifically, we will create a today app extensions that shows hot to create an app extensions with a countdown. Then we’ll look at how to use the TouchID to provide local authentication. This is useful for an app where people are buying things. Next we’ll look at several new features of working with images and the camera. We’ll look at manual camera controls as well as photokit. To close this course we’ll look at storing and saving health data using healthkit.

App Extensions (17:33)

• Introduction (00:16)
• App Extensions (01:06)
• Types of App Extensions (02:25)
• Overview (01:04)
• Limitations (01:00)
• Distribute, Install, & Run (00:58)
• Extension Lifecycle (02:00)
• Demo: Today Extension (04:25)
• Demo: Controller (03:48)
• Summary (00:26)

Touch ID (11:04)

• Introduction (00:14)
• TouchID Authentication (01:46)
• Keychain (01:23)
• Secure Enclave (00:55)
• Strategies (00:57)
• Demo: Touch ID (05:33)
• Summary (00:15)

Images (22:33)

• Introduction (00:16)
• Image Detection (00:44)
• CIDetector Class (01:11)
• Demo: Rectangle Detector (02:15)
• Pre0iOS 8 Camera (01:17)
• Manual Camera Controls (01:38)
• Process (00:58)
• Manual Controls Provided (01:27)
• General AV Capture Setup (01:27)
• Demo: Manual Camera Controls (05:18)
• Resources (00:10)
• PhotoKit (00:12)
• PhotoKit Objects/Methods (01:47)
• Demo: PhotoKit (03:32)
• Summary (00:14)

Health Kit (15:36)

• Introduction (00:09)
• Health Kit (00:59)
• Creating and Provisioning (00:38)
• Entitlements.plist (00:47)
• Programming Health Kit (01:29)
• Types (01:11)
• HKSampleType (00:46)
• Requesting Permission (00:56)
• Permissions - AppDelegate.cs (02:18)
• Demo: Health Kit (06:12)
• Summary (00:07)

Building Your iOS User Interface with Xamarin and C#

Url: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2014/12/01/designing-uis.aspx

In September, Apple released the most recent version of iOS, iOS 8, and since then the iOS 8.1. The company also released two new phones -- the iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch screen, and iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5-inch screen -- and refreshed the iPad line with new versions of the iPad Air and iPad Mini. And those iPads, interestingly, have different screen resolutions and pixel densities than the iPhone. At the same time, Apple continues to sell older versions of its devices.

For developers, all these new releases represent the dreaded OS fragmentation that developers fear. How are developers going to handle the variations in old and new devices and screen sizes? Thankfully, Apple and Xamarin have thought this through and have created some flexible UI tools that I'll look at.

Xamarin and iOS 8: 64 Bit Support and UI

My training course on Xamarin and iOS8 regarding the new 64 bit support and the new User Interface designer tools has just recently been posted to the Learn Now Online site.  I hope that you find it helpful!

Url to course: http://www.learnnowonline.com/course/i8x1/xamarin-and-ios-8-64-bit-support-and-ui

Url to trailer: http://www.learnnowonline.com/trailer/i8x1

Course description

In this course, we will look at the architecture of iOS, how xamarin is supporting 64 bits and what you need to do to update your applications. Next, we will look at the new features in UIKit. Some of these features include the new Xamarin Designer for iOS, AutoLayout and new features added to notifications, and many other enhancements.

Prerequisites

The course assumes knowledge of C# and .NET at an intermediate level. Some familiarity with OSX is helpful, but not required. A very basic understanding of XML is also required.

Outline:

OS 8 Architecture (19:33)

• Introduction (00:19)
• Apple iOS (03:15)
• Major 64-Bit Changes (01:44)
• ILP32 & LP64 (01:36)
• Impact on Apps (02:12)
• Apple Hardware (02:06)
• iOS Adoption (01:48)
• Apple Requirements (01:36)
• Xamarin.iOS (01:01)
• Xamarin Unified API (00:27)
• Defaults (03:09)
• Summary (00:15)

IOS 8 Architecture Continued (23:02)

• Introduction (00:12)
• Splits (02:29)
• Components (01:56)
• New Data Types (01:47)
• Upgrade Apps (01:01)
• Demo: New Unified API (05:10)
• Demo: API Migration (05:15)
• Demo: Troubleshooting (01:30)
• Other Changes (01:43)
• Images (01:10)
• Icons (00:24)
• Summary (00:19)

UI Kit Intro (14:46)

• Introduction (00:17)
• Current Status of iOS (00:57)
• Current Devices (00:53)
• Current Supported Screen Sizes (01:12)
• Problem (01:38)
• Current Version Distribution (01:44)
• App Icon Images (01:01)
• Startup Screen (01:33)
• Demo: Startup & Images (05:14)
• Summary (00:14)

Design Surface (22:58)

• Introduction (00:19)
• Xib (01:09)
• Xcode Integration (00:43)
• Storyboards (01:24)
• Size Classes (01:23)
• Constraints (02:11)
• AutoLayout with the Designer (00:40)
• Constraint Toolbar (00:58)
• Creating Constraints (00:58)
• Little Things with Designer (01:33)
• Demo: iOS Designer (05:22)
• Demo: Constraints (06:01)
• Summary (00:12)

Create UI Programmatically (09:55)

• Introduction (00:14)
• Programmatically UI (00:40)
• Historical Requirements (01:01)
• Apple Way (00:42)
• FluentLayout (01:04)
• Methods (00:52)
• Demo: Programmatic UI (04:35)
• Resources (00:27)
• Summary (00:15)

UI Alert View Controller (18:15)

• Introduction (00:13)
• UIKit (00:50)
• UIAlertView (00:46)
• UIAlertViewController (00:38)
• UINavigationController (00:56)
• UINavigationController in iOS8 (00:58)
• Demo: UIAlertController (04:52)
• Demo: UINavigationController (01:41)
• Notifications (01:16)
• Notification Additions (00:28)
• UIMutableUserNotificationAction (00:55)
• Personal Lesson (00:47)
• Demo: Notifications (03:35)
• Summary (00:13)

Popover (15:49)

• Introduction (00:16)
• UIPopoverController (01:01)
• UIPopoverPresentationController (00:23)
• UISearchController (00:43)
• UISplitViewController (01:04)
• Demo: Popover Controller (03:11)
• Demo: Search Controller (04:05)
• Demo: Split View Controller (04:43)
• Summary (00:21)

Xamarin Tools: Components, Components, Components!

The Xamarin tool ecosystem is gaining popularity, as more developers continue to build tools with mobility in mind. Here's how to use them in your projects. 

I couldn't help but think about Steve Ballmer's "Developers, developers, developers! …" chant. While often lampooned, the chant shows how important developers are to growing the Microsoft platform.

End-user developers and companies will often judge a company's acceptance in the marketplace by the number of third-party components and add-ins that are developed around that product. It's a complaint I've heard leveled against Xamarin, that it lacks a robust ecosystem of tools, but that is changing.

Url: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2014/10/01/xamarin-tools.aspx

Xamarin.Forms: What Developers Make of It

Developers tell us why they use it and what benefit they derive from the tooling, and Xamarin developer Craig Dunn goes over the decisionmaking process when choosing between Xamarin.Forms, Xamarin.iOS or Xamarin.Android.

I reached out to several developers who were involved with the Xamarin.Forms (XF) beta to get their thoughts on it and also talked with an evangelist for Xamarin, Craig Dunn to get some deeper insight into the development of the product.

Rui Marinho is a developer based in Portugal. Rui is heavily involved in an open source project called Xamarin.Forms Lab project, which is intended to provide additional functionality that can be plugged into Xamarin.Forms. You can check out his Web site at ruimarinho.net to check it out and find additional third-party/open source projects for Xamarin.Forms. Ryan Groom has been developing software for more than 20 years and has authored several books and been extremely active working with Xamarin tools. Jason Awbrey is a Xamarin MVP with nearly 20 years of experience with software development.

Article Url: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2014/09/01/xamarin-forms.aspx

Simplifying Cross-Platform Mobile App Development with Xamarin.Forms

Lots of decisions go into creating cross-platform apps. Without Xamarin.Forms, the decision process is almost too unwieldy. Here's how it can simplify your mobile development.

Over the past several years, developers have been excited by the ability of Xamarin to target various mobile platforms and share code across these platforms. Over that time, Xamarin has increased the ability to share code by sharing code in Linked Files, supporting Portable Class Libraries, introducing the Xamarin Component Store, adding support for NuGet directly into Xamarin Studio, and a number of other enhancements to their product lines. One feature that developers have been asking for over the years is the ability to share UI code between various platforms. I know I've asked for this feature for several years. With the late spring 2014 release of Xamarin 3 and Xamarin.Forms, Xamarin has produced a cross-platform UI application-programming interface for developers.

For more, continue on to the article at: http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2014/09/01/simplifying-cross-platform-mobile-app-dev.aspx 

Cross Platform Mobile With C# WhitePaper presented by Visual Studio Magazine

My white paper on Visual Studio Magazine is now available.  This whitepaper will discuss the details for developing cross platform applications with C#.

 "As a Microsoft-centric developer, you have great tools in the Microsoft .NET Framework and C# Language, but you're faced with a challenge when it comes to building apps for the exploding world of mobile devices: Learning new languages and platforms can be incredibly time-consuming.  Wouldn't it be better to use the skills you already posses?  In this paper, you'll learn how to use the interoperable technologies of Xamarin to do just that.

Url:http://visualstudiomagazine.com/whitepapers/2014/07/xamarin-cross-platform-mobile-with-c.aspx?tc=page0