Using this approach, applications get a native user experience, controls and patterns familiar to their users. XF renders those instructions into platform-specific code and user experiences. Using XF, programmers are now able to define and create mobile applications targeting multiple platforms with the same code and definitions. XF introduces an abstraction layer which allows developers to declare the UI using XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language) declarations and/or code. In 2014, Xamarin introduced Xamarin Forms (XF). With Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Xamarin, it is likely to become a better supported, integrated and essential part of a cross-platform strategy for Microsoft and developers. Certain aspects of the code base are platform specific, for example the UI layer, forcing programmers to develop them repeatedly for each platform. Using Xamarin, developers can target Android, iOS and Windows (Mobile) 10, using a single industry standard language, C#. Xamarin aims to provide a solution to allow companies and developers develop natively and cross-platform. Thanks to all of SitePoint’s peer reviewers for making SitePoint content the best it can be!
This article was peer reviewed by Adrian Sandu.