Mobile Lab 2: Toolbox of the Future

This section of the lab is dedicated to exploring a potential mobile development tool. I personally chose Xamarin, and .NET MAUI, for this choice, because I am very comfortable in C# and the .NET framework.

Ben Walsh

9/27/20232 min read

Xamarin/.NET MAUI Insights: Shaping the Future of Mobile Development for My Music Store Project

By Ben Walsh

As we navigate the realm of mobile application development, Xamarin and its evolutionary successor, .NET MAUI, offer intriguing prospects. At the heart of my recent research is a database project for our database class where we will aim to craft a seamless mobile app experience for a hypothetical music store, aiding in the sale of musical instruments and lessons. The goal is to empower the store's staff while providing students a platform to effortlessly sign up for lessons.

Why Xamarin/.NET MAUI?

  1. Unified Experience: With Xamarin, you can produce applications that run natively on iOS, Android, and Windows from a single shared C# codebase. .NET MAUI extends this by integrating with the entire .NET ecosystem, making code-sharing across all platforms even more seamless.

  2. Strong Backend Integration: Considering our project needs a robust backend for database management, the compatibility of Xamarin/.NET MAUI with Azure and other cloud services proves invaluable. The need to handle a myriad of schedules, instructor-student matchings, and instrument inventories becomes simpler.

  3. Rich User Interfaces: With Xamarin.Forms in the past and now the MAUI graphics stack, crafting engaging user interfaces becomes a streamlined process. The easy drag-and-drop interface coupled with the power of C# ensures that our music store app will not only be functional but also visually appealing.

Research Insights into Xamarin/.NET MAUI's Capabilities

In the preliminary phases of planning the project, a significant area of interest was Xamarin's ability to seamlessly integrate databases into the user interface. Through research, it was evident that the platform can effortlessly bind a database, such as the one for instructors with varying skill levels, to the app's user interface. The combination of Xamarin's native API access can potentially enable real-time updates, facilitating smooth instructor-student pairings based on skill evaluations.

A particularly noteworthy aspect derived from the literature was Xamarin's endorsement of the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) architectural pattern. This approach promises a clear structural organization that appears to be essential when expanding an app's features and complexity. For instance, as one might envision expanding a database to incorporate finer details like specific music genres or unique teaching methodologies, the MVVM structure highlighted in the research suggests that the application's maintainability and efficiency will remain uncompromised.

Future Avenues

Given Xamarin/.NET MAUI's potential, a feature I'm eager to integrate is push notifications. These will notify students of upcoming lessons, changes in schedules, or even promotions on new instruments available in the store.

Additionally, the app could benefit from Xamarin.Essentials, which provides developers with access to over 50 native platform-specific APIs using C#. From accessing the device's camera to scan QR codes for quick check-ins to lessons, to integrating geolocation for students to find the nearest branch of our music store, the possibilities are vast.