I am new to Xamarin. Can someone point me to a way to read existing SMSs using Xamarin Forms.
I know we can do it using Android specific libraries (and probably with iOS specific libraries as well). But, I want to use a library that will help me avoid using platform specific library.
You will have to use platform specific code for this. Remember; all libraries out there actually are platform specific code but just offer you an abstraction. This includes Xamarin.Forms itself.
As mentioned by Jason in the comments, you aren't going to be able to do this on iOS altogether, they do not allow to read or sends texts directly. So you should probably rethink what you are trying to do.
Related
i was just wondering what the benefits are in using PCL with Xamarin.Forms.
I mean you share the Code between each Platform anyway.
In Xamarins native approach it is quite clear.
So maybe anybody can tell me why to use PCL in Xamarin.Forms?
PCL allows the maximum in code sharing across platforms. PCL will by it's very nature limit you to using only those API's that can be shared from platform to platform.
While you can use Shared Projects, you will find yourself using compiler directives and making coding sacrifices that can lead to bad coding practices across anything but the smallest of projects.
Using the Xamarin Forms 2.3.3 or later you can of course embed Platform Specific Controls in your Xamarin Forms pages in your PCL and they will only render when run on the platform.
In addition of maximum code sharing, it allows you to follow best practices like SOLID.
Also, please remember that there are 3 choices (not only 2):
Portable Class Library
Shared Library
.NET Standard Library
.NET Standard Library is still an ongoing work in process, so it's not there yet. But, it will be the way to go!. So, PCLs today can give you an excelent migration path to the .NET Standard Library way tomorrow.
Hope this helps.
I am developing a multi-platform app with Xamarin Forms. I need to support Touch ID/fingerprint authentication for both the iOS and Android platforms. How can I do this? I am new to Xamarin.
I've developed a Plugin for this. It's available on NuGet, too. Feel free, to drop an issue, if you miss something, or found an error.
https://github.com/smstuebe/xamarin-fingerprint
In general: There are alot of Plugins that abstract platform specific behavior. Before you write something on your own, just google for "<feature> xamarin plugin". It will safe much time.
You will need to use a Dependency Service for platform-specific behavior. Look to the linked guide as a starting point.
We want to transfer data from a client to a server in realtime, so we have decided to go with WebSockets.
Using Xamarin.Forms it was surprisingly difficult to find a suitable WebSocket library.
The best match was "WebSocket4Net" because it is directly suggested on Xamarin's Homepage. However I was not able to install this library, because it only supports versions of .NET up to v4.0. (We are using v4.5)
Whenever I try to change the target framework of my PCLs from v4.5 to v4.0 I get loads of weird errors stating "Windows.Input library could not be found", "ObservableCollection could not be found" etc.
So we are currently using the library "WebSocket.Portable.Core", which although lacking some functionality worked out. However for some reason we can only receive one message. The event "MessageReceived" always is just called once.
Has anyone heard about such a problem with WebSockets? Maybe it is just time to use another library, but I just can't find one?
I also can't find any solution how to implement WebSockets natively for each platform.
WebSockets.PCL has a native implementation for each platform and it's well documented
https://github.com/NVentimiglia/WebSockets.Pcl
Xamarin
Write the model in C#
Write the views for each OS in their own native way
Xamarin promises that the new functionality in libraries is added the same day
Telerik Native script
Write in javascript and call native script's api that then calls the separate OS javascript apis?
Write the view in html5 and css which is re-usable for all OSs as they now all support html5 and css front ends?
Telerik simply states... and I paraphrase 'it does not have this problem'
If the above is so, how is Telerik any better than Xamarin as it states on its website:
"When using NativeScript the new additions to the native platform are
available immediately. This is not the case in neither Xamarin or
Appcelerator, where there are technical limitations and wrappers needs
to be created when new native platform features are added."
I am confused at how Telerik is being penned as being better than Xamarin when Xamarin comes with strong type language without using TypeScript's slightly loose thing going on. And also that Xamarin does in fact sit in exactly the same boat as Xamarin apart form the view part... which is actually supposed to be a benefit?
Question:
- What's the difference between them apart from the two I have denoted?
- Why would Telerik claim such a thing?
[Disclaimer: I work for Telerik.]
Telerik NativeScript and Xamarin are solving similar problems in different ways. Both frameworks are focused on enabling developers to create cross-platform mobile applications with native UI and shared, common code across all platforms.
For NativeScript, we're focused heavily on the web developer skill set. We want anyone that is comfortable today writing HTML/CSS/JavaScript to feel instantly at home creating native apps using NativeScript.
The only thing that is a little different is that views are defined in an XML-based markup. This markup is parsed by NativeScript and rendered as native UI on all target platforms. (NativeScript modules encapsulate the platform-specific renderings.)
The capability you highlight is also something unique to NativeScript's approach for exposing underlying native platform APIs. NativeScript effectively uses (build-time) reflection to make ANY native API available to the JavaScript proxy. That includes 3rd party native libraries. You do not depend on Telerik (or the open source community) to update NativeScript to take advantage of these new APIs. You simply execute a command and auto-discover the new APIs.
Of course, we don't expect a lot of people to write against the raw native APIs using JavaScript, so that's where modules again help encapsulate the different native APIs and expose a single, clean, cross-platform JavaScript API. Anyone can create NativeScript modules.
There's a great post that explains how all of this works in much more detail on the Telerik Developer Network (TDN):
http://developer.telerik.com/featured/nativescript-works/
NativeScript's public beta will be available this week, and v1 will ship in May.
UPDATE [Feb 2016]
Since this was originally posted, NativeScript has shipped and is now in v1.6. It is also now integrating heavily with Angular 2. You can track the project progress on GitHub: https://github.com/NativeScript/NativeScript
UPDATE [June 2016]
There are now performance metrics comparing NativeScript and Xamarin. Please find them here:
https://github.com/NativeScript/sample-iOS-Profiling/tree/performance-tests
Telerik is a UI component and it has some beautiful control for designing in xamarin forms,MVC. Net and etc, but xamarin forms is a technology that helps deveopers to make mobile application using c#
I learnt that Xamarin.mobile provides single set of APIs across platforms. But implementing in a cross platform app, how does it look like?
A cross platform architecture consists one project containing shared codes (core project) and other project consisting the UI codes per platform. So, as Xamarin.mobile provides a single set of API, how can we utilise it to write once and use everywhere? Eg: implement mediapicker.TakePhotoAsync in one class and use it in multiple platforms without writing the same code in other platform. Because, the sample app i downloaded from Xamarin.mobile consists of apps developed for different target individually (not cross), though i see they use the same media picker, geolocation and contacts namespace across different platforms.
Thank You!
Xamarin's 'traditional' approach to cross-platform apps has been to use file-linking.
I believe this is currently changing to a dual approach of recommending either:
file-linking
or
Portable Class Libraries (PCL)
The first version of Xamarin PCL support is due very soon (any day now).
When that becomes available and stable, then I expect you may see new versions of xamarin.mobile which are available for PCL. Also, they have indicated that they may open source xamarin.mobile. As it stands today, I don't think xamarin.mobile is a very active development - I don't believe it's changed/grown much in the last year.
Until these changes happen, then if you want to use xamarin.mobile from portable code, then your best bet may be to either follow the file-linking route, or to use PCL libraries but use some form of facade to wrap the native xamarin.mobile libraries inside an injectable interface