1. Cross-Platform UI Controls
Andrey Baskov, Touch Instinct
Mobile Development
from Russia with Love

2. Put your hands up in the air!

3. Spring in Russia

4. In 2 years we’ve written
6 720 353
Lines of Code using Xamarin

5. Touch Instinct
• Mobile outsourcing powered by Xamarin
• Superb looking mobile apps
• 2.5 years of experience with Xamarin
• Always custom and complex UI
• 40 geeks doing some crazy mobile stuff

6. Sooner – Wheel-based ToDo List

7. CoinKeeper – Personal Finance

8. Xamarin +
Touch Instinct =
Components!

9. Xamarin Components
• Simplify and speedup development
• Use the power of professionals
• Available right from Xamarin Studio
• Distribute and sell your own components
• Visit components.xamarin.com

10. Xamarin Components
Before After

11. You are at the beginning of new Era.
Xamarin Era.

12. 2008. Appstore Launch.
2013. Xamarin Components.

14. Creating your own component
• Get the idea
• Crack the code
• Publish and set the price
• ???
• PROFIT!

15. 80% of what you are doing
can be used by others

16. 80% of what you are doing
might be already done by
others

17. Cross-platform UI is that easy:
Step 1. Do iOS version.
Step 2. Do Android version.
Step 3. Do Windows version.

19. Platforms Differ
• Different basics
• Different UI-guidelines
• Different rendering model
• Different devices, resolutions and densities

20. UI Differs

21. Adopt UI for each platform

22. Make simple API

23. LockScreen

25. LockScreen API
public partial class AppDelegate : UIApplicationDelegate
{
public override bool FinishedLaunching (UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
{
Locker.Activate (window);
}
public override void DidEnterBackground (UIApplication application)
{
Locker.Activate (window);
}
}

26. LockScreen API
public class MyProtectedActivity : PasscodeProtectedActivity
{
// ...
}

27. LockScreen API
Locker.Enable ();
Locker.Disable ();

28. Make it easy to use,
but yet powerful to customize

29. LockScreen customization
public class MyLockSettings : DefaultSettings
{
public override void InitSettings ()
{
base.InitSettings();
PasscodeValidator = new MyLockValidator ();
}
}

30. LockScreen customization
class MyLocker :
Locker<MyLockerSettings> { }
MyLocker.Activate();
MyLocker.Enable();
MyLocker.Disable();

31. Beware of Android!

32. You can’t pass objects to Activity

34. var activity = new Activity(mySettings);

35. var activity = new Activity(mySettings);
NO WAY!

36. public static void Start<CustomSettings> (Context context, Mode mode)
where CustomSettings : DefaultSettings, new()
{
var settingsType = typeof(CustomSettings);
var intent = new Intent (context, typeof(LockerActivity));
intent.PutExtra (ModeKey, (int)mode);
intent.PutExtra (SettingsClassNameKey, settingsType.AssemblyQualifiedName);
intent.SetFlags (ActivityFlags.NoHistory);
context.StartActivity (intent);
}
Simply passing an object to Android Activity

37. protected override void OnCreate (Bundle bundle)
{
// …
if (!(Intent.HasExtra (ModeKey) && Intent.HasExtra (SettingsClassNameKey)))
throw new ArgumentException ("LockerActivity needs appropriate Intent to be started.");
mode = (Mode)Intent.GetIntExtra (ModeKey, (int)Mode.Activate);
var settingsClassName = Intent.GetStringExtra (SettingsClassNameKey);
var settings = Activator.CreateInstance (Type.GetType (settingsClassName)) as DefaultSettings;
if (settings == null)
throw new ArgumentException ("LockerActivity settings must be a subclass of
DefaultSettings");
// …
}

38. Android isn’t that bad.
Android is just fun.

40. Be aware of memory usage
• Presence of Garbage Collector doesn’t mean
you don’t have to think about memory
• Each time you create an object consider
reusing old one
• GREFs are your enemy. Dealing with 2 GCs in
Android is fun.

41. Make it shine
• Good description
• Nice screenshots
• Easy to read Getting Started
• All this is must have

48. What’s next
• More components
• Custom app themes
• More UI customization for components
• Whatever you would request

49. We need your feedback
Have any idea or comment?
Please, send me an email to
ab@touchinstinct.com
or
visit components.xamarin.com

50. Thank you!
Andrey Baskov
Touch Instinct
ab@touchinstinct.com
touchinstinct.com