Microsoft is clearly attempting to unify the .NET platform as it is currently a segmented one. While developers can confidently build robust apps for different operating systems the new .NET MAUI should significantly help simplify and unify the app creation process for multiple platforms. The .NET 5 platform is by far one of the biggest cross-platform native App UI with multiple benefits like a single codebase, single project system with abilities to deploy on multiple devices including mobile and desktop systems.
Microsoft Launches .NET MAUI For Simplified And Efficient Creation Of Multi-Platform App UI:
MAUI is an evolution of the increasingly popular Xamarin.Forms toolkit. The six-year-old toolkit has been quite popular for several companies that have been leveraging the mobile expertise of Xamarin atop .NET to power their businesses. The Xamarin.Forms toolkit has reportedly helped small businesses maximize their development investment. Companies have been sharing upwards of 95 percent of their code. This allows companies to accelerate the development of their apps and still offer extensive features. MAUI attempts to simplify the choices for .NET developers as it provides a single stack that supports all modern workloads: Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. The native features of each platform and UI control are instantly accesible in a simple, cross-platform API for developers to deliver no-compromise user experiences while sharing even more code than before.
— Immo Landwerth (@terrajobst) May 19, 2020 The success of .NET MAUI lies in the accelerated adoption owing to the fact that it is built with developer productivity as the main priority. Microsoft assures developers will appreciate the project system and cross-platform tooling as well. MAUI simplifies the project structure into a single project and it is able to target multiple platforms with the same. This means developers can deploy to any targeted system including desktop, emulators, simulators, or physical devices with just a single click. With built-in cross-platform resources, developers will be able to add any images, fonts, or translation files into the single project, and .NET MAUI will automatically setup native hooks so developers can focus on code. Finally, developers will always have access to the native underlying operating system APIs, and it will be easier with new platform-specific integrations. Under platforms, developers can add source code files for a specific operating system and access the native APIs. Simply put, with MAUI, Microsoft has ensured that every component that goes into an App UI is in one place where developers need it. Being able to focus on the core code, developers can become even more productive.
Transitioning from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI:
Developers working with Xamarin.Forms won’t have any trouble migrating to or evolving to .NET MAUI as both the platforms use all the same controls and APIs. To help developers make a smooth transition of existing apps to .NET MAUI, Microsoft intends to provide ‘Try-N-Convert’ support and migration guides similar to what they have today for migrating to .NET Core.
Hmm. Since I apparently have this super power, what should I ask for next…. ❓ https://t.co/hhiiUJUNAR — VincentH.NET (@vincenth_net) May 19, 2020 Microsoft is about to release .NET MAUI preview in the next few months. The general availability of the same is expected to coincide with .NET 6 in November of 2021. MAUI will ship on the same 6-week cadence that Xamarin.Forms has been on. Microsoft has published the MAUI roadmap on GitHub. The Xamarin.Forms will ship a new major version later this year, and continue to ship minor and service releases every 6 weeks through .NET 6 general availability in November 2021. The final release of Xamarin.Forms will be serviced for a year after shipping, and all modern work will then shift to .NET MAUI.
