Xamarin Webinar: Your Questions, Answered

Syncfusion recently hosted a joint webinar with Xamarin to discuss the latest updates to Xamarin.Forms and Essential Studio for Xamarin. We were thrilled to see such an enthusiastic turnout, and our only regret is that we didn’t have time to answer all of the questions we received. Fortunately, Xamarin’s James Montemagno and Syncfusion’s Chad Church were able to take some time to address these questions, which we are happy to present here.

1. What OS versions does Xamarin support on iOS and Android (iPhones, watches, tablets)?

With Xamarin you can build applications for all versions of iOS and Android and target any of the supported platforms, including, but not limited to, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Android phones and tablets, Android Wear, Android TV, Amazon Fire devices, and more!

2. Is there a separate IDE for Xamarin?

With Xamarin, you have two wonderful IDEs that you can use to develop Xamarin iOS and Android applications. On the PC you have Visual Studio and on Mac OS there is Xamarin Studio. Both IDEs have a free community edition to start developing apps in.

3. Will the code samples from this presentation be available for download?

Absolutely! Head over to my GitHub page for the full Weather sample application: github.com/jamesmontemagno/MyWeather.Forms/tree/syncfusion

4. Where can the Windows emulator for iOS be downloaded, and does it require a Mac OS device?

You can learn more about Xamarin’s iOS Simulator for Windows on our documentation site. It is a separate install as it is currently in preview. If you are developing on a Windows machine inside of Visual Studio to design Storyboard files or deploy to any simulator or device, you will need to have a Mac OS device configured and connected as a build host. You can learn more about this requirement and setup on our documentation.

5. What is the difference between the free and paid versions of Essential studio?

The Community license is Syncfusion’s free edition. The intention is to lower the barrier so small companies and individual developers can easily start using our controls. See question 8.

6. Does the calendar support recurring events or must you expand them in the code behind?

The Syncfusion schedule control supports recurring events. This is built-in support; you don’t have to do any extra work.

7. What support do you provide for F# in the latest release?

We have full support for developing iOS and Android apps with both C# and F# in both Visual Studio and Xamarin Studio. You can check out our F# guides on our documentation site.

8. Can you explain the Community License?

To learn if you qualify for Visual Studio and Xamarin Studio community edition, see the License Terms.

To learn if you quality for the Syncfusion Community License, visit our website.

9. Can I deploy Android and iOS apps to the app store?

Absolutely! The apps that you develop are yours to deploy to any public or private app store.