WIndows and MacOS desktop development with Xamarin.Forms?

Question

Hi,

I have a set of .NET Windows desktop utilities which have been developed using Visual Studio and WinForms. They are technically pretty simple. They do not use any external controls (i.e. no added references) other than what is offered by default in the Visual Studio toolbox. They do not call any OS specific functions either (e.g. via P/Invoke). The applications are related to financial calculations, so apart from straight forward mathematics they utilize the datagrid and chart components.

There is a desire to make MacOs versions of some of the existing Windows utilities. Possibility to port them to Android tablets would be a further bonus, but mobile phone versions aren't relevant as their screen size is too small for ergonomic or meaningful usage. I am trying to figure out what are my realistic options.

Looking at the Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms controls list, I can see datagrid and chart controls. Looking at the Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms roadmap, I can see that the next release should include a "Xamarin.Forms for Mac" versions of these controls. This implies that whatever is listed in the Xamarin.Forms controls list isn't necessarily available for Mac. Is there a list somewhere detailing which controls are available for Mac?

Assuming that the datagrid and chart controls become available for Mac in the near future, am I correct in the following assumptions?

- I would be able to use Visual Studio for Mac, Xamarin.Forms platform and Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms control set to create a Mac desktop application

- After the Mac desktop application is working, only very little further effort would be required to make it work on Android tablets

- I would have to completely recreate the UI in Visual Studio for Mac, but implementing similar functionality shouldn't be an issue since Syncfusion datagrid and chart controls would surely match and exceed the basic features I am currently using with standard WinForms datagridview and chart controls.

Xamarin.Forms 3.0 has been recently released and it includes initial support for Windows WPF. What is the status related to Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms and Windows WPF? Will it be possible to use the Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms controls in a Windows WPF project any time soon? Could I then create a Windows WPF desktop application using Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms controls and be able to load the project in Visual Studio for Mac and create Mac and Android ports with minimal amounts of modifications?

Xamarin.Forms is apparently reaching out to the Linux world also with GTK backend support. Are there any plans to make the Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms controls work with GTK?

Best regards,

Marko A

Sivaram Ganesan · Answer

Hi
Marko,

Thank you for contacting Syncfusion support. Please find response for following
queries.

1.Regarding “Possibility to port them to Android tablets would be a further
bonus” 

    Be default Xamarin.Forms will support android
so there is no need of any special implementations to deploy it in Android
tablet devices.

2.Regarding “Is there a list somewhere detailing which controls are
available for Mac?”

    We do have plans for supporting Xamarin.Mac and
Xamarin.Forms for Mac. Initially we will provide support for chart in
Xamarin.Mac and chart, data grid, list view in Xamarin.Forms for Mac and it
will be available in our Volume 2 release which is expected to be released on
end of May, 2018.
    We will extend this for other
controls in our upcoming releases. However, the plan for other controls is not
finalized yet.  


3.”After the Mac desktop application is working, only very little further
effort would be required to make it work on Android tablets”

 

   
Be default Xamarin.Forms will support android so there is no need of any
special implementations to deploy it in Android tablet devices.

4.”What is the status related to Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms and Windows WPF?
Will it be possible to use the Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms controls in a Windows
WPF project any time soon?”

 

     We
definitely have plans to implement our controls in WPF and it can expected in
any of our future releases.

     Disclaimer: The date for the feature
implementation is tentative and not a commitment on our parts. 


5.”Are there any plans to make the Syncfusion Xamarin.Forms controls work
with GTK?”

     As of now we don’t have plans to implement our
controls in Linux platform but based on priorities we may implement in any of
our upcoming releases.

Please get back to us on further assistance on this.

Regards,
Sivaram G.

Daniel Meza · Answer

Hi guys! Nice work with the xamarin forms controls!

You say " As of now we don’t have plans to implement our controls in Linux platform but based on priorities we may implement in any of our upcoming releases."

What's the current state of this?

Rachel A · Answer

Hi Daniel, 
 
Greetings from Syncfusion. 
 
Linux platform is not in our immediate priority list as we don't see great demand for control request in this platform as in Xamarin.Forms. Hence, we will not be working on this platform until we get more request. 
 
Thanks, 
Rachel.

Amir H · Answer

Would be great to see more controls supported in Xamarin.Forms.macOS.Especially the PDF viewer. I am super happy with the SFListView on macOS as it handles large data very well!

Gayathri Ramalingam · Answer

Hi Amir, 
At present we do not have support for “PDF viewer control in macOS”. We do not have any immediate plans to implement this feature. At the planning stage for every release cycle, we review all open features and identify features for implementation based on specific parameters including product vision, technological feasibility, and customer interest. 
Based on our present commitments and the above parameters, this feature is expected to be implemented in our 2020 Volume 2 main release. We will let you know when this feature is implemented. 
 Disclaimer: The date for the feature implementation is tentative and not a commitment on our parts. 
You can now track the status of this feature request here,        
https://www.syncfusion.com/feedback/7631/provide-support-for-pdf-viewer-in-macos 
 
With Regards, 
Gayathri R

Daniel Meza · Answer

I get it. There is a issue, or post, or something to track that requests?

Gayathri Ramalingam · Answer

Hi Amir, 
 
Thank you for your update. 
 
As we mentioned earlier, currently we do not have support for “PDF viewer control in macOS”. We do not have any immediate plans to implement this feature. We will consider it as a feature request. We will let you know when this feature is implemented.  
 
You can now track the status of this feature request here,         
https://www.syncfusion.com/feedback/7631/provide-support-for-pdf-viewer-in-macos  
  
 
With Regards, 
Gayathri R

CESAR NAVA SOTO · Answer

It would be great if your controls for Xamarin Forms support GTK. We have a solution created with C # and GTK #, which currently runs on Windows and Linux (with Mono and GTK #). We want to migrate this solution to Xamarin Forms, bound for WPF and GTK.

Gayathri Ramalingam · Answer

Hi Marko, 

Thank you for your update.  

We will analyze feasibility for the feature “Provide support for PDF Viewer in GTK” in Xamarin.Forms and update you further details on 29th October,2019. 

With Regards, 
Gayathri R

Jhansi Priya Ramesh · Answer

Hi Marko, 


Based on your update, we suspect that your requirement is to use GTK in Xamarin Forms WPF platform. But currently we do not have support for “PDF Viewer in Xamarin.Forms WPF platform”. We do not have any immediate plans to implement this feature. At the planning stage for every release cycle, we review all open features and identify features for implementation based on specific parameters including product vision, technological feasibility, and customer interest.  
   
Based on our present commitments and the above parameters, this feature is expected to be implemented in our 2020 Volume 2 main release. We will let you know when this feature is implemented.  
   
Disclaimer: The date for the feature implementation is tentative and not a commitment on our parts.  
  
You can now track the status of this feature request here,       
https://www.syncfusion.com/feedback/8105/support-for-pdf-viewer-in-xamarin-forms-wpf  
  
  
If our understanding is different from your requirement kindly share details on your requirement to analyze and assist you with better solution, 
 
 
With Regards,  
Jhansi Priya Ramesh