What is the .NET MAUI Framework?

Development
Oct 21, 2022
8 Mins Read
What is the .NET MAUI Framework?

NET MAUI (.NET Multi-platform App UI) helps to facilitate the creation of natively generated apps for iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows from a single source codebase.

With .NET MAUI, you can create native apps for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Samsung’s Tizen platform with a single set of source files.

Introduction

If you’re familiar with Xamarin Forms, you’ll find MAUI a natural transition. The code for all platforms is consolidated into a single project, eliminating the need for several. You can host Blazor in .NET MAUI and use the integrated web view controls to execute Razor components in their native environment on your chosen device. 

Rather than catering to the varying requirements of several platforms, you can concentrate on just one application thanks to the decoupled UI and single project. Microsoft’s newest offspring, I anticipate additional libraries and a more robust ecosystem will be released in tandem with .NET MAUI in the coming months.

The Operation of .NET MAUI

The .NET Native Application User Interface (MAUI) integrates the Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows APIs into a single API, enabling developers with a “write-once, run-anywhere” experience with full access to the native features of each platform.

The Windows UI 3 (WinUI 3) library and the .NET for Android, iOS, and macOS app development frameworks are part of .NET 6. These frameworks use a standard .NET 6 Base Class Library (BCL). 

This library will save you from worrying about platform specifics if you’re writing software. When using the BCL, your code will only run in the .NET runtime. Mono, an implementation of the .NET runtime, provides the environment’s implementation for Android, iOS, and macOS. The .NET CoreCLR serves as the Windows platform’s runtime.

While the BCL makes it possible for apps written for different platforms to exchange business logic, each platform has its conventions for designing an app’s UI and its models for describing how its UI elements should interact with one another. 

The user interface can be designed independently for each platform using the relevant framework (.NET for Android, .NET for iOS, .NET for macOS, or WinUI 3), but this needs a distinct codebase for each group of devices.

THE A .NET MAUI app is one in which most of the app’s code is used to interact with the .NET MAUI API (1). Then, .NET MAUI uses the platform’s native APIs (3). In addition, if necessary, app code can interact directly with the platform APIs (2).

Written in .NET MAUI, apps can be compiled as native app packages on either a PC or a Mac.

  • When you develop an Android app with .NET MAUI, C# is compiled into IL and then JIT-processed into a native assembly, all before the app even launches.
  • The .NET MAUI framework allows for 100% AOT compilation of C# into native ARM assembly code, allowing for speedy and reliable deployment of .NET-based iOS apps.
  • .NET-based software for Mac OS X MAUI employs Apple’s Mac Catalyst solution, which ports your UIKit-based iOS program to the desktop and enhances it with additional AppKit and platform APIs.
  • .NET-based Windows applications To develop Windows desktop applications natively, MAUI takes advantage of the Windows User Interface 3 (WinUI 3) toolkit. Check out Windows UI Library if you want to learn about WinUI 3.
The Benefits of .NET MAUI

.NET MAUI offers a variety of controls for viewing data, performing activities, showing activities, viewing collections, selecting data, and many more. .NET MAUI provides more than just a library of controls, though.

  • Complex page-designing toolset with an advanced layout engine.
  • Several page kinds are available, allowing for the development of sophisticated navigational tools like pull-out drawers.
  • Data-binding assistance, leading to more refined and manageable code.
  • The flexibility to modify UI elements’ display through the use of handlers.
  • Access to native device functionalities via platform-agnostic APIs. Apps may use GPS, accelerometer, battery, and network information, among other characteristics, thanks to these application programming interfaces. Visit APIs that work across platforms for additional details on this topic.
  • Graphics features work across platforms, including a canvas for creating and editing images, combining layers, and resizing and moving objects in 2D drawings.
  • Using multi-targeting, a single system for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Check out the .NET MAUI Single project if you want to learn more.
  • You can make changes to your XAML, manage source code while the app is running, and see the results without having to rebuild the app, thanks to .hot NET’s reload feature. Visit .NET hot reload if you want to learn more.
APIs for device functionality that works across platforms

.NET Mobile Application User Interface (MAUI) provides cross-platform APIs for native device functionalities. You can use .NET MAUI to access functions on your device in a variety of ways, such as:

  • Possess a device’s sensors, including the accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope.
  • The capacity to monitor and identify changes in the device’s network connectivity status.
  • Describe the hardware your app is installed on.
  • Transfer text between applications by copying it to the system clipboard.
  • Select one or more files from the storage medium.
  • Safely stow away information using key-value pairs.
  • Use the device’s built-in text-to-speech engines to hear text read aloud.
  • Start an authentication process in the browser that awaits a response from an app’s registered URL.
Final Words

.NET MAUI incorporates .NET hot reload, which allows you to make changes to your handled source code while the app runs without pausing it or using breakpoints. You can change your code while your program is running without recompiling.

XAML hot reload supported by .NET MAUI, letting you save your XAML files and immediately see the effects of your changes in your current app without recompiling. You may quickly test out new UI designs without worrying about losing your location in the app because your navigation history and data will be saved.

MegaMinds is a leading company that builds applications based on .NET MAUI for various industries. Contact Us for any further query regarding .NET MAUI.

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