Xamarin: Questions and Answers–The Extended Cut from the DevCraft Q3 2014 Webinar

Introduction

During the Telerik DevCraft Q3 2014 webinar, we talked about a vast variety of products that help you achieve mobile nirvana using your existing .NET skillset and the Telerik DevCraft Collection. During the UI for Xamarin part of the webinar, there were a lot of questions regarding our Xamarin offering, as well as the product itself. In this blog post, I’ll try to answer your most commonly asked questions asked during the webinar. If you haven’t watched the webinar recording, it can be found here.

Questions and Answers

Q: For mobile apps, is a Xamarin subscription required?

A: Yes. The Xamarin subscription should be purchased from the Xamarin site. We only provide UI controls.

Q: How does the use of Telerik UI  for Xamarin affect the process of AppStore approval by Apple? Is it easier or more difficult? Any tips on this subject?           

A: It does not relate. You have to abide by the same rules everyone does.

Q: Can I use HTML5 and CSS3 in XamarinForms instead of XAML?

A: No. It is C#/XAML only.

Q: What other controls are coming with Telerik UI for Xamarin?

A: We plan on releasing a Calendar and ListView for Xamarin.Forms.

Q: Is this a replacement for the Xamarin.Forms that comes with Indie and higher licenses or is it a wrapper over Xamarin.Forms and require an Indie or higher license?

A: UI for Xamarin is a set of UI components only. You need to separately purchase a Xamarin license.

Q: Suppose I decide to buy Xamarin and build applications with this platform if after a year I decide to not renew the license. Can I continue to use other tools like Visual Studio or Android Studio to update my applications?

A: Please check with Xamarin on the specifics of their licensing.  

Q: Do we need to manage provisioning in Apple apps by using Telerik XamarinForms.iOS?

A: Yes. Telerik only provides UI components for the Xamarin platform. For provisioning improvements you should ask the Xamarin guys.

Q: I have heard reports of Xamarin/PhoneGap/Cordova apps being more likely to be rejected by the different app stores. Are there any suggestions that the app stores might be more or less likely to accept Xamarin apps if they use Telerik?               

A: UI for Xamarin do not relate to this approval process.

Q: Do you need a Mac or can we view the app in an iPhone emulator?

A: You need to have a Mac machine to build for iOS when using Xamarin.

Q: I want to implement an application in C# and deploy it on Windows 8,Windows Phone, Android and iOS. How does the Telerik Platform help me do that?

A: Use AppBuilder with JavaScript to target all those environments, except the Windows 8 OS.

Q: So is it correct that the Xamarin project will compile to native code (like for iOS) deploy the native code to the Mac machine for example.  Where we can deploy to the Apple Store?

A: Yes, this is correct for iOS , but not for Android. On Android there is a VM running on the device.

Q: How do the Telerik UI for Xamarin controls render on old Android devices? I bet you guys tested it on all Android devices out there (on Telerik wall), but just curious and wanted to know your views/thoughts?

A: We’ve confirmed that UI for Xamarin works on Android devices that support API level 9 or later.

Q: When can we expect new controls to be added to the Telerik UI for Xamarin suite?

A: Much more coming in our roadmap; next update is in December 2014.

Q: Are the DLLs for Xamarin.Forms app available on NuGet?

A: Not at the moment; but we will consider this for future iterations.

Q: Are you guys thinking of breaking out the UI for Xamarin controls as a separate package outside of DevCraft Ultimate?

A: UI for Xamarin remains part of the Telerik DevCraft suite for now. In the future, we intend to have this stand-alone in the Xamarin Marketplace. No ETA yet. 

Q: Do the Telerik UI for Xamarin controls work in Visual Studio or Xamarin Studio?

A: Both.

Q: Is there a Telerik Map control in the roadmap in UI for Xamarin?

A: Not at the moment. Developers can submit feature suggestions on the UI for Xamarin Feedback Portal. Increase the priority of a Map by casting your vote: http://feedback.telerik.com/Project/168/Feedback/Details/142281-map.

Q: If I just wanted the UI for Xamarin controls, is DevCraft Ultimate the only way to purchase it?

A: For now yes. But we want to make our UI for Xamarin available on Xamarin Marketplace in future.

Q: While using the charts for Xamarin, can we set background images for either the chart or series background through the control? Or do we have to insert an image behind it considering the different image management methods for the different platforms?

A: Overlaying the Chart with an image behind it is the recommended approach.

Q: Do you plan to release a Xamarin compatible version of PdfProcessing?

A: We are researching the opportunity. Hopefully next year.

Q: Is there any way you can load the iOS emulator on the main machine as opposed to remoting to the Mac build machine?

A: If you are on a Mac, then yes :) True iOS packaging and deployment needs a Mac build host.

Q: Can apps written using the Telerik UI for Xamarin also be published as Windows Store apps (so for Win 8.1 desktop as well as phone)?

A: As of now, Xamarin Forms works X-Plat for Windows Phone only. This is a Xamarin restriction.

Q:  Are the Telerik UI Xamarin components compatible with the latest version of Android? 

A: Yes.

Wrap-Up

If you are looking for more in-depth information about our Xamarin offering, then I’d encourage you to check out this blog post as well as our product page. Also, feel free to go ahead and download a trial while you are it!

Thanks,

Michael Crump 
@mbcrump