What is .NET MAUI – A Complete Introductory Guide?

Summary: .NET MAUI multi-platform App User is a most attractive feature in developing cross-platform applications. This blog will briefly discuss the potential to streamline app development processes across iOS, Android, and Windows.

Have you ever wondered about Mobile App Development and desktop application development using XAML and .NET C# from a single base?

So now, it is possible to develop native Android, Windows, and macOS applications using a single code base. One of the most effective features of .NET, known as .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI), helps to develop applications with ease. In this blog, we will discuss what .NET MAUI is, its features, and how to get started using MAUI.

What is .NET MAUI?

.NET MAUI is a version of Xamarin. Forms, an open-source cross-platform framework. This is now a single code base platform where various kinds of workloads, such as Android, MacOS, and iOS, can rely on base class libraries and help deliver an attractive API.

Even this base code library will allow you to send the same shared code on various platforms and will not allow sharing UI definitions. , NET MAUI will resolve the issue of the requirement for an additional layer of user library abstraction.

The main goal of .NET MAUI is to assist users in developing app functionality and user interface layout in one single project.

.NET MAUI is Capable Of:

• Using a single codebase to create an application for iOS, desktop, and Android using C# and Xamarin.Forms.
• It shares code, logic, and tests across various platforms.
• Shares common User interface and designs across all the platforms.

How Does .NET MAUI work?

.NET MAUI is an integrated approach to creating user interfaces for mobile and desktop applications. Using it, developers can distribute applications to all supported platforms with just one single base code and grant particular access to every feature of the forum.

The WinUI 3(Windows UI 3) library is a member of the .NET 6 and later family of .NET frameworks for application development, along with the equivalents for Android, iOS, and macOS. These frameworks use the .NET Base class library (BCL). From the coding, this library will conceal platform-specifics. Due to the setting it delivers for the execution of the code, .NET runtime is necessary for the BCL.

The .NET runtime’s representation will provide the setting implementation for Android, macOS, and Android. For Windows, the execution runtime is the .NET CoreCLR.

The base class library will allow cross-platform application user interfaces to exchange business logic despite the fact that every platform has its model for specifying how an application user interface element interacts with each other.

An appropriate framework is used to design the user interface for every platform independently, but every group of devices will need a different code base.

It is possible to compile native app packages from .NET MAUI code written on a PC or a Mac:

• When users develop an application using .NET MAUI, C# is translated into an intermediate language (IL), which is then JIT-processed into a native assembler during runtime.
• .NET MAUI converts C# code for iOS applications into native ARM assembly code.
• These MAUI applications use Mac Catalyst for macOS, an Apple technology that enriches your iOS app with additional App kit and platform APIs before portioning it to the .NET MAUI desktop app.
• The Windows user interface 3(WinUI 3) library aids in the development of the native Windows Desktop Applications Developed using .NET MAUI developer.

What is the Main Difference Between MAUI and Xamarin Forms?

The single .Net will incorporate the development of Xamarin forms. Native application development is now a part of .NET with .NET 6. The main advantage is that one MAUI project can run on all the platforms.

What are the Similarities Between MAUI and Xamarin Forms?

• The User can continue to develop the applications using XAML and C#.
• Model-view update, Reactive UI, and MVVM are all the available options.
• Using the MAUI framework, we can create desktop applications for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.
• Users can easily relate to MAUI, in case if users have Xamarin experience.

Who Prefers to Use the MAUI Framework?

• C# and XAML developers who want .NET MAUI cross-platform app development from a single codebase
• Sharing common UI layouts and designs across various platforms will speed up the design implementation.
• To use similar business logic, code, and testing across all the platforms.

What is MAUI Architecture?

Users develop applications for .NET MAUI applications that primarily communicate with,

• The .NET MAUI API
• The native platform’s APIs are then immediately used by .NET MAUI
• If required, applications may directly use platform APIs.

Native App Packages are Created from .NET MAUI App Development:

• Android applications created with .NET MAUI compile from C# into an intermediate language (IL), which is then just-in-time (JIT) compiled to a native assembly when the application begins.
• Native ARM assembly code is entirely ahead-of-time (AOT) compiled from C# for iOS applications created with .NET MAUI.
• Using Mac Catalyst, an Apple product, macOS applications created with .NET MAUI transport their iOS applications created with UI Kit to the desktop and, when required, supplement them with extra app kit and platform APIs.
• Windows applications developed with .NET MAUI make use of the Windows UI library (WinUI) 3 to create native applications that can run on both platforms, i.e. Windows desktop and the Universal Windows Platform (UWP).

What are the Unique Features of .NET MAUI?

Microsoft updates its base to enhance Xamarin. Forms improved speed, consolidated the architectural systems, and expanded the use of the desktop beyond mobile.  MAUI offers cross-platform APIs for .NET for native device functionality.

Check out the features of .NET MAUI.

• Access to the device’s sensors, including its gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass. The ability to monitor and identify changes in the device’s network connectivity condition.
• Give details about the hardware that the application is operating on.
• Between programs, copy and paste text to the system clipboard.
• Select one or more files on the device.
• Key/value pairs are a secure way to store data.
• Use the device’s built-in text-to-speech software to read text.
• Start browser-based authentication processes that watch for a callback to a certain app-registered URL.
• Support for .NET hot reload is included in the .NET MAUI.

What are the Steps to Develop the First Application using .NET MAUI?

Read the below steps to build your first app using .NET MAUI

1. Prerequisites

Install .NET MAUI multi-platform App UI workload in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3 or later.

2. Develop an Application

• Start Visual 2022 to initiate a fresh project and select “Create a new project”.

• Choose MAUI from the option “All Project types” – menu, then select the “.NET MAUI App” template, and then opt for the “Next” icon in the “Create a new project” option.

• Name your project, select a location, and then press the “Next” button in the window named “Configure new project.”

• Click on the Create button after selecting the desired version of .NET in the “Additional information” window.

• Hold until the project is developed and the user uses its dependencies.

• Select framework and then choose the “.net-7.0-windows” option, from the “debug” menu in the VS toolbar.

• For compilation and launching the application, go on to the “Windows Machine” icon in the Visual Studio toolbar.

• The User can switch on Developer mode in Visual Studio. This is possible via device settings. Click on “Settings for developers” from Visual Studio Code and on “ Developer mode”. The User can also accept the disclaimer.

• To test, users need to open the application and click on the “click me” icon various times to check the click counter rise.

Why Choose .NET MAUI?

1. Initial Accessibility
2. Ease in developing a new platform
3. Availability of APIs to access various services
4. Global with the use of statements and file-scoped namespaces
5. Single platform for various platforms
6. Speed optimization

Conclusion

Those developers who have used Xamarin.Forms from the past will recognize a lot of elements in .NET MAUI. Users unfamiliar with the platform will find it intriguing because of underlying infrastructure modifications, the expanded platform scope, and the general unification into .NET 6. Solution administration is substantially streamlined by using the single project feature to centralize various assets and code into the shared library. The seasoned Xamarin developer has more to investigate in terms of further speed enhancements using handlers.

The .NET Multi-platform User Interface is Microsoft’s newest addition to the .NET family and allows developers to create programs in C#, .NET, and XAML for Android, Windows, and macOS. Also, you can now develop a single version of your project and share it across all the platforms rather than developing any versions.

Concetto Labs, which is a known .NET MAUI Development Company, has highly professional .NET Core Developers who can help develop applications on any platform.