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xamarinwindows-phone

Porting android app to xamarin or windows native questions

So, I have been developing an android app for some time, and I was requested to try porting this app to windows phone too. In order to reduce the hassle in trying to maintain two separate versions of the same app, I decided to try to port this app into xamarin, because I have heard that its performance is better than hybrid apps. These are my questions with regard to xamarin:-

  1. I want to maintain the same look and feel which I had in my original app into my cross platform app, and at the same time, make it distinct in the windows version. What are the things I can do to achieve this effect?

  2. Is it rather better for me to port this app to windows phone native, because of added problems in trying to create a common app?

  3. Are there any restrictions with regard to Windows store when publishing xamarin apps?

Solution

  • First of all you need to know there are different styles of Xamarin development, who will share more or less content.

    If you use Xamarin Forms you have a Main project non-related to any platform (where you create the views and clases), and specific platform projects who adapt the controls to each native style.

    If you develop using Xamarin Classic, you have a Shared project where you only develop data-related classes, and specific platform project with their own views and classes with native-friendly controls and native similar functions, but I think, there is no direct Xamarin Clasic Windows Project.

    So if you only want to have two apps who look native both, but with same structure and functionalities Xamarin Forms will be the best option for you, cause you only develop "one single app" who becomes native-style like this: enter image description here

    If what you want is to have different apps, with different functionalities and diferent content, then you need to go for Xamarin Classic. What I recomend you to do then is develop the windows phone in native, but put all of the code you can in a shared library. Then you can create a Xamarin classic Android app and use the shared library. You will still need to mantain two different apps, but you will only need to change the "core" code only one time.

    If you use Xamarin Forms to do a UWP windows app I don't think you have any problem to publish it, think Xamarin is from Microsoft.