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Android - Xamarin Blog

Share More Code with .NET Standard 2.0

August 29, 2017 Aug 29, 2017 08/29/17
James Montemagno
There are several great ways to share code between applications and to create libraries to share with the world. With more and more platforms supporting C# and .NET, a new type of library, which we call .NET Standard libraries, was created to simplify development for all developers.

Fast & Simple Android Location Updates with Google Play services

August 24, 2017 Aug 24, 2017 08/24/17
James Montemagno
Starting an Android application that relies on device location can be overwhelming. The classic way of getting location is with Android's core APIs, which have been around for a very long time and can be confusing to use. To simplify this process, we developed the Geolocator plugin, which enables developers to get the location from shared code on iOS, Android, and Windows from a single API. There are times when you may want or need full control over the API, however, and that's where the new Google Play services location APIs come in. These APIs simplify location awareness with multiple sensors on the device to help determine the location of the user. This means that, when using these new APIs, querying for location updates is faster and more accurate and, with the most recent update (11.0.4), it's never been easier to get started.

Exploring Android’s Bottom Navigation View

August 7, 2017 Aug 7, 2017 08/7/17
James Montemagno
The debate over whether tabs should go on the top or the bottom of a screen has raged for nearly a decade. Android has always preferred to use tabs as a filtering mechanism on the top of a page, while iOS has used bottom tabs as the main source of navigation. Now, with the addition of the Bottom Navigation View in the Support Design library, Android developers have the choice of where their main navigation comes from in their applications.

Mastering the Android Support Libraries

July 11, 2017 Jul 11, 2017 07/11/17
James Montemagno
Android Support Libraries are an essential part to every Android application and you'll find them absolutely everywhere. The Support Libraries offer developers the ability to add the latest and greatest features of Android to their application while maintaining backward compatibility with older versions of Android. As new versions of the Android SDK continue to roll out, so do updates to the Support Libraries; keeping them up-to-date and installing the correct versions is an important (and sometimes frustrating) part of Android development. This blog post will help demystify the Support Libraries and help you upgrade to the latest versions.