Support Libraries

Faster Xamarin.Android Builds & Smaller Dex Files

June 24, 2019 Jun 24, 2019 06/24/19

Jonathan Peppers

One of our current focus areas in Xamarin.Android is build performance and reducing the multidex count. Developer productivity is directly impacted by the "inner dev loop": the time it takes to make a small code change and see the result on a device or emulator. Performance is a feature!

Multi-targeting with Android Support Library v28

November 28, 2018 Nov 28, 2018 11/28/18

Jon Douglas

Starting with Xamarin’s Android Support Library version 28, we are introducing multi-targeting. This includes assemblies for older support library versions when your application's TargetFrameworkVersion is lower than the expected version.

Getting Android Apps Ready for Google Play’s Target API Level Requirements

June 21, 2018 Jun 21, 2018 06/21/18

James Montemagno

Starting this year, Google Play will roll out a new policy that impacts all Android developers submitting new apps and app updates. This blog post will ensure that your application is fully ready for these changes, which will require the targetSdkVersion to be set to Android 8.0 API level 26 or higher, when it goes into effect for new apps on August 1, 2018 and for app updates on November 1, 2018.

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.

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