{"id":33262,"date":"2017-09-15T12:45:01","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T19:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.xamarin.com\/?p=33262"},"modified":"2019-04-04T23:40:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T06:40:12","slug":"xamarin-forms-tips-beating-learning-curve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/xamarin\/xamarin-forms-tips-beating-learning-curve\/","title":{"rendered":"Xamarin.Forms: Tips for Beating the Learning Curve"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a first time user learning any new technology or pattern, there\u2019s always a curve, and over the years I’ve stood at the threshold of a product and gazed up that curve to determine how painfully steep it appeared and how long it would take\u00a0until I was productive. Now, as the Program Manager for Xamarin.Forms, I gather and receive a lot of feedback from first time users, and stand in a position of being able to offer some help.<\/p>\n

Tips to Beat the Learning Curve<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve curated some great resources to get you over the curve, from our documentation guides to Xamarin University training materials, blog posts, and more. Whether you’re new to Xamarin.Forms or a seasoned user, I think you’ll find something useful below.<\/p>\n

Quick Index<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n
    \n
  • Beyond Basics\n
      \n
    • Customizing Controls<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Custom Fonts<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Managing Images<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Data Storage<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Push Notifications<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Authentication<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Inspecting UI<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Bonus<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      The Giddyup: Prerequisites<\/h2>\n

       <\/p>\n

      What do I need to install?<\/h3>\n

      <\/a>Mobile development requires more than a few things before you can be productive, including mobile platform SDKs, an IDE, and some combination of emulators, simulators, and devices. These guides will get you going quickly:<\/p>\n

      Windows Installation<\/a>\nMac Installation<\/a><\/p>\n

      Also check out this self-guided session from Xamarin University,\u00a0Getting Started With Xamarin [XAM101]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Simplified iOS Development<\/h3>\n

      <\/a>We’ve been hard at work simplifying iOS development by introducing the Xamarin Live Player<\/a> (currently in Preview 2). Xamarin Live allows you to code in Visual Studio 2017 and see your app immediately on device via the Xamarin Live Player app.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      When you\u2019re ready to compile and deploy your applications for iOS, or outgrow the Xamarin Live Player’s capabilities, you can connect to your Mac and use the Remote iOS Simulator for Windows<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      Common First Questions<\/h2>\n

       <\/p>\n

      How do I navigate from one screen to another?<\/h3>\n

      <\/a><\/p>\n

      Xamarin.Forms screens are called Pages and use the base class ContentPage<\/code>. Xamarin.Forms follows a stack concept and you push and pop from that stack. Before you can do that, you need a navigation stack. The easiest way to introduce one is to start your application with a NavigationPage<\/code>.<\/p>\n

      Now, from within a ContentPage<\/code>, you can simply use the Navigation<\/code> service to push a new page onto the navigation stack:<\/p>\n

      MainPage = new NavigationPage( new FirstPage() );<\/pre>\n
      await Navigation.PushAsync( new SecondPage() );<\/pre>\n
      For more information about navigation, visit the guide here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
      How do I lay out my content?<\/h3>\n
      <\/a>Xamarin.Forms supports several layout patterns<\/a>, including Grid, StackLayout, AbsoluteLayout, and RelativeLayout. I recommend you learn to use and love the Grid<\/a>, as it’s presently the most flexible and performant option.<\/p>\n
      <\/p>\n
      For highly optimized layouts, explore creating a custom layout<\/a>, where you can finely control aspects of the measure and invalidation cycles.<\/p>\n
      Check out our Xamarin University Self-Guided course on Layout in Xamarin.Forms[XAM135]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
      Awesomeness Alert!\u00a0Some adventurous community members have recently taken exception to the long held opinion that Xamarin.Forms cannot create highly polished layouts:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
      \n
      Inspired by @adpedley<\/a> and @devnl<\/a> latests articles about beautiful UI in #Xamarin<\/a> Forms, soon will write about recreate the Netflix UI. pic.twitter.com\/6Sac0mKXqK<\/a><\/p>\n
      \u2014 Javier Su\u00e1rez Ruiz (@jsuarezruiz) September 11, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n