As the name suggests, has a slew of features under the hood to work with .NET MAUI.
To effectively support the stable release of .NET MAUI 9, both the CLI NuGet package and the Visual Studio extension of the All-in-One .NET MAUI Templates Pack have been fully updated.
Not confined to .NET MAUI, the XAML Live Preview functions as an invaluable tool for inspecting the UI and its associated properties in XAML apps overall.
However, it is imperative that the app be connected to the debugger, is it not? Yes, that is prior to the intro of the debugger-detached XAML Live Preview in VS2022, v17.13 Preview 1.0.
Yesterday, during the .NET MAUI session at .NET Conf 2024(YouTube clip linked), David and Rachel provided an insightful overview of its functionality.
.NET MAUI - Managing Query Parameters with Shell Navigation
This is an article in the Developer Tips series, which offers concise hints to enhance productivity. You can access all the articles in this series here.
The Shell feature in .NET MAUI is extensive, offering numerous capabilities. This article will focus on managing query parameters within shell navigation in .NET MAUI.
Incorporating query parameters during navigation is paramount in real-world apps, as they enable the transfer of data in scenarios such as transitioning from a list page to a details page, thereby preserving the contextual relevance.
The GoToAsync() method serves as the comprehensive solution for all your navigation needs in Shell and is overloaded to cater various requirements.
MVVM Toolkit - Support for Partial Properties with Custom Access Modifier
This article is part of the MVVM – Made Easy series, with a focus on the initial preview release of v8.4 of the CommunityToolkit.Mvvm (aka Microsoft MVVM Toolkit) NuGet package, which includes support for Partial Properties.
Update as of Dec 2024: The v8.4 stable release is now available. For further details, please refer to this blog post.
Here are the links to other articles in this series.
Support for Partial Properties is one of most sought after features in the MVVM toolkit as it allows to define custom access modifier for property accessors and makes code more readable. The need for an analyzer to track the usage of a field instead of a (generated) property is no longer necessary.
This November, join David, Rachel, and a special guest (probably Stephan Arnas) as they discuss the latest developments in the realm of .NET MAUI during the monthly community standup preceding .NET Conf 2024 next week.
The exciting news is that the second set of 5 controls is nearing its release.
Button
Bottom Sheet
Calendar
Numeric Entry
Numeric Up Down
Remember to join live on Thu, Nov 7 at 18:00 UTC. Click the link to access the timing in your local or preferred time zone.Note, that it’s an hour behind its usual schedule.
Update: The community links for this month’s standup will be updated here.
Happy coding. Stay connected as we continue to learn and share the experiences from this exciting journey of being a .NET developer.
Frame deprecated - Transitioning from Frame to Border with Shadow
This is an article in the Developer Tips series, which offers concise hints to enhance productivity. You can access all the articles in this series here.
Border:
From .NET MAUI 9 onwards, the Frame control has been marked as obsolete, paving the way for more robust Border control.
The Border serves as a container control, akin to the Frame; however, it exhibits significantly greater flexibility, enabling the user to delineate any enclosed geometric shape.
Transitioning from Application's MainPage to Window's Page
This article analyzes a significant change introduced in .NET MAUI 9, specifically the deprecation of the Application’s MainPage property, which has been replaced by the Window’s Page property.
The MainPage has existed since the inception of Xamarin.Forms, at which time it functioned as a single-window UI framework.
Nevertheless, the design of .NET MAUI incorporates the concept of a Window to effectively support Desktop form factors, including WinUI and Mac Catalyst.
November is set to be an exceptionally significant month for .NET developers globally, as a new version of .NET will be officially released during its annual event, .NET Conf. Similar to previous years, this year’s event will also be conducted virtually, allowing participation online. The highly anticipated .NET 9 is scheduled for release during this conference, which will take place over three days from Tue, Nov 12, 2024, to Thu, Nov 14, 2024. Please mark your calendars accordingly.
Quite like .NET 7, .NET 9 is also a short-term support (STS) release, which will be supported for 18 months till mid-May 2026. Even-numbered releases are LTS whereas odd-numbered are STS. More details on the release lifecycle are here. The support for .NET 6 (the previous LTS release) ends (more details here), with .NET 7 already out of support, and .NET 8, the current LTS release, has another 2 years of support till early Nov 2026.
.NET Release Schedule
Due to the underlying external dependencies, the support policy of .NET MAUI differs significantly from .NET, each major release will be supported only for 18 months. So, if you’re using .NET MAUI 8, support will cease by mid-May 2025 (in another 6 months). Hence, it’s necessary to plan for your app migration to .NET MAUI 9. An article has already been published detailing the comprehensive features of .NET MAUI 9.
Syncfusion.Maui.Toolkit NuGet package - A collection of free and open-source .NET MAUI controls
Yesterday, Syncfusion, a prominent vendor of software components, announced its dedication to contributing to .NET MAUI and the release of the initial set of free and open-source controls for .NET MAUI, which is now available as a NuGet package titled Syncfusion.Maui.Toolkit.
Microsoft has gladly welcomed Syncfusion’s open-source contributions, a gesture seen as a positive step for .NET MAUI confirming the ongoing commitment to the cross-platform framework.
Syncfusion is utilizing its proficiency in developing software components to collaborate with Microsoft, with the objective of significantly enhancing .NET MAUI. Their team is already making a noteworthy impact.
Although the fundamentals remain the same, the preceding articles were published after the initial version of the MVVM Toolkit, and a lot has transpired since then. An updated article is being prepared and published soon.
Blazor Hybrid represents an exemplary integration of cross-platform .NET MAUI and the Blazor components.
It facilitates the utilization of C# expertise in the development of various applications, including those for Desktop, Mobile, and Web platforms.
However, there are instances when these disparate components must communicate with one another for the integration to function effectively.
Whenever the necessity arises to facilitate communication between loosely coupled components, messaging represents the most effective solution.
