Xamarin.Forms template for Visual Studio. Packed with AppHosting library + some must-haves for every developer.
Introducing third version: featuring AppHosting library! (if you wish to review previous version, navigate to the releases/v2 branch).
Feel free to contribute or create issues for this project.
Zip file is a template package. It contains:
- AppHosting
(full-fledged dependency container with Xamarin.Forms integration) - Async commands
(via AsyncAwaitBestPractices.MVVM library) - Helpers
(event-to-command behaviour, image resource, translate) - Resources
(with small amount of pre-installed common labels) - Utility & cross-platform services
- Better API management
(via Refit library) - Base page view
- Xamarin.Forms Shell & Legacy Tabbed Page
(Tabbed page by default) - Ripple effects
(via XamEffects library) - Task loader mechanism & view
(via Sharpnado.TaskLoaderView library) - Analytics & diagnostics
(via AppCenter libraries) - Image better handling
(via glidex.forms library on Android & Xamarin.Forms.Nuke library on iOS) - Android & iOS pre-configured projects
- Startup tracing & LLVM enabled for Android
Place .zip file from this repo's latest release into the %userprofile%\Documents\Visual Studio [Version]\Templates\ProjectTemplates folder. Open Visual Studio, select "Create new" option and search for Xamarin Forms Advanced Template. Scroll down to see the template.
If you're not using VS for Windows, or prefer another IDE, please, consider cloning this repo instead.
AppHosting
(full-fledged dependency container with Xamarin.Forms integration)
Featuring brand new library that's going to help you structure your Xamarin.Forms mobile architecture in a better way.
Async commands
(via AsyncAwaitBestPractices.MVVM library)
Async commands let you avoid using async void in your code and provide some useful additional setup elements. Read more here.
Helpers
(event-to-command behaviour, image resource, translate, viewmodel locator)
Some useful helpers to let you build more fluent & productive app.
EventToCommandBehaviour helps you to bind a command from your viewmodel to a control, that doesn't support commanding interface directly.
ImageResource will find and consume the image from shared "Assets" folder (you should provide the right path, e.g. [ProjectName].Assets.[ImageName].[ImageExtension]).
Translate lets you get translated string by the key from your AppResources.
ViewModelLocator is intended for wiring your page with desired viewmodel. It's better to consume all of the helpers from the XAML code.
Resources
(with small amount of pre-installed common labels)
Pre-configured resources folder. AppResources.resx is language neutral. You should add AppResources.[TwoLetterLanguageISOCode].resx in order to provide translation (add new file into the same folder where you have AppResources.resx defined).
Utility & cross-platform services
Common application services. They may make your life as a developer a little easier.
AppQuit is a service for handling application quit. It is Android only.
Keyboard is a service for hiding keyboard on demand.
Localize is a service for providing ability to change language of your application, again, on demand.
Toast is a service for displaying toast messages.
Application, ApplicationInfrastructure and ApplicationTracking are services for handling respective application parts. Application service is just a convenient aggregator.
Analytics is a service for tracking errors and events inside of your app with the help of AppCenter.
Language is a service for managing in-app languages & cultures.
Message is a service which displays different types of dialogs with different content.
Settings is a service for storing & managing in-app key-values.
Better API management
(via Refit library)
This library is great for declaring API. Read more here.
Base page view
Base page view. You have to set viewmodel using ViewModelType property (pass a type).
Xamarin.Forms Shell & Legacy Tabbed Page
(Tabbed page by default)
Choose the preferred way of navigation and use it along with AppHosting integration.
Ripple effects
(via XamEffects library)
Read more here.
Task loader mechanism & view
(via Sharpnado.TaskLoaderView library)
Amazing way to keep your ViewModel clean and fresh. Read more here.
Analytics & diagnostics
(via AppCenter libraries)
AppCenter tracks analytics & diagnostics data. Read more here.
Image better handling
(via glidex.forms library on Android & Xamarin.Forms.Nuke library on iOS)
Read more here.
Android & iOS pre-configured projects
Android & iOS have already been pre-configured to use AppHosting library & provide native services. Also, Android has a slightly edited .csproj file for better performance.
Startup tracing & LLVM enabled for Android
Startup tracing is a feature for decreasing application startup time with a small side effect on APK size. Read more here. You can also setup custom profile for further improvements by yourself. Read more here. LLVM is an optimizing compiler. Read about it here. Linker behaviour is set to "Sdk Assemblies Only".
