Microsoft .NET MAUI to allow Developers build Cross-platform Applications

Microsoft has unveiled .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI), a framework for building cross-platform apps on the Microsoft .NET 6, due for preview release in November and to be generally available in 2021.

The .NET MAUI is rather an evolution of Xamarin.Forms toolkit used for building native UI for Windows, iOS and Android with a single codebase. Though .NET MAUI includes MacOS support, and will also support devices such as the Microsoft Surface Duo.

It works with the Visual Studio IDE or the Code Editor, and as a single stack support workload on the different platforms, with native features and UI controls for each supported platform via a cross-platform API.

What .NET MAUI is bringing to the Table

Microsoft .NET MAUI simplifies project structure into a single project with target for multiple platforms. It is built with developer productivity in mind, as such, includes the project system and cross-platform tools that developers need.

The .NET MAUI means developers can now easily deploy their apps to any target platform, including desktop, emulators, simulators, or even mobile devices with a single click. And with the built-in cross-platform resources, they will be able to add images, fonts, or translation files into their single project.

It has native hooks automatically setup, so that developers can concentrate only on the code. And finally, it grants them access to the native underlying operating system APIs to make it easier with new platform specific integrations.

The Growing Modern App Patterns

Microsoft .NET MAUI offer developers better choice in the area of productive .NET usage. And this is more manifest in the IDE used, whether Visual Studio IDE or the Code Editor, as .NET MAUI will be available for all of those, and support both existing MVVM and XAML patterns as well as Model-View-Update (MVU) with C#, or even Blazor.

The predominant pattern and practice among .NET developers for decades now, Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) and XAML, are first-class features in .NET MAUI and this will continue to evolve to help productive building and maintaining of apps.

Additionally, Microsoft will enable developers to write fluent C# UI and implement the popular Model-View-Update (MVU) pattern. With MVU promoting a one-way flow of data and state management, as well as a code-first experience that updates UI by applying only the necessary changes.