Author Archives: Chris C

Kids Thinking Outside the Box – Favourite Cheese

Transcript of my wife talking to my daughter’s grade 6 friend: Wife: “What is your favourite cheese?” Friend: “Grated!”

Posted in Fun, Kids Thinking Outside the Box | Tagged | Comments Off on Kids Thinking Outside the Box – Favourite Cheese

Today I Learned How to Create a Xamarin iOS Binding for Objective-C Libraries – Part 2 Combining Libraries

This is part 2 of creating a iOS Binding for the Objective-C Library BEMCheckBox.  In part 1 we compiled the Xcode project into two separate libraries.  One for iphones (ARM architecture) and one for iOS simulators (x86/x64 architecture). In this … Continue reading

Posted in Code Examples, Software Development, Today I Learned | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Today I Learned How to Create a Xamarin iOS Binding for Objective-C Libraries – Part 2 Combining Libraries

Today I Learned How to Create a Xamarin iOS Binding for Objective-C Libraries – Part 1 Compiling the Objective-C Library

There is no checkbox for Xamarin Forms applications.  This is a problem because I wanted a checkbox in a application I’m working on.  A switch wasn’t going to cut it. After a bit of research I found that Android had native … Continue reading

Posted in Code Examples, Software Development, Today I Learned | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Today I Learned How to Create a Xamarin iOS Binding for Objective-C Libraries – Part 1 Compiling the Objective-C Library

Today I Learned How to Handle Local Notifications in Xamarin on Android

In my previous example I detailed how to schedule notifications in Xamarin on Android but didn’t show the Xamarin Forms application reacting to that specific notification.  Let’s fix that. First override the OnNewIntent method in the MainActivity.  We override this method so notifications will … Continue reading

Posted in Code Examples, Today I Learned | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Today I Learned How to Handle Local Notifications in Xamarin on Android

First Beta Release of the Xamarin Notification Plugin (Version 0.3.0-RC2)

The first beta version of the Xamarin Notification Plugin has been released.  This plugin allows you to send local notifications easily using Xamarin.  You can find the release on NuGet under “SaturdayMP.XPlugin.Notifications“. More details and documentation can be found on … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on First Beta Release of the Xamarin Notification Plugin (Version 0.3.0-RC2)

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2017

The results of the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2017 are live.  Some surprising highlights for me: Most developers surveyed are white male web developers.  Just kidding, this was not surprising at all. More than 50% of developers’ parents had a … Continue reading

Posted in Software Development, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2017

Today I Learned How To Create Xamarin iOS and Android Unit Tests

I’m currently working on a notification plugin for Xamarin Forms and wanted to setup some unit tests.  The problem is my code accesses the device-specific notification systems in iOS and Android.  This means I can’t just run my unit tests … Continue reading

Posted in Goal App, Today I Learned | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Today I Learned How To Create Xamarin iOS and Android Unit Tests

Today I Learned How to Create a Local Notification in Xamarin Android

In Android you can schedule a notification that shows immediately using the NotificationManager.  However, if you are like me, awesome, and want to schedule a notification for a future date you need to use the Android AlarmManager.  The alarm manager lets … Continue reading

Posted in Goal App, Today I Learned | Comments Off on Today I Learned How to Create a Local Notification in Xamarin Android

Today I Learned Bait and Switch for .NET PCL’s

If you have worked with Xamarin for longer than me (i.e. one year) then you probably already know about PCL bait and switch technique, especially if you consumed one of the many Xamarin plugins. As usual I’m late to the … Continue reading

Posted in Today I Learned | Comments Off on Today I Learned Bait and Switch for .NET PCL’s

Today I Learned Xamarin Push Notification Plugins

I learned this week that there is no built-in support for Push Notifications in Xamarin Forms.  On the plus side there are several open source projects trying to fill this hole.  The one that has caught my eye is edsnider/Xamarin.Plugins. … Continue reading

Posted in Today I Learned | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Today I Learned Xamarin Push Notification Plugins