Mobile Development C# then Xamarin or straight to Xamarin?

[Bflat13]

I am retired and programming is a hobby for me. I currently use Visual Basic and have been for several years. I created a Visual Basic app that I run from a laptop in a remote location. My app is pretty much finished so for something different, I decided to translate a portion of my app to use on my iPad. The app incorporates a webview2 control, a text box, and a 5x5 grid of buttons. I plan to use SQLite to store data to make queries easier.

I looked into translating my vb code to c# then Xamarin, but the tools to translate is too expensive for a single translation. Also, I set strict option on in Visual Basic but have a couple of errors that will be difficult to correct so at this point, it might be better just to start over. It really isn’t very big and I have the algorithm already created.

So since I am beginning from scratch, would I be better off by creating the code in c#, then translate to Xamarin, or just code in Xamarin. (I am just starting to look at this, so perhaps I HAVE to code in C#, then move it to Xamarin

What are your suggestions to get started?

Thanks

 

[Skydiver]

My recommendation is with your current VB app, separate the logic from the UI first, but still have everything in VB. Next translate both the logic and UI to VB.NET WinForms. Then next replace the logic with C#, but continue to use the VB.NET WinForms UI. Next replace the VB.NET WinForms with C# WinForms. And lastly, replace the C# WinForms with C# Xamarin.Forms.

 

[Skydiver]

I didn't know. Apparently you could also do Xamarin.Forms with VB.NET. So you could skip the C# translations. Just get as far as VB.NET, and then convert the WinForms to Xamarin.Forms.

 

[DouglasMack]

I am retired and programming is a hobby for me. I currently use Visual Basic and have been for several years. I created a Visual Basic app that I run from a laptop in a remote location. My app is pretty much finished so for something different, I decided to translate a portion of my app to use on my iPad. The app incorporates a webview2 control, a text box, and a 5x5 grid of buttons. I plan to use SQLite to store data to make queries easier.

I looked into translating my vb code to c# then Xamarin, but the tools to translate is too expensive for a single translation. Also, I set strict option on in Visual Basic but have a couple of errors that will be difficult to correct so at this point, it might be better just to start over. It really isn’t very big and I have the algorithm already created.

So since I am beginning from scratch, would I be better off by creating the code in c#, then translate to Xamarin, or just code in Xamarin. (I am just starting to look at this, so perhaps I HAVE to code in C#, then move it to Xamarin

What are your suggestions to get started?

Thanks

Since you are already familiar with Visual Basic, it may be easier for you to start with C# as it has a similar syntax and structure to VB. However, since you want to develop an app for iPad, using Xamarin would be a good choice as it allows you to create cross-platform applications using C# and .NET.

You can start by learning the basics of C# programming and then move on to Xamarin development. There are many resources available online, including tutorials, documentation, and forums, that can help you get started. Microsoft offers free online courses for both C# and Xamarin development, which can be a great place to begin.

Regarding your question about whether to create the code in C# first and then move it to Xamarin or just code in Xamarin, it is not necessary to do it in this order. Xamarin allows you to create the code and design the user interface all in one place, making it easier to see how everything works together.