Hiring Top Artificial Intelligence Talent: Must-Know AI Engineer Interview Questions and Answers
Hire Xamarin Developer and Xamarin Designer
Web app development has now become increasingly portable, and a lot of tasks that required the use of computers a few years ago can now be done with a few taps and swipes on smartphones running mobile applications. With over 2.4 billion smartphone users worldwide, it is not surprising that the use of mobile applications has become extremely widespread, and as of 2017, there are a whopping 197 billion monthly mobile app downloads across the globe.
The global penetration of mobile applications has led to a flourishing mobile app market, just as the rise of the Internet has given birth to the web development industry. One of the major challenges faced by mobile app developers, however, is the rise of different mobile platforms, each using its programming language. This required a separate development effort for each operating system, so an application that’s meant to run on iOS, Android, and Windows needed to be developed three times. Xamarin aims to abolish the walls dividing these operating systems by allowing cross-platform application development with just one piece of code. In this article, we take a close look at Xamarin mobile application development.
Overview of Xamarin and Demand for Xamarin Developers for Hire
Xamarin is a tech company established in May 2011 to allow the development of iOS and Android applications using the C# programming language, which is the native language used for the development of Windows applications. In December 2012, the ability of Xamarin tools was further extended to support the development of MacOS applications. In February 2016, Microsoft acquired Xamarin and has since been integrated into Visual Studio, Microsoft’s IDE for application development. To date, the cross-platform Xamarin programming tools for Android and iOS, which are individually called Xamarin. Android and Xamarin.iOS have been grouped into what is called Xamarin Platform, and it goes alongside other Xamarin products such as Xamarin Test Cloud for multi-device application testing and Xamarin Insights for real-time app monitoring.
Xamarin is currently in use by over 1.4 million developers from over 120 countries. According to the 2017 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 8.3% of all developers worldwide use Xamarin. Some of the most well-known companies that use Xamarin in their applications are Sennheiser, JetBlue, Pinterest, Fox Sports, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Xamarin has also been used to create many cross-platform mobile games, such as Draw a Stickman, Wordament, and Skulls of the Shogun.
Xamarin UI Features All Xamarin Programmers Should Know
By default, the Xamarin Platform enables developers to create the business logic of mobile applications using a single codebase while still using native UI components that are platform-dependent. With this route, developers can achieve up to 75% code reusability. However, the Xamarin Platform also offers developers its Xamarin.Forms framework, which allows a Xamarin designer to create user interfaces using a single C# code. These user interfaces are then mapped to each operating system’s native UI components. While this option gives a Xamarin forms developer less flexibility in terms of personalizing the application for different platforms, it allows them to achieve up to 100% code reusability. Some of the features of the Xamarin.Forms UI design are:
- Pages – Several different pages that are standard to mobile applications are available out-of-the-box, such as content pages, master-detail pages, navigation pages, tabbed pages, and carousel pages.
- Layouts – Different layout types are also readily available, among them stack layouts, absolute layouts, relative layouts, and grid layouts.
- Controls – There are many available controls for Xamarin.Forms UI, including date pickers, time pickers, progress bars, search bars, maps, and sliders.
- Animations – Xamarin.Forms also allow for basic animations such as rotation, fading, and scaling, and these may be combined to achieve more complex animations.
Certification a Xamarin Developer for Hire Must Have
One additional service offered by Xamarin is the Xamarin University, an online platform for developers to receive official training for the Xamarin Platform technologies from accredited experts. In addition to training, Xamarin University also offers Xamarin certification, which awards developers who have shown mastery of Xamarin application development with an official certificate. This can be a good credential for Xamarin certified mobile developers to inform their employers that their skill level passes the standards set by the Xamarin company.
There are two tiers of Xamarin certification: Xamarin Mobile Professional Certification, and Xamarin Mobile Developer Certification. To be granted certification, a developer must take all necessary training and pass the certification exams corresponding to the specific certification tier they wish to acquire. For the Professional Certification, the developer must have taken all introductory training on various aspects of Xamarin development and pass the Professional Certification exam. For the Developer Certification, the developer must have taken all training, including introductory and advanced ones, as well as pass both the Professional Certification and Developer Certification exams.
The amount of requirements needed to acquire certification ensures that only those developers who meet the high standards set by Xamarin are granted the Xamarin Certified Developer title.
Xamarin Projects in Which Xamarin App Developers Are Involved
Here are the usual types of projects that Xamarin developers are typically involved in.
Full App Creation
All Xamarin developers must be up for the challenge of developing a complete cross-platform application from the ground up. Typically, this involves clients who already have the general idea of the application they want to create, and the developer is tasked to bring their ideas into fully-working mobile applications.
Examples:
- Tutorial app for Android and iOS
- Cross-platform dating application that runs on mobile and desktops/laptops
UI Design and Creation
One of Xamarin’s key features is Xamarin.Forms, its unique user interface creator that is then mapped to the native UI implementation of whatever device the application will run on. A Xamarin UI designer may, therefore, be asked to come up with and implement a great UI design that will suit different operating systems.
Examples:
Bug Fixing and App Modification
Some clients already have existing applications written using Xamarin, but want to modify current functionalities, add new features, or fix some bugs. Developers must be prepared to read Xamarin codes written by other developers.
Examples:
- UI improvement and additional functionalities for the current mobile app
- Change UI layout and fix some bugs of Xamarin app
Application Conversion
Some applications are written in a native mobile language, and clients want them converted into Xamarin. Others want the opposite: they have Xamarin applications they want to have converted into a native mobile language.
Examples:
Xamarin Developer Sample CV
To give you a better idea of the typical experience and skill set of a Xamarin developer, here’s a sample resume that you can use as a baseline when you hire a Xamarin app developer or Xamarin certified mobile developer.
Xamarin Certified Developer Resume Sample
Hire Xamarin Developer Offshore
We’ve seen how Xamarin makes cross-platform mobile app development exponentially quicker and easier, as it allows a single code to be deployed to Android, iOS, Windows, and even MacOS platforms with minimal code modifications. The amount of time and resources it saves in a project is invaluable, so when developing cross-platform applications, using technologies like Xamarin which allow cross-platform development should be a no-brainer. If you’re considering to hire Xamarin developer or WPF developers, you’re in the right place! At Mobilunity, we have Europe’s most talented dedicated Xamarin developers for hire and many other technologies. Located in Ukraine, we offer among the lowest rates across all of Europe, so hiring dedicated developers and designers from us will give you your money’s full worth.
While the services of an IT recruitment consultant can help streamline your tech hiring process, and a freelance data analyst can provide insights into your business data, choosing to hire a Xamarin developer and designer can significantly enhance your ability to create robust, cross-platform mobile applications.
Contact us now and we’ll help you to hire Xamarin developer offshore who can make your next project soar!
Disclaimer: All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.
