Xamarin#RoboVM

File:Miguel De Icaza 2006-11-08.jpg in 2006]]

File:20060424 Nat Friedman.jpg in 2006]]

In 1999 Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman launched what eventually became known as Ximian to support and develop software for de Icaza's nascent GNOME project. After Microsoft first announced their .NET Framework in June 2000,[http://www.zdnetasia.com/microsoft-sees-nothing-but-net-ahead-10028684.htm "Microsoft sees nothing but .NET ahead"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105195731/http://www.zdnetasia.com/microsoft-sees-nothing-but-net-ahead-10028684.htm |date=November 5, 2011 }}, Steven Bonisteel, ZDNet, June 23, 2000 de Icaza began investigating whether a Linux version was feasible.{{cite web

|url = http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2003-October/016345.html

|title = Mono early history

|publisher = Mono-list

|date = October 13, 2003

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606210557/http://lists.ximian.com/archives/public/mono-list/2003-October/016345.html

|archive-date = June 6, 2011

|df = mdy-all

|access-date = May 21, 2011

}} The Mono open source project was launched on July 19, 2001. Ximian was bought by Novell on August 4, 2003, which was then acquired by Attachmate in April 2011.{{cite web

|title = The Attachmate Group Completes Acquisition of Novell

|url = http://www.attachmate.com/Press/PressReleases/attachmate-group-completes-aquisition-of-novell.htm

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = April 27, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140430065124/http://www.attachmate.com/Press/PressReleases/attachmate-group-completes-aquisition-of-novell.htm

|archive-date = April 30, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}

After the acquisition, Attachmate announced hundreds of layoffs for the Novell workforce, including Mono developers,{{cite web

|url = http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15382738

|title = Employees say hundreds laid off at Novell's Provo office

|last = Koep

|first = Paul

|publisher = KSL-TV

|date = May 2, 2011

|access-date = May 7, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110505142933/http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15382738

|archive-date = May 5, 2011

|df = mdy-all

}} putting the future of Mono in question.{{cite web

|url = http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/is-mono-dead-is-novell-dying/8821

|title = Is Mono dead? Is Novell dying?

|last = J. Vaughan-Nichols

|first = Steven

|publisher = ZDNet

|date = May 4, 2011

|access-date = May 7, 2011

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110508012204/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/is-mono-dead-is-novell-dying/8821

|archive-date = May 8, 2011

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/03/novell_mono_layoffs/

|title = .NET Android and iOS clones stripped by Attachmate

|last = Clarke

|first = Gavin

|publisher = The Register

|date = May 3, 2011

|access-date = May 7, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110506045529/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/03/novell_mono_layoffs/

|archive-date = May 6, 2011

|df = mdy-all

}}

On May 16, 2011, Miguel de Icaza announced on his blog that Mono would be developed and supported by Xamarin, a newly formed company that planned to release a new suite of mobile products. According to de Icaza, at least part of the original Mono team had moved to the new company.

The name Xamarin comes from the name of the Tamarin monkey, replacing the leading T with an X. This is in line with the naming theme used ever since Ximian was started.{{Cite web

|author = John K. Waters

|title = Interview with Miguel de Icaza

|url = https://adtmag.com/blogs/watersworks/2011/05/interview-with-miguel-de-icaza.aspx

|date = May 20, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170222121453/https://adtmag.com/blogs/watersworks/2011/05/interview-with-miguel-de-icaza.aspx

|archive-date = February 22, 2017

|df = mdy-all

}}

After Xamarin was announced, the future of the project was questioned since MonoTouch and Mono for Android would now be in direct competition with the existing commercial offerings owned by Attachmate. It was not known at that time how Xamarin would prove they had not illegally used technologies previously developed when they were employed by Novell for the same work.{{cite web

|url = http://www.infoq.com/news/2011/05/Mono-II

|title = The Death and Rebirth of Mono

|publisher = infoq.com

|quote = Even if they aren't supporting it, they do own a product that is in direct competition with Xamarin's future offerings. Without some sort of legal arrangement between Attachmate and Xamarin, the latter would face the daunting prospect of proving that their new development doesn't use any the technology that the old one did. Considering that this is really just a wrapper around the native API, it would be hard to prove you had a clean-room implementation even for a team that wasn't intimately familiar with Attachmate's code.

|date = May 17, 2011

|access-date = May 29, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110521020915/http://www.infoq.com/news/2011/05/Mono-II

|archive-date = May 21, 2011

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2011/jul/05/xamarin-monotouch-monodroid-future

|title = What now for cross-platform mobile C#?

|author = Matthew Baxter-Reynolds

|work = The Guardian

|quote = But with a total lack of clarity as to whether Novell will allow Xamarin to sell their new products, or whether agreements exist to facilitate such a scenario, we're left in an unpleasant world of not having a compelling or workable solution for compromise free, multi-platform development.

|date = July 5, 2011

|access-date = July 15, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160424065230/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2011/jul/05/xamarin-monotouch-monodroid-future

|archive-date = April 24, 2016

|df = mdy-all

}}

In July 2011, however, Novell – now a subsidiary of Attachmate – and Xamarin announced that Novell had granted a perpetual license to Xamarin for Mono, MonoTouch and Mono for Android, and Xamarin formally and legally took official stewardship of the project.{{cite web

|url = http://www.suse.com/company/press/2011/7/suse-and-xamarin-partner-to-accelerate-innovation-and-support-mono-customers-and-community.html

|title = SUSE and Xamarin Partner to Accelerate Innovation and Support Mono Customers and Community

|publisher = Novell

|quote = The agreement grants Xamarin a broad, perpetual license to all intellectual property covering Mono, MonoTouch, Mono for Android and Mono Tools for Visual Studio. Xamarin will also provide technical support to SUSE customers using Mono-based products, and assume stewardship of the Mono open source community project.

|date = July 18, 2011

|access-date = July 18, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111017024757/http://www.suse.com/company/press/2011/7/suse-and-xamarin-partner-to-accelerate-innovation-and-support-mono-customers-and-community.html

|archive-date = October 17, 2011

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite web

|url = http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Jul-18.html

|title = Novell/Xamarin Partnership around Mono

|last = De Icaza

|first = Miguel

|date = July 18, 2011

|access-date = July 18, 2011

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720045000/http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Jul-18.html

|archive-date = July 20, 2011

|df = mdy-all

}}

In May 2012, Xamarin released XobotOS, an experimental Android implementation using C# instead of Java.{{cite news|url=https://www.muylinux.com/2012/05/09/xobotos-un-android-en-c-en-lugar-de-java/|title=XobotOS: Un Android en C# en lugar de Java|work=Muy Linux|language=es}}

In December 2012, Xamarin released Xamarin.Mac,{{cite web

|url = http://blog.xamarin.com/your-app-on-66-million-macs-c-sharp-on-mac/

|title = Your C# App on 66 Million Macs: Announcing Xamarin.Mac

|publisher = Xamarin

|date = December 12, 2012

|access-date = July 12, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130719130920/http://blog.xamarin.com/your-app-on-66-million-macs-c-sharp-on-mac/

|archive-date = July 19, 2013

|df = mdy-all

}} a plugin for the existing MonoDevelop Integrated development environment (IDE), which allows developers to build C#-based applications for the Apple's macOS operating system and package them for publishing via the App Store.

In February 2013, Xamarin announced the release of Xamarin 2.0.{{cite web

|url = http://blog.xamarin.com/announcing-xamarin-2.0/

|title = Announcing Xamarin 2.0

|publisher = Xamarin

|date = February 20, 2013

|access-date = July 12, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130627074458/http://blog.xamarin.com/announcing-xamarin-2.0/

|archive-date = June 27, 2013

|df = mdy-all

}} The release included two main components: Xamarin Studio, a re-branding of its open-source IDE Monodevelop;{{cite web

|url = http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/xamarin-20-review/240150634

|title = Xamarin 2.0 Review

|publisher = Dr Dobb's Journal

|quote = Xamarin 2.0 bundles the company's Android, iOS and Mac development tools in a single affordable package

|date = March 12, 2013

|access-date = July 12, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130702210545/http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/xamarin-20-review/240150634

|archive-date = July 2, 2013

|df = mdy-all

}} and integration with Visual Studio, Microsoft's IDE for the .NET Framework, allowing Visual Studio to be used for creating applications for Android, iOS and Windows.{{Cite web|url=https://headworks.io/blog/12-benefits-of-Xamarin-Cross-platform-app-development|title=12 benefits of Xamarin Cross-platform app development|date=15 Mar 2019|website=HeadWorks}}

On July 17, 2013, Xamarin announced that they had closed $16 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=16000000|start_year=2013}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in Series B funding led by Lead Edge Capital.{{cite news|last1=Lardinois|first1=Frederic|title=Xamarin Raises $16M Series B Round Led By Lead Edge Capital, Passes 20,000 Paid Developer Seats|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/17/xamarin-raises-16m-series-b-round-led-by-lead-edge-capital-passes-20000-paid-developer-seats/|access-date=January 15, 2015|work=TechCrunch|date=July 17, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120070414/http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/17/xamarin-raises-16m-series-b-round-led-by-lead-edge-capital-passes-20000-paid-developer-seats/|archive-date=January 20, 2015}} Several investors from their Series A funding also participated, including Charles River Ventures, Floodgate, and Ignition Partners. On August 21, 2014, Xamarin successfully closed an additional $54 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=54000000|start_year=2014}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in Series C funding, which is one of the largest rounds of funding ever raised by a mobile app development platform.{{cite news|last1=Lardinois|first1=Frederic|title=Cross-Platform Development Platform Xamarin Raises $54M Series C|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/21/cross-platform-development-platform-xamarin-raises-54m-series-c/|access-date=January 15, 2015|work=TechCrunch|date=August 21, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119055847/http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/21/cross-platform-development-platform-xamarin-raises-54m-series-c/|archive-date=January 19, 2015}} As of August 2014 the total funding for the company was $82 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=82000000|start_year=2014}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).{{cite news|last1=Kepes|first1=Ben|title=Xamarin Raises $54 Million--Because M&A... And Mobile|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/08/21/xamarin-raises-54-million-because-ma-and-mobile/|access-date=January 15, 2015|work=Forbes|date=August 21, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230000227/http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/08/21/xamarin-raises-54-million-because-ma-and-mobile/|archive-date=December 30, 2014}}

On February 24, 2016, Xamarin and Microsoft announced that Microsoft signed a definitive agreement to acquire Xamarin.{{Cite web|title = Breaking: Microsoft acquires Xamarin, a leading platform provider for mobile app development.|url = http://mspoweruser.com/breaking-microsoft-acquires-xamarin-a-leading-platform-provider-for-mobile-app-development/|website = Microsoft PowerUser| date=February 24, 2016 |access-date = February 24, 2016|language = en-US|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160227023930/http://mspoweruser.com/breaking-microsoft-acquires-xamarin-a-leading-platform-provider-for-mobile-app-development/|archive-date = February 27, 2016|df = mdy-all}}{{Cite news|title = Microsoft Agrees to Acquire Xamarin Inc. Deal reflects efforts to increase Microsoft software's presence on devices beyond those that run Windows.|url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-agrees-to-acquire-xamarin-inc-1456340494|website = Wall Street Journal| date=February 24, 2016 |access-date = February 24, 2016|language = en-US|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160224211456/http://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-agrees-to-acquire-xamarin-inc-1456340494|archive-date = February 24, 2016|df = mdy-all| last1=Greene | first1=Jay }} Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though the Wall Street Journal reported the price at between $400 million and $500 million.{{Better source needed|date=June 2018}}

At Microsoft Build 2016 Microsoft announced that they will open-source the Xamarin SDK and that they will bundle it as a free tool within Microsoft Visual Studio's integrated development environment,{{cite web|url=http://www.eweek.com/developer/microsoft-makes-xamarin-free-in-visual-studio-open-sources-sdk.html|title=Microsoft Makes Xamarin free in Visual Studio, Open-Sources SDK.|work=eWeek|date=March 31, 2016|first=Darryl K.|last=Taft}} and Visual Studio Enterprise users would also get Xamarin's enterprise features free of charge. As a part of the acquisition they would also relicense Mono completely under the MIT License and would release all other Xamarin SDK software through the .NET Foundation also under the MIT License.{{cite web|url=http://techreport.com/news/29929/xamarin-now-comes-free-with-visual-studio|title=Xamarin now comes free with Visual Studio.|work=The Tech Report|date=March 31, 2016|first=Bruno|last=Ferraira|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402173444/http://techreport.com/news/29929/xamarin-now-comes-free-with-visual-studio|archive-date=April 2, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/3050363/application-development/microsoft-shows-fruits-of-xamarin-acquisition-with-visual-studio-integration-and-more.html|title=Microsoft shows fruits of Xamarin acquisition with Visual Studio integration.|work=PC World|date=March 31, 2016|first=Blair Hanley|last=Frank|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403030633/http://www.pcworld.com/article/3050363/application-development/microsoft-shows-fruits-of-xamarin-acquisition-with-visual-studio-integration-and-more.html|archive-date=April 3, 2016}}

The Xamarin company produces an open source{{CN|date=November 2023}} software platform by the same name, and Xamarin 2.0 was released in February 2013.{{cite web

|url = https://www.zdnet.com/article/xamarin-delivers-tool-for-building-native-mac-os-x-apps-with-c/

|title = Xamarin delivers tool for building native Mac OS X apps with C#

|website = ZDNet

|date = December 13, 2012

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093906/http://www.zdnet.com/xamarin-delivers-tool-for-building-native-mac-os-x-apps-with-c-7000008754/

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} Xamarin extends the .NET developer platform with tools and libraries specifically for building apps for Android, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, macOS, and Windows (UWP) primarily with C# in Visual Studio. Developers can re-use their existing C# code, and share significant code across device platforms. Several well-known companies including 3M, AT&T, and HP{{cite web

|url = http://xamarin.com/android

|title = Xamarin for Android

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140423002802/http://xamarin.com/android

|archive-date = April 23, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite web

|url = http://xamarin.com/ios

|title = Xamarin for iOS

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140330033203/http://xamarin.com/ios

|archive-date = March 30, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} have used the platform to create their apps. Xamarin integrates with Visual Studio, Microsoft's IDE for the .NET Framework, and subsequently is available for use by macOS users through Visual Studio for Mac. Xamarin also released a component store to integrate backend systems, 3rd party libraries, cloud services and UI controls directly into mobile apps.{{cite web

|title = Xamarin 2.0 reviewed: iOS development comes to Visual Studio

|author = Peter Bright

|url = https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/xamarin-2-0-reviewed-ios-development-finally-comes-to-visual-studio/

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = February 20, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140414073326/http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/xamarin-2-0-reviewed-ios-development-finally-comes-to-visual-studio/

|archive-date = April 14, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite web

|title = Xamarin tool aims to show the ease with which .NET apps can become mobile

|author = Mikael Ricknäs

|url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/2042950/xamarin-tool-aims-to-show-the-ease-wth-which-net-apps-can-become-mobile.html

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = June 25, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407063324/http://www.pcworld.com/article/2042950/xamarin-tool-aims-to-show-the-ease-wth-which-net-apps-can-become-mobile.html

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}

Introduced in Xamarin 3 on May 28, 2014, and allows one to use portable controls subsets that are mapped to native controls of Android, iOS and Windows Phone.{{cite web |title=Announcing Xamarin 3 |url=https://blog.xamarin.com/announcing-xamarin-3/}} Windows Phone was deprecated and removed in favour of UWP.

It is also possible to target other different platforms such as Tizen (by Samsung), GTK (Linux), WPF and macOS even though they have stayed in Preview.

This system uses XAML. Microsoft has modified this framework to work with the Universal Windows Platform.{{cite web |title=Windows Platform Features - Xamarin |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/xamarin-forms/platform/windows/ |website=docs.microsoft.com |language=en-us}}

Microsoft enables native mobile development with Blazor. Mobile Blazor Bindings allow developers to build native Android and iOS using C#, .NET, and web programming patterns.{{Cite web |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3513955/microsoft-enables-native-mobile-development-with-blazor.html |title=Microsoft enables native mobile development with Blazor |last=Krill |first=Paul |date=2020-01-14 |website=InfoWorld |language=en |access-date=2020-02-06}}

{{Infobox software

| name = .NET Multi-platform App UI

| other_names = .NET MAUI

| developer = Microsoft

| released = {{Start date and age|2020|05|19}}

| latest release version = 6.0.312

| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2022|05|19}}

| latest preview version = 6.0.300-rc.3.5667

| latest preview date = {{Start date and age|2022|05|10}}

| repo = {{URL|https://github.com/dotnet/maui}}

| programming language = C#

| platform = .NET 6

| genre = Widget toolkit

| license = MIT License

| website = {{URL|https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/}}

}}

At Microsoft Build 2020, Microsoft announced that Xamarin.Forms was going to be merged into .NET 6 as .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI).{{Cite web |title=Xamarin Updates From Microsoft Build 2020 |url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/xamarin/microsoft-build-2020-xamarin/|date=2020-05-19 |website=Xamarin Blog|language=en-US |access-date=2020-05-28}} .NET MAUI adds macOS support via Mac Catalyst.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-19 |title=Introducing .NET Multi-platform App UI |url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/introducing-net-multi-platform-app-ui/ |access-date=2021-06-04 |website=.NET Blog |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=dotnet/maui |url=https://github.com/dotnet/maui |website=GitHub |language=en |access-date=2020-05-28}}

On May 23, 2022, during Microsoft Build 2022, .NET MAUI was released.{{Cite web | url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/introducing-dotnet-maui-one-codebase-many-platforms/ | title=Introducing .NET MAUI – One Codebase, Many Platforms | date=May 23, 2022 }} Microsoft stated that they will continue supporting Xamarin until it is fully replaced by .NET MAUI in May 2024.{{Cite web |title=Xamarin official support policy {{!}} .NET |url=https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy/xamarin |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Microsoft |language=en-US}}

Xamarin Test Cloud makes it possible to test mobile apps written in any language on real, non-jailbroken devices in the cloud. Xamarin Test Cloud uses object-based UI testing to simulate real user interactions.{{cite web

|title = Xamarin Test Cloud

|url = https://xamarin.com/test-cloud

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407224552/https://xamarin.com/test-cloud

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}

Xamarin is a .NET developer platform made up of tools, programming languages, and libraries for building many different types of applications.{{cite web

|url = http://xamarin.com/pr/microsoft-global-collaboration

|date = November 13, 2013

|title = Xamarin and Microsoft Announce Global Collaboration

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407224558/http://xamarin.com/pr/microsoft-global-collaboration

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} Xamarin supplies add-ins to Microsoft Visual Studio that allows developers to build Android, iOS, and Windows apps within the IDE using code completion and IntelliSense. Xamarin for Visual Studio also has extensions that provide support for the building, deploying, and debugging of apps on a simulator or a device.{{cite web

|title = Xamarin Visual Studio

|url = http://xamarin.com/visual-studio

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140423003743/http://xamarin.com/visual-studio

|archive-date = April 23, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} In late 2013, Xamarin and Microsoft announced a partnership that included further technical integration and customer programs to make it possible for their joint developer bases to build for all mobile platforms.{{cite web

|title = Developing iOS & Android Apps with C# in Visual Studio

|author = Abel Avram

|url = http://www.infoq.com/news/2013/11/visual-studio-ios-android

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = November 13, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407081503/http://www.infoq.com/news/2013/11/visual-studio-ios-android

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} In addition, Xamarin now includes support for Microsoft Portable Class Libraries{{cite web

|title = Microsoft, Xamarin simplify cross-platform development

|author = Mikael Ricknäs

|url = http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244018/Microsoft_Xamarin_simplify_cross_platform_development

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = November 13, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075700/http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244018/Microsoft_Xamarin_simplify_cross_platform_development

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} and most C# 5.0 features such as async/await. CEO and co-founder of Xamarin, Nat Friedman, announced the alliance at the launch of Visual Studio 2013 in New York.

Xamarin is useful in developing iOS and Android apps.

On March 31, 2016, Microsoft announced that they were merging all of Xamarin's software with every version of Microsoft Visual Studio including Visual Studio Community, and this added various Xamarin features to come pre-installed in Visual Studio such as an iOS emulator.{{cite web|url=http://www.winbuzzer.com/2016/03/31/build-2016-microsoft-talks-xamarin-coming-free-to-visual-studio-with-an-ios-emulator-xcxwbn/|title=Build 2016: Microsoft Talks Xamarin, Coming Free to Visual Studio with an iOS Emulator.|work=Winbuzzer News|date=March 31, 2016|first=Luke|last=Jones|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414014807/http://www.winbuzzer.com/2016/03/31/build-2016-microsoft-talks-xamarin-coming-free-to-visual-studio-with-an-ios-emulator-xcxwbn/|archive-date=April 14, 2016}}

At the time of its release in February 2013, Xamarin Studio was a standalone IDE for mobile app development on Windows and macOS, as part of Xamarin 2.0 based on the open source project MonoDevelop.{{cite web

|title = Xamarin Components

|url = http://components.xamarin.com/

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140506132207/http://components.xamarin.com/

|archive-date = May 6, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} In addition to a debugger, Xamarin Studio includes code completion in C#, an Android UI builder for creating user interfaces without XML, and integration with Xcode Interface Builder for iOS app design.{{cite web

|title = Review: Xamarin 2.0 works mobile development magic

|author = Tom Thompson

|url = http://www.infoworld.com/d/application-development/review-xamarin-20-works-mobile-development-magic-217236

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = April 26, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20140402042302/http://www.infoworld.com/d/application-development/review-xamarin-20-works-mobile-development-magic-217236

|archive-date = April 2, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}

On Windows Xamarin Studio is now deprecated and was replaced with Xamarin for Visual Studio. On macOS Xamarin Studio is still in development, but was rebranded in 2016 as Visual Studio for Mac.{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-makes-visual-studio-for-mac-generally-available/ |title=Microsoft makes Visual Studio for Mac generally available |website=ZDNet |access-date=May 17, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516211456/http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-makes-visual-studio-for-mac-generally-available/ |archive-date=May 16, 2017}}

Xamarin.Mac was created as a tool for Apple technology application development using the C# programming language. Xamarin.Mac, as with Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android, gives developers up to 90% of code reuse across Android, iOS and Windows.{{cite web

|title = Microsoft, Xamarin give Visual Studio a leg-up for... Android and iOS?

|author = Tim Anderson

|website = The Register

|url = https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/13/microsoft_xamarin_ios_android_c_sharp_visual_studio/

|date = November 13, 2013

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140320092951/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/13/microsoft_xamarin_ios_android_c_sharp_visual_studio/

|archive-date = March 20, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}} Xamarin.Mac gives C# developers the ability to build fully native Cocoa apps for macOS and allows for native apps that can be put into the Mac App Store.{{cite web

|title = Xamarin debuts Android and iOS app development inside Visual Studio for C# programmers

|author = John Koetsier

|url = https://venturebeat.com/2013/02/20/xamarin-debuts-ios-and-android-app-development-inside-visual-studio-for-c-programmers/

|access-date = April 1, 2014

|date = February 20, 2013

|url-status = live

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407081300/http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/20/xamarin-debuts-ios-and-android-app-development-inside-visual-studio-for-c-programmers/

|archive-date = April 7, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}{{cite web

| title=Can Xamarin's New Mac Tool Lift C# Above Objective-C?

| author=Darryl K. Taft

| url=http://www.eweek.com/developer/can-xamarins-new-mac-tool-lift-c-above-objective-c/

| access-date=April 1, 2014

| date=December 14, 2012

}}

Xamarin's .NET Mobility Scanner lets developers see how much of their .NET code can run on other operating systems, specifically Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Windows Store. It is a free web-based service that uses Silverlight.[http://scan.xamarin.com/ How mobile is your .NET?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625142303/http://scan.xamarin.com/ |date=June 25, 2014 }}, Retrieved June 24, 2014

In October 2015 Xamarin announced that they had acquired the Swedish RoboVM for Java developer platform akin to its offerings, the reason stated by Xamarin for the acquisition was that if they developed a Java-based platform from the ground up, their end product would be similar to RoboVM so they acquired the company instead; as a result RoboVM operates independently of the Xamarin team. RoboVM enables developers to build Java apps for iOS and Android with fully native UIs, native performances, and all Java apps have the complete access to the APIs of each developer platform.{{cite news|last=Butler|first=Victoria|title=Xamarin Acquires RoboVM, Now the Only Cross-Platform Mobile Development Company for the Top Two Enterprise Languages. Acquisition provides a path to mobile for 13 million C# and Java enterprise developers.|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151021005382/en/Xamarin-Acquires-RoboVM-Cross-Platform-Mobile-Development-Company|newspaper=Business Wire|date=October 21, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301205000/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151021005382/en/Xamarin-Acquires-RoboVM-Cross-Platform-Mobile-Development-Company|archive-date=March 1, 2016}}{{cite news|last=Taft|first=Darryl K.|title=Xamarin Buys RoboVM, Adds Java to its C# Fold.|url=http://www.eweek.com/developer/xamarin-buys-robovm-adds-java-to-its-c-fold.html|newspaper=eWeek|date=October 21, 2015}}

In April 2016 Microsoft announced that they would discontinue RoboVM and cease all subscriptions after April 30, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/15/microsoft_discontinues_robovm/|title=Embrace, extend – and kill. Microsoft discontinues RoboVM.|work=The Register (Biting the hand that feeds IT)|date=April 16, 2016|first=Tim|last=Anderson|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810172003/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/15/microsoft_discontinues_robovm/|archive-date=August 10, 2017}}

BugVM,{{cite web |url=https://bugvm.com/ |title=BugVM – We are the BugVM |access-date=July 1, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803102307/https://bugvm.com/ |archive-date=August 3, 2016 }} a fork of RoboVM was created to maintain the free open source status.{{Cite web|url=https://ibinti.com/bugvm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803102307/https://bugvm.com/|url-status=dead|title=BugVM – ibinti|archive-date=August 3, 2016}}

• In 2013, Xamarin acquired the mobile application testing platform LessPainful.{{cite news|last=Tolentino|first=Melissa|title=Xamarin Acquires LessPainful, Introduces Automated UI Testing Platform.|url=http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/04/16/xamarin-acquires-lesspainful-introduces-automated-ui-testing-platform/|newspaper=SiliconANGLE|date=April 16, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307015244/http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/04/16/xamarin-acquires-lesspainful-introduces-automated-ui-testing-platform/|archive-date=March 7, 2016}}
• In 2015, Xamarin acquired the Java application development platform RoboVM.{{cite news|last=Butler|first=Victoria|title=Xamarin Acquires RoboVM, Now the Only Cross-Platform Mobile Development Company for the Top Two Enterprise Languages.|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/xamarin-acquires-robovm-now-only-170000739.html|newspaper=Yahoo! Finance|date=October 21, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015050857/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/xamarin-acquires-robovm-now-only-170000739.html|archive-date=October 15, 2016}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}

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