Mechanics of Binding Libraries in Xamarin/MAUI

Creating a completely new digital product is not always appropriate, especially if you already have a ready-made solution based on a native framework. It can easily be cross-platform, quickly adapted and customized if needed. However, only if you have a universal Binding Libraries mechanism for Xamarin/MAUI.

We recently implemented it in the project “Mozark” and today we will share the details with you. 

Learn more about the features of the project below!

Development can take an incredibly long time, especially if there is a need to release a product for several key operating systems. In such cases, the standard frameworks are:

• SwiftUI for iOS.
• Kotlin for Android.

However, there is an alternative way, namely the use of cross-platform solutions such as Xamarin or MAUI. At the same time, the key problem remains, namely the adaptation of the product to both platforms, their APIs, interfaces, etc. 

To solve this challenge, we implemented our own unique Binding Libraries mechanism.

To put it simply, we have created a universal solution that allows you to transform projects. Of course, there are still points to be refined, but using this mechanism, you can:

• Move most of the project developed in Kotlin or SwiftUI to MAUI while keeping screens, modules, etc.
• Quickly customize APIs for each operating system, adapt commands and screen design, and behavior logic.
• Almost instantly integrate virtually any payment gateways and platforms, including Stripe, which we used in the last project.

Another advantage of this feature, mechanism, is its integration into MAUI. Formally, the binding function is already included in the framework, but we have slightly transformed it to meet our needs.

It is assumed that since Binding Libraries is a built-in tool from Microsoft, it should just work. Conditionally, recompile projects in a cross-platform environment from native frameworks into the same Xamarin or MAUI format. However, everything always works “out of the box” only in theory. 

If this project was relatively calm, then the initial preparation of the mechanism took place with difficulties, in particular:

• It was necessary to write all “bindings” practically from scratch.
• There was a significant lack of ready-made libraries, which we had to search for separately, including in repositories Maven Repository, GIT, etc.
• Setting up and testing individual elements took a lot of time and resources, at least in the early stages.

Since you are reading this case, we have successfully solved the problems and created a ready-made solution that we use to work on various tasks.

From the end-user's point of view, the feature is not something significant, special, or critical. However, for the product owner, Binding Libraries is a tool that allows them to implement their project much faster and reduce development costs.

For example, porting a product to a cross-platform framework with Binding Libraries can cost 10 times less than full-fledged development on the same Xamarin/MAUI. It's an effective solution that significantly speeds up and reduces the cost of mobile app development.

Do you want to implement a similar project or port a ready-made application to Xamarin/MAUI? Delegate this task to the BuildApps team!