The future of .NET for cross-platform development with .NET MAUI and Blazor

By Zheng Li | Posted Sep 19, 2024 | 7 min. (1331 words)

The .NET ecosystem rapidly evolves, equipping developers with the latest tools and frameworks for cross-platform application development. In a recent Founder & Friends podcast episode, “Everything .NET,” Raygun CEO John Daniel Trask (JD) and Microsoft Principal Program Manager James Montemagno explored the present and future of cross-platform development, highlighting Microsoft’s pivotal role in shaping the direction of this rapidly evolving field.

This article summarizes key insights from JD and James’ conversation, offering .NET developers a glimpse into the future of cross-platform mobile development within the .NET ecosystem.

Their discussion covers a wide range of topics, including:

James’ tech journey with .NET

James’ tech journey began in high school, sparked by programming classes and his passion for video games. He initially pursued game development, working with C++ on Xbox 360 games, but a college course in C# changed his trajectory. He recalls, “I had an instructor there, Phil Miller, who taught C# and interface-based programming. I was in this object-oriented programming language, and my mind was blown.”

Fascinated by the object-oriented nature of C#, James shifted his focus to developing tools and applications using .NET technologies. His career took him from creating enterprise printer software to developing Windows Phone apps, eventually leading to his current role at Microsoft where he influences the future of cross-platform development with .NET.

Cross-platform development with .NET MAUI

One of the main discussion topics was .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI), the evolution of Xamarin.Forms. .NET MAUI allows developers to build native mobile and desktop apps using a single codebase. James emphasized the flexibility that MAUI offers:

“.NET MAUI serves as a foundational layer. Frameworks like Uno and Avalonia can build on top of it to create powerful cross-platform applications. Even WinUI can leverage MAUI’s capabilities. This flexibility allows developers to choose the best approach for their needs, whether a fully native UI or a more hybrid approach.”

For those interested in exploring .NET MAUI further, our blog post Life beyond Xamarin - the future of mobile development provides additional insights into the transition from Xamarin to MAUI and its implications for mobile developers.

Bridging the web and native development with Blazor

James and JD’s conversation also touched on Blazor, Microsoft’s framework for building interactive web UIs using C#.

James highlighted how Blazor is bridging the gap between web and native development:

“Blazor, I’m sure people have noticed, has been at the forefront of what the ASP.NET Core team has pushed heavily for building web apps. Marrying Blazor with MAUI for mobile and desktop is special because you’re unlocking this potential now. You can build web apps with Blazor and use MAUI for mobile and desktop, creating a powerful combination for cross-platform development.”

This integration allows web developers to leverage their existing skills to build native mobile and desktop applications, potentially opening up new opportunities for cross-platform development.

If you’re considering using Blazor for your projects, look at our documentation on error monitoring for Blazor apps. It’ll help you keep your Blazor applications running smoothly and maintain high quality.

The rise of hybrid development

One of the key trends discussed was the increasing popularity of hybrid development approaches. James noted:

“Nowadays, everything’s hybrid. Take our current setup, for example. We’re using tools like Restream and StreamYard, which run in the browser. At the same time, I’ve got desktop apps open. It’s a mix of technologies - a little bit of everything, everywhere. That’s the reality of modern development.”

This shift towards hybrid development reflects the changing needs of both developers and users. While native performance is still crucial for many applications, the ability to rapidly develop and deploy across multiple platforms is becoming increasingly important.

.NET Aspire and cloud-native development

James and JD’s conversation also touched on .NET Aspire, a new set of cloud-native development tools from Microsoft. James explained how Aspire is making it easier for developers to build distributed applications:

“.NET Aspire provides these building blocks that have super-accelerated how I build web and distributed applications. I can create a .NET Aspire app host, add it to my existing projects, and get automatic service discovery so they know how to communicate with each other. Suddenly, I have all these built-in service defaults - free health checks, telemetry, and resiliency. It’s all there, ready to use.”

This approach to cloud-native development is making it easier for developers to build scalable, resilient applications without manually managing all the underlying infrastructure. For those working with microservices architectures, our blog post on best practices for tracking and debugging microservices can provide valuable insights into maintaining the health and performance of your distributed systems.

And for those who are interested in .NET Aspire, check out out blog post Raygun4Aspire, a free lightweight Crash Reporting app running locally for a lightweight open source Raygun app that helps you debug exceptions straight from your local environment.

The impact of AI on .NET development

The role of AI in .NET development was also discussed, with James highlighting several key areas where AI is making an impact:

  1. GitHub Copilot integration in Visual Studio and VS Code
  2. AI-powered features in Microsoft Teams and Outlook
  3. New AI-focused SDKs and integrations, such as the OpenAI .NET SDK

James also mentioned the upcoming .NET Conf focused on AI and .NET, suggesting that we can expect to see even more AI integration in the .NET ecosystem in the near future.

Looking to the future

As the conversation wrapped up, JD and James expressed excitement about the future of .NET development. The ecosystem’s greatest strength is its ability to adapt to new trends and technologies while providing software developers with a stable and productive environment.

James summed it up well:

“For me, it was like: ‘What’s something I’m going to use today that I can also use in the future as my career progresses?’ I got lucky. I came of age in programming at the perfect time. I fell in love with desktop development and leveraged my passion for things like WinForms, WPF, and Silverlight. Then, I could bring that knowledge to phone development and leverage it on iOS and Android right when mobile was in its infancy. The timing was perfect.”

As .NET continues to evolve, it’s clear that it will remain a powerful and flexible platform for developers across a wide range of applications and industries.

The future of .NET development is bright

Tools like MAUI and Blazor make cross-platform development more accessible than ever. As the line between web and native development continues to blur and AI increasingly integrates into our development workflows, .NET developers have many opportunities to explore and leverage.

Whether you’re building mobile apps, web applications, or distributed cloud-native systems, the .NET ecosystem provides the tools and frameworks you need to succeed. By staying up-to-date with the latest developments and embracing new technologies as they emerge, you can ensure that your skills remain relevant and in demand in the ever-changing world of software development.

To ensure your .NET applications run smoothly across all platforms, consider integrating a robust error monitoring and performance management tool like Raygun. With support for various .NET frameworks, including MAUI and Blazor, Raygun helps you quickly identify and resolve issues, enabling you to deliver high-quality applications.

For a practical implementation guide, check out James Montemagno’s YouTube video, which provides a detailed walkthrough on monitoring .NET MAUI apps for errors using Raygun.

About James

You can find James Montemagno’s podcasts Merge Conflict, Nintendo Dispatch, and Coffeehouse Blunders on his website. You can also find James on his YouTube channel James Montemagno.

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