.NET MAUI - Workshop

Today we will build a .NET MAUI application that will display a list of Monkeys from around the world. We will start by building the business logic backend that pulls down json-encoded data from a RESTful endpoint. We will then leverage .NET MAUI to find the closest monkey to us and also show the monkey on a map. We will also see how to display data in many different ways and then finally fully theme the application.

Languages

This workshop is available in the following languages:

English - default README files
Chinese (Simplified) - README files ending with .zh-cn.md (Translated by Kinfey Lo)
Chinese (Traditional) - README filed ending with .zh-tw.md (Translated by James Tsai)

Setup Guide

Hey there! This workshop will be a hands on and a bring your own device workshop. You can develop on PC or Mac and all you will need to do is install Visual Studio 2022 or Visual Studio for Mac 2022 with the .NET MAUI workload. It is built on .NET 8, which means you will need version 17.9 of Visual Studio 2022 or newer. See full installation guide for .NET MAUI for more information.

Before starting the workshop, I recommend going through the quick 10 minute .NET MAUI Tutorial that will guide you through installation and also ensuring everything is configured correct.

If you are new to mobile development, we recommend deploying to a physical Android device which can be setup in just a few steps. If you don't have a device, don't worry as you can setup an Android emulator with hardware acceleration. If you don't have time to set this up ahead of time, don't worry as we are here to help during the workshop.

Beyond that you will be good to go for the workshop!

Agenda

I have also put together an abstract of what you can expect for the day long workshop:

Part 0 - 30 Min Session - Introduction to .NET MAUI Session & Setup Help
Part 1 - Single Page List of Data
Part 2 - MVVM & Data Binding
Part 3 - Navigation
Part 4 - Implementing Platform Features
Part 5 - CollectionView & Beyond
Part 6 - Theming the app

To get started open the Part 1 - Displaying Data folder and open MonkeyFinder.sln. You can use this throughout the workshop. Each part has a README file with directions for that part. If you came in late, you can open any of the folders and there is a starting project for that section.

Video Walkthrough

James recorded a full 4-hour walkthrough end-to-end on his YouTube!

Blazor Hybrid Workshop

If you want to learn more about Blazor Hybrid too, then we have got another great workshop lined up for you!

In this workshop you will build the same app as in this one, the Monkey Finder app, but now using Blazor Hybrid. By doing both workshops, you can really see the differences and similarities between the two approaches.