The Redmond Giant is Poised to Showcase Cutting Edge Software Development System this November

Published by D Girma on 2021-09-142021-09-14

Overview

Let’s admit it—software development over the last decades has been compartmentalised based on the platforms that were made distinct by their operating systems (OSs), notable ones being Microsoft Windows, Google Android, Apple iOS, macOS and various versions of Linux. So compartmentalised, developers were compelled to make that hard choice of picking one operating system for their career development.

We know it didn’t have to be this way because we know that all operating systems (and the underlying processing hardware and firmware) are all human artifacts that can be made to change for the better, and toward a unified programming environment. Such trends were well demonstrated by cross-platform development projects and tools over the recent past. Such challenges were met by cross-platform projects of Mono since 2004 and .NET (initially .NET Core) since 2016.

I believe November should an exciting time for the Tech World, particularly for software developers, as Microsoft will be releasing the .NET Multi-platform App User Interface or .NET MAUI (I know this looks a weird abbreviation!). Based on a preview of .NET MAUI which has been running for several months now, there are many features that warrant the use of a phrase “Cutting Edge Software Development System”.

What is so exciting about .NET MAUI ?

.NET MAUI a culmination of that journey to a truly cross-platform implementation which breaks decades long compartmentalised barriers. There is nothing more exciting than writing a single codebase that runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Tizen and Windows, and .NET MAUI is just that.

Oops! Microsoft is delaying the release date for .NET MAUI — see end text.

What are the Cutting Edge Technologies?

The Framework Software — .NET 6 is what powers .NET MAUI and it is a free open-source software framework for cross-platform design and implementation. It is essentially the successor to the Microsoft .NET Framework introduced nearly 20 years ago.
The Development System — Visual Studio 2022 is here, and for release this November, and it is through which we get to .NET MAUI design and implementation. As exciting is the release of the next version of the C# language as C#10 (or version 10). C# is the most preferred programming language with .NET and Visual Studio IDE (Integrated Design Environment). While feature-rich Visual Studio Enterprise can cost several thousand dollars (over a million ETB) — fear not — you can grab your free version of Community Edition at no cost! The only differences you’d notice compared to Professional or Enterprise version are perhaps the additional development aids such as Advanced Debugging and Testing and support for Collaborative Working that are paramount for industry-standard product development involving teams of developers.
The Cloud Computing and More — All the above important successes are no accidents; they are underpinned by multitudes of technologies that accelerate innovations such as GitHub (for hosting open-source projects) and the emerging Cloud Computing technology upon us. The author of this article of strong opinion that Mobile Cloud Computing is one innovative technology poised to make a significant impact in developing countries like Ethiopia (read his articles on Cloud Computing whose links appear on the side panel of the same page).

With regard to Visual Studio 2022, the 32-bit processing (with 4 GB RAM limitation) that Visual Studio IDE was thus far tied to, is now coming to an end. Visual Studio 2022 is a truly 64-bit application! This doesn’t mean it runs twice as fast–it means it overcomes inherent limitations brought about by 32-bit processing but performance improvements for 64-bit processing will still be in the works. Being a 64-bit application, it can still be used to develop 32-bit applications which means ongoing development projects will continue.

Concluding Remarks

You now know the big news coming this November. Unified software development is here — to a some extent this has existed in a patchy form with gradual improvements with development tools like Xamarin — but .NET MAUI is what replaces the likes of Xamarin in a big way. If you’re an aspiring software developer, it is now time you keep an active interest in this area.

The future is the smartphone. The future is Cloud Computing particularly Mobile Cloud Computing for the developing world. The future is cross-platform software development.

Note: Consider this article being in Draft mode and it may amended in the coming few days.

Update on .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI)

…The .NET team has been working hard with the community in the open on its development and we are committed to its release. Unfortunately, .NET MAUI will not be ready for production with .NET 6 GA in November. We want to provide the best experience, performance, and quality on day 1 to our users and to do that, we need to slip the schedule. We are now targeting early Q2 of 2022 for .NET MAUI GA.