.NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) is a new development framework from Microsoft that allows developers to build native mobile and desktop apps using a single codebase. It is the evolution of Xamarin.Forms, a popular cross-platform development framework that allowed developers to create mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows using C# and .NET.

.NET MAUI takes the concept of Xamarin.Forms and extends it to create a truly cross-platform development framework that enables developers to build apps for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and even the web. It provides a set of common UI controls and APIs that work across all platforms, while still allowing developers to access native platform-specific features when necessary.

In this blog post, we will explore .NET MAUI and create a basic example to demonstrate its capabilities.

Getting Started with .NET MAUI To get started with .NET MAUI, you will need to have Visual Studio 2022 installed on your machine. You can download the preview version of Visual Studio 2022 from the Microsoft website.

Once you have installed Visual Studio 2022, you can create a new .NET MAUI project by selecting “Mobile App (Maui)” from the new project dialog. You can choose from a variety of project templates, including Blank, Single View, Master-Detail, and more.

Creating a Basic Example For this example, we will create a simple “Hello, World!” app that displays a message on the screen.

Step 1: Create a new .NET MAUI project in Visual Studio 2022 Select “Mobile App (Maui)” from the new project dialog and choose the “Blank” template.

Step 2: Add a label control to the MainPage.xaml file Open the MainPage.xaml file and add the following XAML code:

<ContentPage xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dotnet/2021/maui"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             x:Class="HelloMaui.MainPage">
    <StackLayout>
        <Label Text="Hello, World!"
               VerticalOptions="CenterAndExpand" 
               HorizontalOptions="CenterAndExpand" />
    </StackLayout>
</ContentPage>

This code creates a new ContentPage with a StackLayout containing a Label control that displays the message “Hello, World!”.

Step 3: Build and run the app Build the app by pressing F5 or selecting “Build > Build Solution” from the menu. Once the app has built successfully, select “Debug > Start Debugging” from the menu to run the app in the iOS simulator or Android emulator.

Conclusion .NET MAUI is an exciting new development framework that enables developers to build truly cross-platform apps using a single codebase. In this blog post, we created a simple “Hello, World!” app using .NET MAUI to demonstrate its capabilities. With .NET MAUI, developers can create powerful, native apps for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and the web, all using C# and .NET. If you’re a developer looking to create cross-platform apps, be sure to check out .NET MAUI!