Build Cross Platform Apps with Xamarin Forms and Azure

Create a Microsoft Azure account with a free 30-day trial, verify your identity by phone, and access the Azure portal. Log in if you already have an account.

Set up an Azure mobile app project using template and explore solution structure, including app data, startup, to-do item model, and a CRUD REST API backed by a local database.

Create a notes service by adding a notes data model derived from entity data and scaffold an api controller to expose get, post, batch, and delete operations via data context.

Test rest endpoints with postman by posting, getting, patching, and deleting notes in the database table notes. Review data in the database via view studio and sql server explorer.

Learn to create and publish a mobile app in Azure by selecting a unique name, subscription, resource group, and app service plan, then access the app homepage via its URL.

Create an Azure SQL database by selecting a server, locating the nearest region, and setting a pricing tier, then download the publish profile to configure credentials for publishing.

Publish the mobile app by setting the database connection string in web.config and deploying the app service to Azure, then test API endpoints in the next module.

Preview and manage data in an Azure database by using the Azure portal and Postman to perform CRUD operations on the notes table via the Azure App Service REST endpoints.

Create a cross platform Xamarin forms project, selecting the dot net standard option with an empty template, and set up a three-project solution (dot standard project, Android project, iOS project).

Install the Microsoft.Azure.Mobile.Client package and initialize the Azure mobile apps client in Android and iOS startup code to enable consumption of the Azure mobile app service in a Xamarin.Forms app.

Add a models note class and a note service that uses a mobile service client to perform get nodes, add node, update node, and delete node on Azure.

Implement the get notes method to retrieve all notes from the Azure service using a mobile service client, returning IEnumerable of notes asynchronously and preparing for the add method.

Implement the add note method in a Xamarin.Forms app to post a note object to the Azure backend, access the notes table, and insert asynchronously.

Implement the update node method in the Xamarin forms app using a mobile service client to update the notes table asynchronously, sending the N object in a batch request.

Implement the delete note method in the Xamarin forms app by sending a full note object to the API, using the mobile service client, get table, and delete async.

Design a notes page UI in a Xamarin Forms app by building a ListView with a custom ViewCell and stack layout, binding two labels to data properties.

Bind the label text to the notes class title and description properties. Prepare to consume this bound data as a service in the Xamarin forms application.

Implement behind-the-scenes functionality for the notes page by wiring a list view to fetch nodes via an async node service and assign the results to the list view item source. Wrap the list in a frame with five-unit margins for better appearance and set the main page to the notes page at startup.

Builds add note user interface with a stack layout, a list view, and a tappable label to navigate to the add note page, a title entry and a description editor.

Implement code-behind for add note page by wiring title and description inputs, saving via a toolbar item, and asynchronously creating a node with a server-generated id to appear in list.

Create an update note page in Xamarin forms. Wire a list view item selected event to pass the selected node to the update page for editing title and description.

Implement the code-behind for the update note page, bind title and description to the note object, and call the asynchronous update node method to persist changes to the database.

Implement delete note via context actions in Xamarin.Forms, bind the menu item to the note and call the node service delete method, then refresh the list to show deletions.

Initialize static data using a static constructor in a Xamarin Forms app. Access the static notes service via a get notes service method to add, update, and delete notes.

Install the official Microsoft Azure mobile offline storage and synchronization NuGet package and the connectivity plugin. These plugins enable offline synchronization and connectivity checks for use in the next module.

Implement offline synchronization in the Xamarin.Forms app by configuring a local store and sync context, then push and pull to sync notes with the Azure Mobile Apps server.