Leveraging Xamarin.Essentials APIs in Xamarin

Xamarin.Essentials is a cross-platform library that provides a set of APIs for building native and beautiful mobile apps using Xamarin. It provides a wide range of essential libraries, including accelerometer, contacts, file system, geolocation, and much more. This page will discuss how to leverage Xamarin.Essentials APIs in Xamarin.

Syntax

The syntax for using Xamarin.Essentials APIs in Xamarin is straightforward. Here's how you can use the Xamarin.Essentials geolocation API to get the current latitude and longitude of a device:

using Xamarin.Essentials;

public async void GetLocation()
{
    var location = await Geolocation.GetLocationAsync();

    if (location != null)
    {
        var latitude = location.Latitude;
        var longitude = location.Longitude;
    }
}

Example

Let's take an example of how to use the Xamarin.Essentials Accelerometer API to retrieve the current device's acceleration values in Xamarin.

using Xamarin.Essentials;

public async void GetAcceleration()
{
    var data = await Accelerometer.StartAsync();
    var xAccel = data.Acceleration.X;
    var yAccel = data.Acceleration.Y;
    var zAccel = data.Acceleration.Z;
}

Explanation

In the above example, we are using the Accelerometer API from Xamarin.Essentials to get the current device's acceleration values. We started the API first by calling Accelerometer.StartAsync();, which initializes and starts retrieving data from the accelerometer sensor. We then retrieved the data from the sensor and stored the values for X, Y, and Z acceleration.

Use

Xamarin.Essentials API can be used to provide a wide range of functionalities to your Xamarin application. Some of the use cases of the Xamarin.Essentials APIs are:

• Getting the current location of the device
• Saving and retrieving data efficiently in the app settings
• Retrieving and saving files using the file system API
• Playing and recording audio using the media API
• Allowing users to make phone calls, send emails, and open web pages with API like Mail, Launcher, and Phone Dialer

Important Points

• Before using Xamarin.Essentials API, make sure you have added the latest Xamarin.Essentials package in your NuGet packages.
• Xamarin.Essentials provides different API for different use cases. Make sure you import the right API for the desired function.
• Xamarin.Essentials provides API for both asynchronous and synchronous function calls. Use the asynchronous version of the API to avoid blocking the UI thread.

Summary

Xamarin.Essentials is a powerful cross-platform library that provides a set of essential APIs to simplify and speed up the development process of Xamarin applications. These APIs allow you to build flexible and native mobile applications that can access essential device functionalities. By leveraging this library, you can provide your users with an exceptional experience that truly feels like a native app.