Chapter 12. Xamarin Forms Labs

As we rapidly approach the final chapter of this book, I am sure that, by now, you will have mixed emotions about Xamarin Forms. On one hand, it simplifies the development of applications on all the three platforms, but on the other hand, it is very limited without having to create a custom renderer. Step forward Xamarin.Forms.Labs, the open source extension library.

In this chapter, we will examine:

• What Xamarin Forms labs is

• How to create your own extension library

What is Xamarin Forms Labs?

When Xamarin Forms first came out, it was only intended as a means for abstraction of the user interface that allows you a simplified way to create an app. In that respect, it is great. The problem though is that when you start on that track, the development community generally wants more.

Xamarin is not concerned with this because Xamarin Forms is purely for the UI—anything else is outside the remit of the project. Xamarin Forms Labs came about to fill the parts of the UI missed by the main project.

Let's take CheckBox as an example.

Installing Xamarin Forms Labs in your project

Xamarin Forms Labs is available via NuGet. Create your application as you would normally.

Perform the following steps:

1. Select the PCL at the top and click on the context menu icon.

2. From the menu, select Add | Add NuGet Packages….

   

3. A new window will appear. Type XLabs Forms in the search box:

   

4. Tick the checkbox and click on Add Package.

This will install the library in your project and give you the...

Summary

As with the other chapters, we've covered a great deal in this chapter. We've seen how we can extend the functionality of the Xamarin Forms application using the well supported and ever expanding XLab Forms. We also looked at how to create our own plugin that can be distributed via NuGet. The opportunities to extend Xamarin Forms are great; it just takes a bit of effort to do it.

In the next chapter, we will see how to incorporate various social media outlets into your app.