Microsoft’s Build 2017 has been a lot about how developers can leverage on its .NET framework to create a lot of stuff. One of those things can be created is mobile apps (iOS and Android) from the comfort of your Windows PC.
That said, Microsoft announced an update to the XAML libraries for building user interfaces too because of compatibility issues. XAML Standard 1.0 is a unified markup language for building user interfaces are compatible across multiple platforms like Windows, Android and iOS.
The other announcement by Microsoft is the Xamarin Live Player that allows developers create iOS apps from a Windows computer. By pairing this with Visual Studio, a developer can easily deploy iOS apps and the other good part of this is that you can use the same Visual Studio’s live editing tools you are already familiar with it so that you don’t have to start getting used to a new environment.
While this all means that Microsoft wants to make it easier for developers to create and launch on multiple platforms without much stress, it could also mean that Microsoft is finally coming to terms with the dominance of iOS and Android in the mobile space and doesn’t want to lose out completely. Microsoft shocked the entire tech world when it announced last year that it was joining the Linux Foundation and not just that it was joining but that it was joining at the highest level (platinum) which translates to $500,000 annually.
But this is good for the tech industry and partially developers because of the ease of doing business. Before now, everyone had to build codes separately for each platform and you can imagine the overall effect on timing and cost both to the developer and users.
Back in March 2016, Microsoft also announced that its well valued database platform SQL was coming to Linux in another surprising but inevitable move because you see, 3.6 million Linux servers were shipped in 2014, compared with 2.4 million in 2011. Windows servers fell to 6.2 million in that time, from 6.5 million. It just makes sense for Microsoft to start loosening up a bit and the fact that it’s happening at this pace says a lot.
Apple is another company that has loosened its grip on its operating system lately. By allow developers access to Siri (its personal assistant).
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Paul Femi Balo is the founder and publisher of TechBooky. He covers artificial intelligence, African technology, digital infrastructure, enterprise technology and the global digital economy.
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