Understanding Game Application Development: With Xamarin.Forms and ASP.NET

Description

Learn to build a simple data-driven mobile game application using the power of Xamarin.Forms, ASP.NET, the Web API, and SignalR with this short book. In it you will build a cross-platform mobile application that targets both iOS and Android, connect your app with your database using Entity Framework, and implement real-time syncing functionality using SignalR.  Understanding Game Application Development starts by giving you an overview of the development tools, an installation guide, and a list of prerequisites. You will learn how to manage application flow, create your workspace, and set up your database. Next, you will see how to access data for handling CRUD operations and define the necessary API endpoints. Further, you will build a mobile application with Xamarin.Forms, both in iOS and in Android.  You will also understand the deployment and testing process as well as how to build a real-time leader board using ASP.NET MVC and SignalR. Finally, you will understand how to publish your source code on GitHub from Visual Studio 2017. What You Will LearnUnderstand the basic concept and fundamentals of the technologies used for building the applicationsSet up your development environmentCreate a SQL database from scratch Implement a data access layerDefine REST service endpoints using the Web APIDeploy, test, and debug iOS and Android applicationsPush your source code to GitHubWho This Book Is For .NET developers who want to jump on mobile application development with Xamarin and learn with practical examples. Table of Contents About the Author About the Technical Reviewers Introduction Chapter 1: Introduction Roadmap Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Background What You Will Learn Prerequisites Development Tools Download Resources Windows Mac Installation Guide Visual Studio 2017 SQL Server 2017 Five Players, One Goal Xamarin.Forms Xamarin vs. Xamarin.Forms ASP.NET Web API EF ASP.NET MVC ASP.NET SignalR Wrap-Up Chapter 2: Getting Started Application Flow Mobile Application Process Flow Web API Server Process Flow Web Application Process Flow Game Overview Mechanics Objective Mobile Application Views Welcome Screen Registration Screen Main Screen Result Screen Web Application View Creating the Core Projects for Mobile App Overview and Anatomy MemoryGame.App MemoryGame.App.Android MemoryGame.App.iOS Architecture Fundamentals First Run Xamarin.Android Xamarin.iOS The Required NuGet Packages Chapter 3: Configuring Data Access and API Endpoints Creating a New Empty Database Creating the ASP.NET Web API Project Integrating EF What Is an ORM? What is EF? Setting Up a Data Access Layer Implementing CRUD Operations A Friendly Reminder The Web API Endpoints Enabling CORS Sample cURLs Testing with Postman Chapter 4: Building Mobile Application with  Xamarin.Forms Implementing the Service Interfaces The IHaptic Interface The ILocalDataStore Interface The ISound Interface The Helper Class The Settings Class The DTO Class The GameAPI Class Async and Await Overview Method Definitions The PlayerManager Class Adding the Needed Graphics and Sound File Android iOS The Required XAML Pages The Register Page The Home Page The Result Page Setting the Page Navigation Summary of Files Added Implementing the Haptic and Sound Services Xamarin.Android Haptic Service Xamarin.Android Sound Service Xamarin.iOS Haptic Service Xamarin.iOS Sound Service Setting Permissions Xamarin.Android Xamarin.iOS Chapter 5: Building a Simple Real-Time Leaderboard Web App with ASP.NET SignalR and MVC What ASP.NET MVC Is The Model The Controller The View What ASP.NET SignalR Is Transport Protocols Selection Transport Protocol Overview Create a New Web Application Integrating ASP.NET SignalR Adding a Middleware for SignalR Adding a Hub Adding an API Endpoint Configure Web API Routing Enabling API Endpoint-to-Endpoint Communication Adding an MVC Controller Adding a View Output Chapter 6: Deployment and  Testing Using the Conveyor Plug-in for Visual Studio 2017 What Is Conveyor? Install Conveyor Using SharpProxy Simulating the Application’s Process Android iOS Next Steps Output Chapter 7: Pushing Your Code to GitHub Using Visual Studio to Push Source Code in GitHub Download GitHub Extension for Visual Studio Publishing Your Code GitHub Repository and Source Code References Index