Xamarin releases Xamarin.mac, can now build Mac OS X apps using C#

With the release of Xamarin.Mac, it is now possible to build apps in C# for over 2.2 billion devices worldwide: 1.2 billion Windows devices, and using Xamarin, 1 billion Android, iOS, and Mac devices.

C# and Mac
Xamarin.Mac allows developers to build fully-native Cocoa applications for Mac OS X with C#. Xamarin.Mac exposes native platform APIs, making it possible for developers to build sophisticated apps that integrate with platform conventions and leverage the rich spectrum of platform-specific functionality that make Mac apps so beautiful and distinctive.

Unlike other cross-platform development toolkits that target OS X, Xamarin.Mac gives you the flexibility to build anything that you can build with a conventional Objective-C-based Cocoa application — from compelling CoreAnimation-enabled user interfaces to custom menubar items. Under the hood, you can choose the combination of .NET library functionality and native Mac OS X APIs that works best for your application.

Case Studies
National Instruments recently released the LabVIEW-based Data Dashboard for iPad on Xamarin’s platform and plans to use Xamarin.Mac to modernize future releases of NI LabVIEW for Mac.  ”Our flagship system design software – NI LabVIEW – has been supporting our Mac customers for more than 27 years.” says David Fuller, vice president of Software R & D. “With Xamarin, we can save a tremendous amount of development time and modernize our LabVIEW for Mac desktop capabilities in the future.”

Jon Lipsky at Elevenworks, the Creator of TouchDraw, delivered a Mac version of his top selling Xamarin-based iPad and Android vector-drawing app in September, 2012, achieving 76% shared code and a 5 month time-to-market.

The majority of TouchDraw’s customers use the app for a wide range of business purposes where they want to capture information in the field, and then continue working on content back at the office or at home.

“TouchDraw for Mac is a win for my customers because they can work seamlessly across mobile and desktop devices, and a win for me because I can now tap into the Mac App Store market,” commented Jon Lipsky.  “Xamarin.Mac helps me build more, faster for that market.”