Getting Started with .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid: A Practical Example

In the realm of cross-platform app development, the advent of .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid offers a revolutionary approach by merging native and web technologies. This hybrid model allows developers to leverage the strengths of both .NET MAUI and Blazor, enabling the creation of robust applications with a unified codebase. In this blog, we will explore .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid with a hands-on example, demonstrating how to build a simple application using this powerful framework.

What is .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid?

Before diving into the example, let’s briefly recap what .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid is.

• .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) is an evolution of Xamarin.Forms, designed for building cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS from a single codebase.
• Blazor is a framework for building interactive web UIs using C# and .NET, rather than JavaScript. Blazor allows you to create rich web applications with reusable components.

Combining these two, .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid enables you to use Blazor’s web technologies (HTML, CSS, and C#) for UI design within a .NET MAUI application, allowing you to target multiple platforms with a single codebase.

Example: Building a Simple To-Do List Application

Let’s walk through the creation of a basic To-Do List application using .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid. This example will demonstrate how to set up the project, create a Blazor component for the UI, and integrate it with .NET MAUI.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Development Environment

1. Install Visual Studio: Ensure you have the latest version of Visual Studio installed with the .NET MAUI and Blazor workloads. This includes support for cross-platform development and Blazor.
2. Create a New Project:
   • Open Visual Studio and select "Create a new project."
   • Choose the "MAUI Blazor App" template from the list. This template provides a ready-to-go setup for a MAUI Blazor Hybrid application.

Step 2: Create the Project

1. Name Your Project: Enter a project name (e.g., ToDoListHybridApp) and choose a location for your project.
2. Configure Your Project: Click "Create" to set up your new MAUI Blazor Hybrid project. Visual Studio will generate a project structure with necessary files and configurations.

Step 3: Design the UI with Blazor

1. Open MainPage.razor: This file, located in the Pages folder, is where you’ll define your Blazor component for the To-Do List UI.
2. Add To-Do List UI Code:

This code defines a simple UI for adding tasks to a list. It uses Blazor’s data binding and event handling to manage the list of tasks.

Step 4: Integrate with .NET MAUI

1. Open MainPage.xaml: This is the native part of your MAUI app where you will host your Blazor component.
2. Modify MainPage.xaml to host the Blazor component:

This configuration ensures that the Blazor component defined in MainPage.razor is rendered within the MAUI application’s native view.

Step 5: Run and Test Your Application

1. Build and Run: Click the "Run" button in Visual Studio to build and deploy your application. You can test it on an emulator or a real device.
2. Verify Functionality: Open the app and interact with the To-Do List UI. Add tasks to ensure that the application works as expected across different platforms.

Conclusion

The .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid framework opens up exciting possibilities for cross-platform development by combining the power of .NET MAUI with the flexibility of Blazor. In this example, we demonstrated how to create a simple To-Do List application, leveraging Blazor for the UI and .NET MAUI for cross-platform capabilities.

This approach not only streamlines development but also allows developers to reuse their web development skills and code across multiple platforms. Whether you’re building a complex application or a simple one, .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid provides a robust solution for modern app development.

Happy coding, and feel free to share your experiences or questions about .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid in the comments below!