- #HOW TO TUNE XAMARIN FOR VISUAL STUDIO 2015 HOW TO#
- #HOW TO TUNE XAMARIN FOR VISUAL STUDIO 2015 APK#
- #HOW TO TUNE XAMARIN FOR VISUAL STUDIO 2015 FULL#
The PackageAndroid and SignAlignAndroid perform the Android specific tasks of creating, signing and aligning your APK file The Release target performs a standard rebuild of your application (having already performed any other build related tasks such as a Debug and / or Clean build. The skeleton script below shows three Nant targets. In MSBUILD, a target is a task(s) that is executed sequentially. A target in Nant is a named block of script similar to a module or function. The keyword ‘ target’ is used by both Nant and MSBUIILD to mean different things and it is important not to get them confused. There are two MSBUILD targets that are key to building a Xamarin.Android application for Visual Studio. However, if you are already using MSBUILD, then there is no need to call any external tools as MSBUILD can call them for you. You can perform the tasks of signing and aligning your application using the command-line tools that come with your Java Development Kit (JDK) These tools are jarsigner and zipalign respectively. The key difference between compiling an application that targets the Windows platform and one that targets the Android platorm is that you will need to additionally sign and align your APK file. Instead they get compiled into APK (Android Package) files.
#HOW TO TUNE XAMARIN FOR VISUAL STUDIO 2015 FULL#
It may be beneficial to add the path to Nant to your PATH environment variable so you don't need to type the full path when you refer to the Nant executable.Īndroid applications do not get compiled into EXE or DLL files. The build script can be run from either the command line, a batch file or CruiseControl.NET (or other integration server). It is assumed that the reader has already obtained a suitable private key. You would use release mode when you want to build a release version of your application such as when distributing it or publishing it on Google Play You would use debug mode when you are developing and testing your application. There are two build modes: debug mode and release mode. The Android system requires that all installed applications are digitally signed with a certificate whose private key is held by the application's developer.
#HOW TO TUNE XAMARIN FOR VISUAL STUDIO 2015 HOW TO#
It is therefore assumed that the reader is familiar with writing build scripts using Nant and wants to learn how to write a build script for a Xamarin.Android application that has been developed using Visual Studio. The article focuses on the differences you will need to make to your Nant script when building a Xamarin.Android application. For an example of a simple Nant build script, see the one I have posted on GitHub. This article assumes that you are already familiar with Nant and building applications using MSBUILD. There are several key differences that need to be considered when building a Xamarin.Android application using Nant. This article shows you how to write a Nant script that builds a Xamarin.Android application that has been developed with Visual Studio.