What are the main differences between using MvvmCross and Xamarin.Forms

Overview of Xamarin.Forms

Xamarin.Forms is a framework developed by Microsoft that allows developers to create cross-platform applications using a shared C# codebase and XAML for the user interface. It enables developers to write once and run on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, and UWP. Xamarin.Forms is ideal for projects where a consistent UI across platforms is desired, and it simplifies the development process by providing a unified API for UI components. However, this consistency comes at the cost of flexibility, as the UI is limited to a subset of common elements from each platform, which can lead to limitations in achieving native look and feel or advanced UI customization[4][7].

Overview of MvvmCross

MvvmCross is a cross-platform MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) framework that supports Xamarin.iOS, Xamarin.Android, Xamarin.Forms, and other platforms. It focuses on separating the business logic from the UI, allowing developers to share a significant portion of their code across different platforms. MvvmCross provides features such as data binding, navigation, inversion of control, and dependency injection, which facilitate the development of complex applications. Unlike Xamarin.Forms, MvvmCross does not enforce a specific UI framework; instead, it allows developers to choose how they want to implement the UI for each platform, offering more flexibility in achieving native UI experiences[7][10].

Key Differences

1. UI Implementation:
- Xamarin.Forms: Uses a shared UI layer across platforms, which simplifies development but may limit customization and native look and feel.
- MvvmCross: Allows for native UI implementation on each platform or shared UI with Xamarin.Forms, providing more flexibility in achieving platform-specific UI designs.

2. Code Sharing:
- Both frameworks enable code sharing, but MvvmCross focuses on sharing the business logic (ViewModels) while allowing different UI implementations. Xamarin.Forms shares both the UI and business logic.

3. Navigation and Data Binding:
- MvvmCross provides a robust navigation system and data binding capabilities that work across different UI frameworks, including Xamarin.Forms. Xamarin.Forms relies on its own navigation and data binding mechanisms.

4. Project Complexity:
- For complex projects requiring advanced UI customization or platform-specific features, MvvmCross might be more suitable due to its flexibility. For simpler projects where a consistent UI is sufficient, Xamarin.Forms can be more straightforward to implement.

5. Development Approach:
- Xamarin.Forms is often preferred by developers familiar with XAML and .NET, as it provides a unified development experience. MvvmCross is beneficial for projects where the business logic needs to be decoupled from the UI, allowing for more control over the UI implementation on each platform.

In summary, while both frameworks support cross-platform development, Xamarin.Forms focuses on sharing the UI layer across platforms, whereas MvvmCross emphasizes sharing the business logic and allows for more flexible UI implementation choices. The choice between them depends on the project's requirements regarding UI customization, complexity, and code sharing strategy.