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Is it possible to make an android app in c#? It has to be free though, not like xamarin. I've seen many people ask around on stackoverflow for help with their program, and they tagged it with c# and android. What would I need to make an app?

Ahmad
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ismellike
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3 Answers3

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It is always good to code in native language of a platform. It saves your from alot of problems and issues. There are several projects/libraries that let you write apps in non-supported languages but they come with a cost and the most expensive cost is lack of support.

So my advice is to write apps inJava if you want to dive in Android Development. It is not that different from C#

Best IDE for android development are:

  • Eclipse
  • Android Studio
Umer Farooq
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There is Xamarin/mono but you will need Visual Studio(Or not according to comment).

I also believe to fully take advantage it will cost you. Both higher end versions of Visual Studio and Xamarin's product are not free.

sealz
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  • You don't need Visual Studio - http://www.mono-project.com/Mono_For_Linux_Developers – Jasmine Aug 20 '13 at 18:24
  • @Jasmine Looks good. Wasn't aware. – sealz Aug 20 '13 at 18:30
  • Yeah I did this search a while back and while I found some passable .Net tools, I decided to do my Android app in Java with Eclipse. Anyone who knows C# can learn Java in an hour. – Jasmine Aug 21 '13 at 19:36
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Not for free as far as I'm aware.

Why don't you just code it in Java with the Android SDK? Java isn't all that different to C# anyway.

The only other option I'm aware of is PhoneGap, which would allow you to develop apps on all platforms (Android, Windows Phone, iOS etc.) using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which you might be more familiar with.

Ciaran Gallagher
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  • Thank you, what IDE do you recommend? – ismellike Aug 20 '13 at 18:10
  • This answer is misleading as there is Xamarin as sealz pointed out and check http://www.koushikdutta.com/search/label/Mono – robotoaster Aug 20 '13 at 19:55
  • The question specifically asked for a free solution, nevertheless I've fully clarified my response. – Ciaran Gallagher Aug 20 '13 at 20:14
  • With PhoneGap, you need to develop the application on the platform you want to publish on, so it's best to pick the one that you wish to target first, before moving the code to another platform. For example, if you chose Android to target first your best IDE option might be 'Eclipse Classic'. For a Windows Phone application, Visual Studio Express might be the best option. I should note that with PhoneGap, you may need to make slight modifications to your code before moving to another platform. This is because there are some differences in what features PhoneGap supports across platforms. – Ciaran Gallagher Aug 20 '13 at 20:18