Xamarin Pluginsare basically a common use feature. We are using it to implementing natively on the project.Plugins for Xamarin are community nuggets and components. Cross-platform functionality or abstraction platform in common API. Both of these are too small for cross-platform.

The plug-in API works on every platform that every platform can access.If you want to make any plugin then first check from NuGet to browse if it is possible or not to make this kind of plugin, if it was available then it won't permit you to create a new plugin. You can make a plugin by using its tools.

Xamarin has many built-in plugins that you can use directly. In this blog, we will discuss which are very useful to us like their methods, supported version, release, author.

Plugins are as follows:

• Microsoft.Net.HTTP
• Newtonsoft.json
• SQLite.net.psl
• Xam.plugin.FilePicker
• Xam.plugins.Notifier
• Plugin.Fingerprint
• Plugin.share

Microsoft.Net.HTTP

This package is used to send the request to the HTTP package. As well as to process messages, HTTPRequest and HTTPResponse web packages are used for web services.

This package sends and receives the data from the server. For example, HTTP Header will provide client-side as well as a server-side programming model for messages.

This package does not support Visual Studio 2010, but Windows phones, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and .Net packages are supported. The author of this package is Microsoft who developed this package in May 2020.

Newtonsoft.json

A JSON object is being serialized and deserialized by the json.net package. This package is used for high-end performance.

If you just want to access data through JSON then LINQ to JSON is the much-preferred option. You can use this package to perform tasks like serialization, deserialization, LINQ to JSON which you can perform by the code below.

The code of JavaScript is very hard to understand therefore a JSON file is added which can read JSON data and also understand it.JSON.net can be divided into 3 parts:

• JSON Reader
• JSON Writer
• JSON serialization

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Serialize JSON
Fruit fruit = new Fruit();
fruit.Name = "Banana";
fruit.Expiry = new DateTime(2008, 12, 28);
fruit.Sizes = new string[] { "Big" };
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(fruit);
// {
//   "Name": "Banana",
//   "Expiry": "2008-12-28T00:00:00",
//   "Sizes": [
//    "Big"
//   ]
// }

Deserialize JSON
string jsons = @"{
'Name': 'Destiny Wiper',
'ReleaseDate': '1995-4-7T00:00:00',
'Genres': [
'Action',
'Gammer'
]
}";
Movie m = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<movie>(jsons);
string name = m.Name;
// Destiny Wiper
</movie>

LINQ to JSON

JArrayarr = new JArray();
arr.Add("The Lion King");
arr.Add(new DateTime(2010, 5, 23));
JObjectorr = new JObject();
orr["Array"] = arr;
string json = orr.ToString();
// {
//   "Array": [
//     "The Lion King",
//     "2010-05-23T00:00:00"
//   ]
// }

SQLite.net.psl

For .NET mono, the Xamarin application provides a package to give easy database access, which is a lightweight and open-source package that can be accessed by any platform.

This version is used to work in platform-independent environments. It was first made to use in Xamarin and later for Xamarin.net, UWP, and Azure.

Now it is totally platform-independent and supports all platforms.They're also a simple method to performed CRUD operations which provide easy functionality.

You can work with your data model without doing any changes in your class.

Xam.plugin.FilePicker

It is a simple plugin that gives you the functionality to pick a file from a source as well as allows you to do changes in it.

There is nothing like the same method or same variable for all platforms, every platform has different methods from which you have to be careful and you also have to be careful while from where you are uploading the file and from when you are performing changes.

There will be scenarios where you won’t be shown any suggestions, so in that case, you just have to update the package.

try
{
FileData file = await CrossFilePicker.Current.PickFile();
if (file == null)
return; // user canceled file picking
string fileN = file.FileName;
string content = System.Text. Encoding.UTF8. GetString(file.DataArray);
System.Console.WriteLine("File name chosen: " + fileN);
System.Console.WriteLine("File data: " + content);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
System.Console.WriteLine("Exception choosing file: " + ex.ToString());

Xam.plugins.Notifier

This plugin helps you to show simple notifications on your device which supports the native mobile application. This also supports Android, iOS, and UWP phones.

Features:

• Notification Receive
• Notification category
• Customize notification
• Localization
• Store notification

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Plugin.Fingerprint

This plugin is developed to provide security. It will provide security to a user who will be using it. If the user will be authenticated then and only then the user can use the application. It can also work on cross-platform.

This plugin is very useful for payment modules and also can be used to lock the small application.

By using this plugin, you can use FaceId lock security, which is the most secure method. To use this plugin, you must have a fingerprint scanner in your device, and to use the FaceId scanner you much have a camera in your device. You also have to permit to access the location of your camera.

Features

• Check fingerprint scanner
• Fingerprint authentication
• Ionic native support
• Fallback option

Fingerprint.show({
description: "Some important description"
}, successCallback, errorCallback);
function successCallback(){
alert("user Authentication successfull");
}
function errorCallback(error){
alert("user Authentication invalid " + error.message);
}

Plugin.share

This is the most important plugin which has been developed to serve the purpose of sharing. By using this plugin you can share a copy of a file from one device to another like images, videos, audios, and other files.

This plugin also works with the cross-platform. It can use the windows browser to share files on desktop devices too. It is easy to access and does not require any extra hardware or you don't have to use any third-party application. It can be also accessed by all the devices very easily.

This plugin uses your device's Bluetooth or Wi-Fi hardware to share the data. You can also transfer multiple files. It is a very useful plugin for file transfer.

async void Button_OnClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
switch (((Button)sender).StyleId)
{
case "Text":
await CrossShare.Current.Share("Follow @jamesparro on Twitter", "Share");
break;
case "Link":
await CrossShare.Current.ShareLink("http://google.com", "Search any topic", "google");
break;
case "Browser":
await CrossShare.Current.OpenBrowser("http://google.com");
break;
}
}

Conclusion

In this blog, we mentioned few significant plugins in Xamarin. Xamarin have many useful inbuilt plugins which every tech enthusiast must know. We have also explained different plugins with their respective features as well.