Why I cannot reference iOS binding library

Question

I created a .net8 MAUI project and an Android and an iOS binding libraries. I can see that in the iOS binding library, the generated classes are created. There are also no errors. But when I tried to reference the classes in the iOS binding library in the MAUI project's iOS Platform, the classes couldn't be recognized. Namespace reference was marked with error. The Android binding library worked fine though.

What did I do wrong on the iOS binding library?

Answer 1

Hello,

I noticed that you have raised an issue at GitHub- ios binding library with xcframework/framework cannot be referenced in the main .NET MAUI project · Issue #21189 · xamarin/xamarin-macios (github.com)

And you have resolved the problem, I made an answer so that someone with the same issue can refer to it.

It's only intellisense that doesn't work, if you build the project, it'll build just fine. Referencing the binding project directly, something like this from your main project, should work though:

<ItemGroup Condition=" '$(TargetPlatformIdentifier)' == 'ios' "> <Reference Include="../MauiDemoApp.Binding.iOS/bin/Debug/net8.0-ios/Com.SAS.CI360.dll" /> </ItemGroup>

Note that in this case you'll have to build the binding project manually first, it won't be built automatically when you're building the main project. Additionally, in your binding project, you should reference the .xcframework (and not the .framework inside the .xcframework):

<NativeReference Include="SASCollector.xcframework">

Try this:

<

Best Regards,

Wenyan Zhang

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Answer 2

I think setting TargetFramework in the binding library project file to Xamarin.iOS10 can solve the library namespace and class reference problem. However, if I tried to rebuild the binding library, it would fail saying that "the reference assemblies for Xamarin.iOS10,Version=1.0 were not found", and ask me to install the Developer Pack for this framework version. But I wonder if Xamarin binding library and .NET MAUI project can coexist? Also, in microsoft document on Xamarin binding library migration, it does not say the TargetFramework should be changed to Xamarin.iOS10. Please see the link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/migration/ios-binding-projects?view=net-maui-8.0

If I only made the binding library's TargetFramework change, and then ran the project, the build was successful, but the app crashed with the reason the library was not loaded (Library missing).

Answer 3

I tried setting TargetFramework in the binding library project file to Xamarin.iOS10, and it can solve the library namespace and class reference problem. However, if I tried to rebuild the binding library, it would fail saying that "the reference assemblies for Xamarin.iOS10,Version=1.0 were not found", and ask me to install the Developer Pack for this framework version. But I wonder if .NET MAUI project can include a Xamarin library? Also, in microsoft document on Xamarin binding library migration, it does not say the TargetFramework should be changed to Xamarin.iOS10. Please see the link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/migration/ios-binding-projects?view=net-maui-8.0

If I only made the binding library's TargetFramework change, and then ran the project, the build was successful, but the app crashed with the reason the library was not loaded.