MacOS and Windows Cross Platform Template

Question

What is the current recommended method for setting up a new cross platform MacOS and Windows application solution using Visual Studio 2019 for Mac?

I am developing on a Mac and will use Parallels to build for Windows if needed. If I could build all the way to a Windows EXE on the Mac, that would be cool.

I want to share the UI completely if possible.

I have been doing plenty of iOS / Android development, but now need a desktop app.

Can someone suggest how to get the solution and projects set up? I know MAUI is coming, but the MacOS support isn't there yet.

Thoughts?

Answer 1

This question is quite broad. I'm assuming you want something XAML-based.

You can do Xamarin.Forms with macOS and UWP (or macOS and WPF) targets, but none of those three targets are production-quality. That'll change in Maui. Whether XamForms as it is is good enough for your needs depends on the complexity of your app vs. how willing you are to write your own controls or custom renderers for existing controls.

There's also Uno, but I can't speak to its quality.