The steps we took previously when installing Xamarin will allow us to do target Mac, iOS, and Android (if we selected Xamarin.Android) platforms when developing cross-platform. Previously (before Visual Studio 2015), developers had to learn a new IDE in order to skill themselves up to create applications for other platforms. Personally, I find Xcode (the Apple developer IDE for creating native iOS and Mac applications) a bit of a learning curve. It's not because it is too complicated, but rather because it obviously works differently than what I am used to in Visual Studio. If you are serious about learning another programming language and want to go the Xcode route, take a look at Swift. It is a superb language and one that I found much easier to relate to C# than Objective-C, for example.

If, however, you would rather stick to what you know and are comfortable with, then Xamarin is your best choice for developing cross-platform applications. You also do not have to go out and buy a MacBook to compile your applications on. A Mac mini is more than enough when you want to start developing for iOS and Mac. It is an investment in your development toolset that will stand you in good stead. There are also cloud options (such as MacinCloud) available to you as a developer. With Xamarin, you can stick with C# and develop in an environment that you are familiar with.

There is a third and final option available to developers, and this is one we will be taking a look at in the final recipe of this chapter. The steps in this recipe are for when you need to create applications on your Windows PC and compile them on your Mac or MacinCloud solution.