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JSIL VS Xamarin

Compare JSIL VS Xamarin and see what are their differences

JSIL logo JSIL

JSIL is an open source compiler that turns .NET applications, written in C# or VB.NET, into fast readable JavaScript.

Xamarin logo Xamarin

Create iOS, Android and Mac apps in C#
  • JSIL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-09
  • Xamarin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

JSIL features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Xamarin features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    Xamarin allows developers to write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows), which can significantly reduce development time and effort.
  • Native Performance
    Apps built with Xamarin perform as well as native apps because they leverage platform-specific hardware acceleration and compile directly to native ARM assembly code.
  • Shared Codebase
    With Xamarin, developers can use a single codebase for different platforms, making it easier to maintain and update apps across multiple operating systems.
  • Large Ecosystem
    As part of the broader .NET ecosystem, Xamarin benefits from a large collection of libraries, tools, and developer resources provided by Microsoft.
  • Strong Community Support
    Xamarin has a strong developer community and comprehensive documentation, making it easier for developers to find support and resources.
  • Integration with Visual Studio
    Xamarin integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio, providing a robust development environment complete with debugging, profiling, and unit testing tools.

Possible disadvantages of Xamarin

  • App Size
    Xamarin apps tend to have larger file sizes compared to native apps because of the additional overhead of the Mono runtime.
  • Limited Third-Party Library Support
    While Xamarin supports a wide range of libraries, not all third-party libraries and SDKs are compatible, which might require custom bindings or workarounds.
  • Performance Overhead
    Some performance overhead might still exist compared to fully native applications, especially in complex and resource-intensive apps.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers coming from purely native development backgrounds might face a learning curve when adopting Xamarin, particularly in understanding the shared codebase approach and platform-specific nuances.
  • Platform Limitations
    Certain platform-specific features and UI elements might not be fully supported or might require additional custom code to implement.
  • Licensing Costs
    Although Xamarin itself is open source, enterprise-level features or more advanced tools might require a Visual Studio Enterprise subscription, which can be costly.

Analysis of Xamarin

Overall verdict

  • Xamarin is a good choice for developers who are entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem and are looking to create cross-platform mobile applications using a shared codebase. Its native performance, extensive library support, and community backing make it a viable option. However, it's crucial to consider the specific needs of your project, including performance requirements and platform-specific features.

Why this product is good

  • Xamarin is a popular open-source platform developed by Microsoft for building cross-platform mobile applications. It allows developers to use a single codebase written in C# to create native apps for Android, iOS, and Windows. Xamarin is known for its integration with the .NET ecosystem, enabling developers to leverage shared code, libraries, and tools across multiple platforms. It offers access to native APIs and performance optimizations, making it a solid choice for developers familiar with C# and the .NET framework.

Recommended for

  • Developers proficient in C# and .NET
  • Teams looking to build native apps with a single codebase
  • Projects where integration with Microsoft services is a priority
  • Enterprises with existing .NET infrastructure aiming to expand into mobile

JSIL videos

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Xamarin videos

Pros and Cons of Xamarin Development

More videos:

  • Review - Is Xamarin Forms Any Good?
  • Review - Why Xamarin Is Awesome

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to JSIL and Xamarin)
Development Tools
11 11%
89% 89
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
No Code
100 100%
0% 0
Website Builder
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare JSIL and Xamarin

JSIL Reviews

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Xamarin Reviews

Explore 9 Top Eclipse Alternatives for 2024
Xamarin.Forms An open-source UI framework that enables developers to conjure up applications for Xamarin.iOS, Xamarin.Android, and Windows from a singular shared codebase. Offers rich features like XAML user-interface language, databinding, gestures, effects, styling.
Source: aircada.com
Top 10 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform App Development
Developed and launched by Microsoft, Xamarin facilitates developers to build apps for iOS and Android by using C# and .NET. It ensures a seamless integration with Visual Studio and lets developers experience a fully familiar environment. The framework provides a single codebase and allows developers to perform app development rapidly.
Exploring 15 Powerful Flutter Alternatives
Xamarin is a Microsoft-created framework for building native iOS, Android, and Windows apps in C#/.NET. On the complexity front, Xamarin apps generally require more focus on memory management and garbage collection tuning relative to alternatives like Flutter. The additional diligence pays dividends in runtime performance when done properly. However, developers with...
THE BEST 34 APP DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE IN 2022 LIST
Xamarin is a Microsoft-owned tool to write native code for apps. Free. Cross-platform. Open-source. An app platform for building Android and iOS apps with .NET and C#.
9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
You can also access the required resources at the Xamarin Universal project. You can stay up to date with the latest updates by subscribing to their YouTube channel or blogs. The Xamarin community is most active, and you can get answers to your questions swiftly.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Xamarin seems to be a lot more popular than JSIL. While we know about 28 links to Xamarin, we've tracked only 2 mentions of JSIL. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

JSIL mentions (2)

  • .NET Blazor
    At the very end of the blogpost the author asks why not compile C# to JavaScript, like F# (Fable) does? The author thinks that would be the best solution overall, and is surprised it has not happened yet. In fact that has happened, see JSIL (http://jsil.org/, which compiles .NET bytecode to JS) and also SharpKit (https://github.com/SharpKit/SharpKit which is built... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • .NET Blazor
    There actually are several C# to JavaScript transpilers out there but none are well-maintained with a strong following (compared to Fable). Some examples are... https://github.com/theolivenbaum/h5 https://www.infoq.com/news/2015/02/duocode-csharp-javascript/ http://jsil.org I wonder if the community just isn't interested in this approach. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago

Xamarin mentions (28)

  • Wine Releases Framework Mono 6.14 in Taking over the Mono Project
    I haven't been following .NET lately, but AFAIK .NET works on Linux now and "Mono" is basically .NET for Linux... What even are the differences? Sounds like Microsoft just doesn't want to maintain 2 different versions so they're dumping it. Also, > Microsoft became the steward of the Mono Project when it acquired Xamarin in 2016 They probably never even wanted Mono, they just inherited it because they wanted... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • C# Fundamentals
    Mobile Applications: With Xamarin, a cross-platform mobile development framework, developers can write C# code to build native Android, iOS, and Windows mobile applications. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Making an android app with c#
    Xamarin - Basically an older version of MAUI. I would advise against creating new projects on Xamarin since MAUI is supposed to render it obsolete. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • App developer
    Microsoft Xamarin: For this you'll need to know C# and .net. Source: about 3 years ago
  • I own a web development company in San Antonio and I'm looking for ideas to support the UTSA students with some sort of free courses or classes
    At my internship, we moved to Microsoft's Visual Studio for C# development from Java, and for application development we use Xamarin which can be used on Windows and Mac. Source: about 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing JSIL and Xamarin, you can also consider the following products

ScaffoldHub - JavaScript full-stack application generator. You generate it and the code is yours.

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA

JSC - jsc can convert your C# Application to PHP, JavaScript, Actionscript, Java, C and C#

OutSystems - Build Enterprise-Grade Apps Fast.

Eto.Forms - Cross platform, .NET-based desktop and mobile user interface framework.

Xcode - Xcode is Appleโ€™s powerful integrated development environment for creating great apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode 4 includes the Xcode IDE, instruments, iOS Simulator, and the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDKs.