Video for this session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytQ6vqrE5g Code for this session: Code for this session: https://github.com/xamarin/Seminars/tree/master/2012-08-09-PushSharp Give your feedback on the session: http://bit.ly/xamfeedback This session goes through an introduction to Push Notifications on iOS, Android and Windows Phone, how this is implemented on the different platforms and how the open source project PushSharp can allow you to stay with C# and make Push Notifications a breeze.

1. Xamarin
Seminar
9th August 2012
Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

2. Agenda
Push Notifications - Introduction to Push Sharp
Jonathan Dick
DBA, Mobile App Developer
jondick@gmail.com
Twitter: @redth
Blog: http://redth.info
Professional Android
Programming with Mono for
Android and .NET/C# (Co-Author)
http://amzn.to/MyKMZy
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Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

3. Push Notifications
What are they?
Why Should I use them?
How do they work?
Platform Specifics
PushSharp Library
Pitfalls to avoid
Alternative Ways to Send them
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Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

4. What are Push
Notifications?
• Think Growl but for Mobile
• Small bits of information only
• Pushed instead of Pulling
• Platforms have specific API’s
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5. Why use Push
Notifications?
•More realtime than Polling
•Scalability - many apps, one connection
•Lower resource consumption
•Easier than ‘rolling your own’
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Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

6. How do Push Notifications
Work?
Registering for Push Notifications
1. App requests Push Notification Registration
2. Unique Registration ID generated by provider
3. ID sent to your Cloud Service
Sending a Push Notification
1. Your cloud service builds notification with Unique Registration ID of device
2. Notification is sent to Provider Push Notification Gateway
3. Provider’s Push Notification Gateway delivers the notification to the device
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Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

7. Platform Specific Implementations
•Each platform has its own Implementation
• Apple Push Notification Service (APNS)
• Google Cloud Messaging (GCM)
• Windows Phone Notification Service
•Apple is most difficult to work with
•Many 3rd party libraries exist
• APNS-Sharp, C2DM-Sharp, EasyAPNS, etc.
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Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

8. Platform Specific Implementations
•Each platform has its own Implementation
• Apple Push Notification Service (APNS)
• Google Cloud Messaging (GCM)
• Windows Phone Notification Service
•Apple is most difficult to work with
•Many 3rd party libraries exist
• APNS-Sharp, C2DM-Sharp, EasyAPNS, etc.
If only there was a better way...
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9. PushSharp to the Rescue!
• Open Source - Apache 2.0 License
• Abstraction of APNS, GCM, Windows Phone
• Fluentish API for building notifications
• Sample code: MonoTouch & Mono for Android
• Managed Code: MS.NET CLR, Mono, Azure
• GitHub - Fork & Contribute
• BuddyTV App currently sending 100,000+ / day
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10. Sample Time !!1!
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11. Apple Sample
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12. Apple Sample
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13. Google Sample
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14. Google Sample
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15. Windows Phone 7 Sample
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16. Windows Phone 7 Sample
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17. Alternatives to PushSharp
•3rd party Push Notification Services
• Provide some abstraction
• Easier to handle device registrations
•Urban Airship - most popular
•Parse.com - ‘Channels’ concept
•Drawbacks of 3rd Party Services
• Do not support all platforms
• Another API to code against
• Still need your own Cloud Service to generate notifications
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18. Pitfalls to Avoid
• Read the PushSharp GitHub wiki
• Read documentation for each platform
• Apple will make your cry
• Development Provisioning Profile must use Sandbox Server
• AdHoc & AppStore Provisioning Profiles must use Production Server
• Make sure you export your Push SSL Certificate WITH Private Key
• Push Notifications not guaranteed to be delivered
• Google C2DM is deprecated - use GCM now
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19. Questions?
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20. References
PushSharp Project Site:
https://github.com/redth/PushSharp
Follow me on Twitter: @redth
My Blog: http://redth.info
Urban Airship - http://urbanairship.com
Parse.com - http://parse.com
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Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved

21. Xamarin
Seminar
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9th August 2012
Copyright 2012 © Xamarin Inc. All rights reserved