I have worked in several positions where I developed reusable source code. This is, of course, a relatively old concept. But shouldn’t it go farther than a reusable component? Isn’t there a greater achievement on the horizon?
My most recent project has allowed me to not only to develop common code – it has allowed me to write code that is cross platform and cross app. It has allowed me to write for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android simultaneously, using approximately 85% common code. Not only reusable components. The exact code, ported across the platforms, writing in my old familiar language – C#.
Of course, there was the learning curve to understand the iOS SDK and the OS X SDK. Windows was old hat for me. But the bottom line was that I could write these fantastic apps, with the same look and feel across the board.
The gem that allows me to create the apps in this manner is Xamarin. It allows me to develop the engine for the products one time. It allows one fix to move to each platform with just a build cycle. Most of all, it allows me to pin down and focus my platform specific time on the important part – that which is presented to the user.
If you love to write code whose use can be pulled as far as possible, and whose functionality can be tweaked just once and propagated – check out this platform. It is an incredible way to save development resources!