Xamarin is a Microsoft-owned San Francisco, California-based software company founded in May 2011 by the engineers that created Mono, Mono for Android and MonoTouch, which are cross-platform implementations of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) and Common Language Specifications (often called Microsoft .NET).

Code once, deploy thrice

Based on Mono, Xamarin’s cross-platform development tool, which is now a component present in Microsoft’s Visual Studio, solves dilemmas many developers face when developing cross-platform apps: separate coding languages and UI paradigms. With a C#-shared codebase, developers can use Xamarin tools to develop iOS, Android, and Universal Windows apps. And with Xamarin Forms, interface design for all three platforms can be accomplished within its XAML-based framework.