What is the difference between XAML & AXML in Xamarin Technology?

Difference Between XAML and AXML in Xamarin Technology

XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language) and AXML (Android XML) are both markup languages used in Xamarin technology, but they serve different purposes and are used in different contexts.

XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language)

• Purpose: XAML is primarily used for defining user interfaces in Xamarin.Forms applications. It is a declarative language that allows developers to instantiate and initialize objects and set up their properties in a hierarchical manner.
• Usage: XAML is used across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Windows) within Xamarin.Forms to create a shared UI codebase. This means that the same XAML code can be used to define the UI for different platforms, which is then rendered as native controls on each platform.
• Features:
  • Data Binding: XAML supports data binding, which is essential for the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) architecture. This allows for a clean separation of UI and business logic.
  • Markup Extensions: XAML includes features like markup extensions (e.g., {Binding}, {StaticResource}) that enhance its functionality beyond what is possible with plain XML.
  • Tooling: Visual Studio provides a XAML Designer that helps in building UIs visually, and XAML Hot Reload allows for real-time updates during development[1][4][5][7].

AXML (Android XML)

• Purpose: AXML is used specifically for defining user interfaces in native Android applications. It is the standard XML format used by Android to describe UI layouts.
• Usage: In Xamarin.Android projects, AXML files are used to define the layout of activities and fragments. Each AXML file corresponds to a screen ...