My Development Journey

Starting the Journey

When I first started developing my application, my goal was to create a powerful yet lightweight desktop experience. Initially, I chose Avalonia for its cross-platform capabilities, and MonoGame for rendering due to its robust graphics support. This combination seemed promising, allowing for interactive elements and dynamic visuals.

However, as the project grew, I started facing performance bottlenecks and limitations with how MonoGame handled UI integration within Avalonia. It became clear that while MonoGame excels in game development, it wasn't the best fit for a UI-driven application like mine.

Transitioning to Avalonia + SkiaSharp

After some research and experimentation, I decided to move away from MonoGame and adopt SkiaSharp for rendering. This transition brought several advantages:

• Better UI integration: SkiaSharp works seamlessly with Avalonia, ensuring a more fluid and native desktop experience.
• Improved performance: Rendering UI elements and animations became significantly smoother and more efficient.
• Lightweight and flexible: SkiaSharp provides precise drawing capabilities without the overhead of a game engine.

The shift to Avalonia + SkiaSharp opened up new possibilities for refining the application’s interface and user experience. I could now implement advanced vector graphics, smooth animations, and responsive designs without compromise.

Lessons Learned

Throughout this development journey, I learned some key lessons:

• Choosing the right technology matters: While MonoGame was great for rendering, it wasn’t the optimal choice for UI-heavy applications.
• Performance is crucial: Switching to SkiaSharp improved speed and responsiveness, making a noticeable difference in usability.
• Flexibility is key: Avalonia’s adaptability allowed me to explore different rendering engines and find the best solution for my needs.

Looking Ahead

Now that my application is fully running on Avalonia + SkiaSharp, I’m excited about the next steps. Future updates will focus on optimizing rendering efficiency, adding new creative tools, and ensuring smooth cross-platform performance.

This journey has been a great learning experience, and I’m eager to continue refining the app, making it more powerful and intuitive for users.

Stay tuned for more updates!