dotnet / dotnet/maui

[Enhancement] Minimal toolset dependency MAUI application

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#1,392 3 comments 5 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area-setup t/enhancement ☀️
Dominant language
C#
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Description

## Summary
I like the capability to build a MAUI application target at desktop (Windows, Mac or Linux) with minimal toolset dependency.

The background for this is that I thought I wanted to try MAUI for building a small utility application for my Windows, Mac and Linux boxes. I don't care about mobile device in my use case.

When looking at: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/maui/get-started/installation I got discouraged due the sheer size of toolset dependencies I need to add.

AFAICT I need:

- Mobile development with .NET
- Universal Windows Platform development
- Desktop development with C++
- .NET Desktop Development
- Xamarin
- Project Reunion (Preview)
- Single-project MSIX Packaging Tools
- OpenJDK 11
- OpenJDK 8
- Android SDK
- Various Microsoft SDKs for mobile devices.

I am a difficult person and I don't want to install all these dependencies and those my MAUI experiment stopped there.

What I envisioned which might not be a relevant vision in 2021 is that I could install a MAUI runtime with cherry-picked dependencies for Desktop development. I could then develop a MAUI app to target desktop devices which is the only thing relevant in my use case.

I realize I am just one guy and my use case might be considered irrelevant so feel free to close the ticket. However, it could be that others share a similar sentiment so I wanted at least to create a ticket to share my opinion on the matter.

I am very light on the actual changes needed to be done as I don't understand MAUI well enough to give any pointers.

Fundamentally I want to get started with MAUI for desktop apps faster than I can get started with Windows Forms development.

## API Changes

Not sure.

## Intended Use Case

Described in the summary

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

The issue names the MAUI installation documentation and lists the required desktop and mobile toolsets, but it does not identify files, tests, or entry points. Start by investigating the installation dependencies for a desktop-only MAUI setup; done would mean a documented or implemented minimal dependency path for desktop development.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
20/100

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