Introduction to Flutter: The Future of Cross-Platform App Development

Flutter is an open-source UI framework developed by Google to build iOS and Android Apps from a Single Codebase using Dart. Flutter is now a hotcake and everyone wants a piece of the pie that supports different mobile application development features such as hot reloading, device API access, performance profiling, and more.

Mobile users demand their applications to have attractive designs, smooth animations, and magnificent performance. To achieve this,  mobile app developers require to implementing new features faster than ever without negotiating on quality and performance. 

Nowadays, mobile app development companies and developers like to develop an application interface with Flutter, a build from a unique code base, and at that very same point, Flutter is excellent because it designed from the native arm code, uses the GPU and can access platform APIs and services.

Let’s dig deeper and check out the things to Know About the Flutter and what features do Flutter have –

Why You Should Use Google Flutter?

Mobile app development companies are looking for opportunities to develop applications within a compact sequence and with a bounded estimate and when they have an introduction to flutter, the SDK is available and originated as a source developer to traverse and create compelling tracking applications throughout. It is the rationalization for apps and interfaces constructed with flutter. Flutter frames from a single codebase, satisfy the features of cross-platform app development, compile undeviatingly to the native arm code. Flutter Uses the GPU and obtain the platform APIs and services. Native mobile app development for iOS or Android always demands two glance different tech stacks that happen in two distinct teams and higher costs.

The Architecture of Flutter vs React Native:

The above infographic would furnish the basic concept of where the cross-platform tools stack corresponding to each other. 

Each development framework has a mother code. And for Flutter that is Dart. So it becomes essential to discuss it.

What is Dart & Why Flutter Use Dart?

Programmers who previously grasp the coding languages like Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, C#, or Swift can spring programming in Dart almost immediately. 

Dart is a programming language that was originally used inside at Google to build web, server, and mobile applications. Dart has been encompassing since 2011, but it didn’t get any recognition outside of Google. Dart compiles the source code likewise to other programming languages like JavaScript, but the standalone Dart SDK is transmitted with a Dart VM. Unlike other programming languages, Dart has its individual package administrator called Pub. Dart introduced receiving more recognition in 2017 when Google officially announced Flutter beta for cross-platform mobile app development which was the first introduction to flutter and developers. Since then, the demand for Dart has drastically enhanced. At the moment, mobile application developers are enthusiastic to embrace Flutter, but they have to acquire Dart to get commenced.

Dart is an infinite motive for developers why they prefer Flutter. While Dart compiled to JavaScript, Flutter doesn’t use this characteristic. Flutter Dart is compiled to native binary code. 

• Dart and its features are familiar to users of both dynamic and static languages. That’s why cross-platform application developers have found the Dart is especially obvious to acquire and deploy.
• Flutter’s popular sub-second stateful hot reload and Just In Time (JIT) assembled for durable development particularly.
• For a separate declarative design language (JSX or XML) or separate visual interface developers, Dart concedes bypassing the requirement. Because Dart is declarative, the programmatic design is convenient to read and envision. With all layouts and introduction to flutter unity language, it’s really easy for the Flutter framework to afford advanced tooling that is advisable to obtain a charming layout.
• Strengthened by Google and operates efficiently on Google Cloud Platform.

Again, nothing was pointing towards why flutter use dart, the aforementioned things are all about Dart and its characteristics.

Why Application Development Industry is Stirring to Flutter?

A Quick Look at the Benefits of Flutter

• 2D mobile application guide.
• Marvelous and artistic designs.
• Full support for stock platform application development.
• Support for storage, camera, location, network and more extended.
• Cross-platform framework.

Accelerated Development

Flutter designed for huge development swiftness. Stateful hot reload empowers developers to improve code and recognize it comes to life is less than a second without missing the state of the app. Flutter also transmits with a strong set of customizable widgets, all constituted from a modem reactive Cross-platform app development framework.

Native Apps for Android and iOS:

Flutter apps follow platform precepts and interface features such as scrolling, navigating, icons, fonts, etc. That’s why many types of mobile apps build with flutter and these characteristics reflect on both of the APP STORE and GOOGLE PLAY STORE with all features.

Hot Reload:

The modifications made by the developers can be observed spontaneously with Hot Reload. This characteristic is super-handy for developers as it executes the differences evident in the app itself. As the reforms created are apparent within seconds, developers can fix the bugs in no time.

The team can explore new features and improvise them continuously. Thus, this feature empowers developers and designers to boosts their creativity.

JIT & AOT:

Flutter is developed utilizing the Dart programming language. Dart employs JIT and AOT gathering that assists to decrease the overall development period, functioning and accelerates the performance. JIT emphasizes the development system with the hot reload function. It stimulates UI without putting in an attempt to build a fresh one.

Widgets:

In Flutter mobile app development, the widgets are provided uppermost guidance from Flutter Community. It is proficient in revealing customizable and multiple widgets. Most importantly, Flutter has all the sets of widgets from Material Design and Cupertino packs and the widgets help to provide a glitch-free experience over and above all the other platforms.

Friendly Native Specialties and SDKs:

Your app development process gets easy and delightful through Flutter’s native codes, third-party unification, and platform APIs. Therefore, you can easily locate the native characteristics and SDKs on both Android and iOS platforms and reuse the widely-used programming languages like Kotlin or Swift.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Flutter:

Advantage:

• Google engineers have operated on the paramount segments of the engine to improve performance.

• Support for development on Windows.

• Tooling for Visual Studio and Android Studio Code.

• More Firebase APIs assistance.

• Support for charts, advertisements, and inline videos.

• Approachability and Internationalization.

• The process of Documentation improved. The improved process of documentation.

• Existing bugs are fixed.

Disadvantages:

• Flutter’s biggest benefit — build iOS and Android Apps from a Single Codebase can be its most significant disadvantage for some. 

• Flutter-made apps are utilizing built-in widgets, not platform widgets. 

• Some developers also pretend Flutter is still not sophisticated enough to handle big, e-commerce applications — but Tencent and Alibaba’s examples seem to prove otherwise.

Flutter is being innumerable noted in the application development policy from when Google announced the first stable release of Flutter. And according to the characteristics of Flutter, a lot of questions arise,  Why Choose Flutter for Mobile App Development is one of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sitaram Sharma

CTO

CTO at Appventurez, Sitaram manages several tech teams involved in web and Android app development. In doing so, he not only assures that the technical architecture is suitable and within the context of the client’s technology stack but parallelly helps the techies in his team build intellect.