Flutter is the new kid on the block when it comes to cross-platform frameworks and development tools. It provides developers with a set of tools to build native apps for iOS and Android in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods. Flutter is the most popular cross-platform mobile framework used by global developers, according to a 2021 developer survey. Based on the survey, 42 percent of software developers used Flutter. On the whole, roughly one-third of mobile developers use cross-platform technologies or frameworks; the rest of the mobile developers use native tools. It’s been getting quite a lot of attention lately, so we wanted to take some time to explain what Flutter is all about and why you should consider using it for creating mobile applications.
Up-to-date
Flutter is an open-source framework developed by Google. That means that it’s free to use and has a large community of developers contributing to its development. Flutter uses Dart language to build mobile and web apps. It’s a cross-platform framework that allows developers to create apps for both iOS and Android platforms. The first release was made in 2017 after it was presented at the Google I/O conference held in 2016, where it received a good response from the developer’s community as well as users who appreciated its features like hot reloading and reactive style system etc.
Dart programming language
Let’s take a look at Dart and why it’s important to Flutter. Dart is a general-purpose programming language that can be used to develop web apps, mobile apps, and desktop applications. It was developed by Google in 2011 and has gained popularity over the years for its productivity when developing complex web applications. Dart is an object-oriented language with static typing features such as strong mode type checking which helps you catch errors at compile time rather than runtime. This makes your application code more robust against runtime bugs like null pointer exceptions (NPE). Dart is a single codebase that can run on different platforms. This makes it easier to maintain the application across different platforms with ease.
Hot reload
Hot reload is a Flutter function specially designed for developers. The Hot Reload feature allows developers to quickly and easily make changes to their code while the app is running, and see the changes reflected in the app immediately without having to manually stop and restart the app. This allows for faster development and iteration times, as developers can test and tweak their code in real time. Hot Reload is triggered by clicking the “hot reload” button in the IDE or by pressing the “r” key in the terminal while the app is running. This feature is highly appreciated by business owners because it’s a great time saver, and therefore budget saver.
Be like Google
One of the most popular apps that have been built using the Flutter framework is Google Ads. Google Ads is a platform that helps small and medium-sized business owners manage their advertising campaigns in Google search. The app features easy-to-use tools to help users create ads, manage budgets and monitor the performance of their campaigns. The Flutter team has made it easy for developers to build high-quality apps that run on all platforms using a single codebase with Flutter SDK.
Time & money saver
Imagine this scenario: you are working on a project for your client. They want you to create an app for Android, iOS, and the web at the same time. You say with confidence “No problem! I will use Flutter for all three platforms.”, you may use this technology to write a single codebase that runs on multiple platforms. This means you don’t have to invest in creating multiple versions of the same app for different platforms and engage both Android and iOS developers. This is a very good thing because developing an app for each platform requires its own unique set of skills and design considerations. So, if you want to create an Android and iOS version of your app, then you will have to hire developers who are skilled in those platforms or at least know enough about them so that they don’t waste time learning how things work before getting started with development. Flutter app development is therefore a far less cost-effective option.
Easy UI
You want your apps to look good and be intuitive, right? So when you go to market with your Flutter app, you want it to look the same on different platforms. This is where Flutter comes in handy.
With Flutter, the user interface of apps developed using the framework is completely unaltered by the platform they run on. Basically, what this means is that an app designed using Flutter will look exactly the same no matter which platform you’re running it on. What’s more, Flutter comes with numerous core layout widgets and tons of customization options that allow developers to create beautiful user interfaces for their applications. Widgets can be customized to create a unique user interface for your application. Widgets also extend easily, which makes it easier for developers to add more features as needed to their applications.
With such an extensive array of widgets available, you can use almost any UI that you want with your application. You can also customize them as per your requirements or just put together existing widgets to create something new and interesting. For example, if you wish to have a new form of displaying error messages, then all you need is a combination of existing widgets that will work perfectly fine with Flutter.
Conclusion
Flutter is a great option for mobile app development, especially if you want to create cross-platform native apps. Flutter uses the Dart programming language which has many advantages including performance, scalability, and ease of use. Flutter is used by many big companies like Alibaba, Google, Baidu, and others such as Uber who have already switched over from native to Flutter as they found it more efficient and easier to maintain than any other framework out there.
If you want to be sure that your next project will be developed in the same way as the tech giants and be similarly successful, focus your search on finding a leading and trustworthy flutter development company in the US that will give you a product that not only runs seamlessly across platforms, has a modern design, but also scales your business.
