I Tried Using Flutter To Make My First Mobile App
Starting my journey with Flutter was a rocky one. Initially, the Dart language, while familiar, felt odd due to its extensive use of nested objects, and I struggled with grasping the basic operations as opposed to my experience with web development.
Initial Impressions and Looking for Alternatives
My initial dislike led me to search for alternatives. According to a StackOverflow survey, Flutter’s popularity had indeed surged, surpassing both React Native and Electron. However, job market research painted a different picture: Indeed listed 4,400 openings for “Software Engineer Python” compared to only 70 for “Flutter Developer.” This stark difference made me reconsider the viability of using Flutter in a professional capacity.
Deciding to Stick with Flutter
Despite the discouraging job stats, I recognized the unique advantages of Flutter. It’s one of the few languages that supports development across all major platforms—MacOS, iPhone, Windows, Android, and Web—and offers seamless performance on each. This capability made Flutter an appealing choice for my project, which needed to function on both iPhone and Android. I decided to give it a few more hours.
My Experience After Diving Deeper
The more time I spent with Flutter, the more I appreciated its capabilities. I became proficient at using common components, handling JSON, making API requests, and managing global state variables. Flutter seemed like an indispensable tool for quickly launching a minimum viable product that could cater to both Android and iOS users. Why miss out on reaching half of your potential user base over platform restrictions?
Leveraging Google’s Design Resources
Google provides extensive documentation on designing Flutter apps that deliver excellent user experiences. Starting from basic design theory, it guides developers on enhancing user interaction through practical application tips. The built-in customizable color scheme in Flutter simplifies UI design, allowing developers to set contrasting colors effortlessly based on color theory.
Reflections and Future Outlook
Despite its tepid reception among Fortune 500 companies, Flutter holds significant potential for startups due to its versatility and ease of use. While my initial experience with Flutter was fraught with hesitation, the language grew on me, showing itself to be robust and promising for the future of multi-platform development.
Impact of Flutter on My Projects
Before using Flutter, the design consistency of my projects was lacking. After applying principles from the Flutter design document, I noticed a marked improvement. Setting a pink color theme, for instance, uniformly adjusted the hue across all UI components, enhancing visual consistency without manual adjustments for each element.
In conclusion, although Flutter has yet to gain widespread acceptance in larger corporations, its strengths make it an invaluable asset for startups and developers looking to streamline their app development process across multiple platforms.