Introduction of Flutter
Flutter is a powerful tool that enables developers to create native, cross-platform apps using a single programming language and codebase. Unlike solutions that wrap web apps into native shells or run in a browser, Flutter compiles directly into native machine code, producing fully native apps for both iOS and Android. These apps can then be published to their respective app stores.
Flutter as an SDK
Flutter is a Software Development Kit (SDK) that compiles your code into native machine code for iOS and Android.
UI Framework and Widgets
Flutter provides a rich set of UI components (widgets) like tabs, dropdowns, buttons, etc., to build interactive and responsive user interfaces.
Utility Functions and Packages
Flutter includes utility functions and packages that streamline app development, making the process faster and more efficient.
Native + Cross-Platform in Flutter
"Native + Cross-Platform in Flutter" means building applications with one unified codebase that runs on multiple platforms, while still offering native-level performance and user experience due to Flutter's direct compilation to native machine code.Cross platform is also known as multiple or platform independent.
Native
An application developed exclusively for a single platform using a native to the operating system language is a Native App.In Flutter, "Native" refers to the performance and behavior of an app that is built to run directly on a device’s operating system (iOS or Android) without any intermediate layers like a web browser or virtual machine.
Hybrid
In Flutter, the term "Hybrid" refers to the ability to create an app that works on multiple platforms (like iOS, Android, Web, Desktop) using a single codebase. Essentially, it's about combining the benefits of both native and cross-platform development.Or Hybrid in Flutter means you can write one set of code and run your app on different platforms, like Android, iOS, and even the Web, without needing separate codebases for each. It's a blend of native performance and cross-platform development.
Feature of Flutter
- Modern and reactive framework.
- Uses Dart programming language and it is very easy to learn.
- Fast development.
- Beautiful and fluid user interfaces.
- Runs same UI for multiple platforms.
- High performance application.
Advantages of Using Flutter
- A unified approach to app development.
- Eliminates the need to maintain separate codebases for different platforms.
- Faster development process with a rich set of pre-built tools.
Disadvantages of Flutter
- Large and weighty apps.
- Dart's low popularity.
- Problems with iOS.