What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open source mobile application development SDK (software developer kit) used for developing cross platform mobile applications for Android and iOS. This was created by google and is also the primary method of creating applications for Googles latest OS Fuchsia.
Apps designed and constructed in Flutter are capable of delivering the perfect brand-first design and can come very handy in developing shopping, food and e-commerce applications. Apps that also wish to look like Stockplatform will get better treatments using Flutter.

All your applications build on Flutter are capable of giving the best results out of features like camera, geolocation, network, storage, 3rd party SDK’s and more.

But we already have React Native so why would I need something like Flutter?

Indeed React Native has been a good development framework and has assisted third party developers since a long time for creating cross platform applications quickly. Yet for some reason native development for android and ios is still very much in practice. So while still being a highly useful framework, React Native is still has its own flaws or rather scopes for improvement.

What is the Development issue revolving around React Native?

Your cross platform app has a javascript and  displays it as a webview on the corresponding platform. In the usual conventional methods it is difficult for the javascript code to interact directly the native environment of let us say an Android or an iOS. In order to make this happen the the javascript is passed through a “bridge” that switches the context of the code accordingly for the required Android or iOS or whatever the case may be.

In the context of mobile applications especially the ones dependent on intuitive UI consists of several widgets and the JavaScript Code accesses them in the native realm. So everytime your application makes a use of those widgets (and it surely will because your UI and in turn your functionality and your overall app experience is dependent on it) your code follows the cycle of your javascript depending on the “bridge” to access the native device environment. In the case of animations, transitions and other flashy features of the UI this particular iteration of code can repeat upto 60 times per second. This affects the performance and makes your application bulky.

How does Flutter come to the rescue?

Flutter uses a different approach to this orthodox code structure for cross platform apps and hits right at the problem caused due to the bridge factor required by javascript at every iteration of the widget requirement. What comes to rescue is a programming language called Dart. Dart is compiled ahead of time into the native code structure and it can suit multiple platforms. This eliminates the need of Javascript to rely on the “bridge” in order to get a context switch and subjects the code directly to the native environment of the particular platform.

For Android : The Flutter engine’s C/C++ code is compiled using Android’s NDK. The dart code is compiled AOT into the native code.

For iOS: The Flutter engine’s C/C++ code is compiled using LLVM and the corresponding dart code is compiled AOT into the native code.
The interpreter is not involved in both the cases.

Apart from this Flutter also has the ability to interlope with your mobile platforms default programming language. Flutter supports calling into the platform and can integrate with the java or kotlin code on Android or Objective and C++ code on iOS. This is obtained via a flexible message style where the Flutter app sends of receives messages to the mobile platform using the BasicMessageChannel.

How does Flutter treat widgets?

The Flutter architecture includes its own widgets instead of relying on OEM Widgets or DOM Web Views. Now widgets instead of being a part of the platform are solely a part of the app which are now customizable and extensible. This does however contribute to the size of the application. The minimum size of a flutter application is approximately 7mb. Still it’s a fairly suited compromise considering the smoother experience you get in return. Based on the skills the best UI/UX design company should be able to optimize it out to the best possible product.

Incase the OS of your mobile system is updated thereby bringing new platform capabilities, Flutter’s interlope and plugin system shall let you access those immediately.

A Look At The Flutter Architecture

So an overall experience of developing an application with Flutter?

• • Improved standards in cross platform development projects

• • Super smooth UI experience

• • Developer friendly in terms of tools and features like hot reload

• • Better Compatibility

• Contains inbuilt customizable and beautiful widgets

Stay tuned for more exciting information in this topic!!

We at BrainMobi take into serious consideration the advent of such exciting and emerging technology that makes development fun and smart. As one of the top flutter application development company, your mobile app idea shall receive treatment of such updated practices which shall in turn help you achieve the best results. If you have the idea of a similar mobile application or idea, feel free to write to us at sales@brainmobi.com .

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Cross-platform application development frameworks have made it a lot easier for developers to build apps for multiple platforms without spending a lot of energy writing the code for the same functionalities on every platform. What these frameworks do is that they allow you to write down a piece of code and then reuse the piece of code on many other platforms. Since the individual platforms have some parts which differ highly, the developers would have to code them. But the thing that makes these frameworks such a lucrative option is the fact they allow the users to reuse about 70% of the code. Moreover, it reduces the cost of development(in terms of money as well as time) by a huge factor!

With so many options in the market, it becomes difficult to choose one framework that fits your needs. To set you free from this confusion, I present before thee, the Top 5 Cross-Platform Application Development Frameworks(or at least according to me):

1. PhoneGap: I would have done a great deal of injustice to cross-platform application development frameworks if I didn’t mention PhoneGap in the first place. Most frameworks support a few platforms, and then there’s PhoneGap. It supports 8 mobile app development platforms(Android, iOS, Windows, BlackBerry, Symbian, Bada, WebOS, and Tizen). Moreover, it lets you access native APIs so that the app can make the best use of the various functionalities the device has to offer.

2. Ionic: If you’re a JavaScript developer, you would blend in real quick, even though there isn’t any special interface builder in the IDE. It has an awesome getting started guide which would help you get going in no time at all(even if you aren’t a JavaScript developer). They are proud of the UI of their apps, which is something they should be since their apps look great, totally out of the box. Different components of Ionic come with predefined styling so that all elements would have a native look and feel. Hence making a good-looking prototype takes lesser time.

3. React Native: Do you have an Android device or an iOS device?(others triggered?) Most of the people either have an Android device or an iOS device. In fact, when their audiences are combined, they own more than 90% of the mobile OS market worldwide. React Native only covers iOS and Android. In fact, initially React Native was built by Facebook for iOS but the fact that it covers just Android and iOS doesn’t reduce its usefulness because as I previously mentioned, these two operating systems own more than 90% of the market. Among the many benefits of using React Native lie my favorites, which are: applying React Native’s UI components to existing app codes,

4. Cordova: Formerly known as PhoneGap(which was the first framework we covered), Cordova builds native mobile apps using CSS, JavaScript, and HTML5. Honestly, its market is almost at its end, but if you’re a developer working on these for years, you develop a different kind of affection for them. Maybe my case is the same, but you wouldn’t know unless you try. And Cordova is something you would pick up in a few weeks tops.

5. Xamarin: Are you a C# or a .NET developer? Congratulations! You’ll feel at home with Xamarin in no time. Even if you’re not such a developer, you would need a considerably less amount of time to learn Xamarin since it is relatively easy. Moreover, it welcomes the differences between Android and iOS with open arms, ie, it doesn’t enforce commonality where there isn’t any. Many other frameworks do this, and it throws the UI out of alignment.

BrainMobi is a leading cross-platform application development company known far and wide for the quality of the applications that we develop. Our team has an expertise in both, cross-platform app development as well as native app development. Send us your requirements at sales@brainmobi.com for a free quote!

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