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Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

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Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#211

Post by root_axis »

cmroanirgo wrote: post #71
Hixie wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I'm the Flutter TL) If you can tell that we're not using OEM widgets, we consider that a bug. Please file it and explain what the difference is. We're definitely not perfect, but fidelity is a high priority for us this year. https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/new?template=BUG.m...

Personally, I'd prefer actual native if that was my aim, as opposed to something that looks exactly like it, but actually has layers of styling beneath it in order to look the same. Why? Because if I want the native look, I'm more inclined to be sensitive to my app's size and performance. That said, I do understand that many people want the seeming of a native app, even if there's a bit of a blowout in size and perfo…

> I'd prefer actual native if that was my aim

I agree simply for the reason that native simulation is a moving target and not something that can ever be truly complete. If you push your app into production and never release another update then your app will atrophy over time as updates to native UI widgets outpace your application's UI; not so with native or RN. You're also betting on the fact that maintainers will make updates to the rendering engine in a timely and comprehensive fashion in perpetuity.

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#212

Post by mwcampbell »

skybrian wrote: post #178
pier25 wrote: post #127

I love the idea of Flutter for mobile and desktop but I'm very skeptical about the web implementation. They will need to reimplement tons of stuff that are already included in the browsers and ship all that code with the application.

I look at it differently. When someone compiles a game to webassembly it's seen as an accomplishment, right? It doesn't mean you would normally write web apps this way, particularly if you're targeting consumers internationally and need web pages to load fast. But being able to make a desktop or mobile app work in a browser should be useful, particularly for businesses. Sometimes you're not targeting the whole world…

> Sometimes you're not targeting the whole world and can assume users are office workers who have a reasonably fast desktop-class computer and a decent network connection.

Maybe. Just don't make any assumptions about their physical abilities, i.e. make sure business apps are accessible unless the task at hand inherently assumes a particular ability (i.e. is inherently visual).

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#213

Post by Cyph0n »

gwbas1c wrote: post #195
bradhoffman wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have not. I didn’t want to put the time into learning the .NET stack and C# because I am from a .NET town and did not want to get stuck here. What're your thoughts on it?

C# is quickly becoming the "new C" in that it runs everywhere, and runs efficiently. It's worth learning the language because you can use it in so many places. It's not a case of "learn a new language for platform xxx."

I think you mean the new Java. C and C# are very different beasts.

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#215

Post by fopen64 »

sandGorgon wrote: post #182

Can someone from the Google team comment on what's going on - https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/07/kotlin-is-now-googles-pref... > Android development will become increasingly Kotlin-first,” Google writes in today’s announcement https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/07/google-launches-jetpack-co... > Google today announced the first preview of Jetpack Compose, a new open-source UI toolkit for Kotlin developers who want to use…

I'd say Flutter/Dart.

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#216

Post by carmate383 »

westoque wrote: post #84
zackbrown wrote: post #26

Has Flutter solved its footprint-bloat problem? The internet is littered with reports of 10-100MB+ .ipa and .apk binaries coming out of simple Flutter apps for iOS + Android. Google states they can't imagine the footprint ever dropping as low as 1MB. [1] On Web, 1MB of base runtime is a complete showstopper. Embedded applications may suffer similarly. Does today's announcement mean Google has figured out how to fix t…

I don’t understand the obsession with small binaries and compiled packages. I care about usability and user experience. If it takes 5mb to have a smooth experience then I’m all for it. It’s funny how we now have fiber having 1GB/s internet speeds and we rant about having 1MB size package being too big. Also, everyone’s moving to 4k now with even bigger transfer/data requirements. tldr; 1mb should be a non issue as lo…

The irony is, the same people complaining about 500kb are probably the same people using a 100MB+ terminal emulator built using a web browser (i.e. hyper).

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#217

Post by tananaev »

sandGorgon wrote: post #182

Can someone from the Google team comment on what's going on - https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/07/kotlin-is-now-googles-pref... > Android development will become increasingly Kotlin-first,” Google writes in today’s announcement https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/07/google-launches-jetpack-co... > Google today announced the first preview of Jetpack Compose, a new open-source UI toolkit for Kotlin developers who want to use…

I don't think anyone has a definite answer, not even Google itself. Google placed several bets on different technologies and community will ultimately decide which of them is the winning one. Personally I think native Android (Kotlin) and iOS (Swift) development is here to stay. I have tried many cross-platform frameworks and on any non-trivial mobile app, all of them cause more problem than they solve.

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#218

Post by on_and_off »

sandGorgon wrote: post #182

Can someone from the Google team comment on what's going on - https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/07/kotlin-is-now-googles-pref... > Android development will become increasingly Kotlin-first,” Google writes in today’s announcement https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/07/google-launches-jetpack-co... > Google today announced the first preview of Jetpack Compose, a new open-source UI toolkit for Kotlin developers who want to use…

edit : I am not a Googler, but that's what I gathered from talking with them

Here is what is happening :

A couple of years ago, when the dart team failed at getting their runtime embedded into the browsers, they started searching for a problem to solve. They thought they had hit jackpot with multiplatform development. So they started working on Flutter. This is all entirely independent from the Android team at Google.

The Android Team at Google continuously improves their own framework, hence the jetpack set of libraries. One of the new libraries they have been working on and that is now public in pre-alpha stage is JetPack Compose. They have hired one of the engineers behind React and had them work inside of the Android Team on a "React like UI framework for Android".

The official direction of the platform is what the Android Team is doing.

Flutter is interesting, with all the advantages and caveats shared with other multiplatform tools like ReactNative.

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#219

Post by sondh »

i18ns wrote: post #118
saagarjha wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flutter can hot reload code, if that's what you're asking.

HotFix is a technique like code push, I had asked Flutter developer before. Flutter not support it right now.

The TL (he is on HN) said Code Push won't come anytime soon: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/14330#issuecomment...

Re: Flutter: a Portable UI Framework for Mobile, Web, Embedded, and Desktop

#220

Post by on_and_off »

bradhoffman wrote: post #3

I’ve given Flutter a try with one of my client’s apps, and in some cases, it’s obviously better than native development. Mainly because you can develop for both platforms. I’d be curious to hear where other developers think Flutter is a good framework to use instead of developing native code.

Flutter is a reasonable choice if you are developing a "simple" app that won't grow in scope.

By simple I mean that you don't need anything special from the device, no access to the sensors, no deep integration with the OS.

I think that enterprise apps would be an obvious target (because otherwise, for most of these small apps, the first question to answer is why not just have a website?)

For everything else, go native.

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