Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It is used to develop cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, Google Fuchsia, and the web from a single codebase.
In the last few years of this decade, we have seen a lot of app startups emerging from all across the globe. With the rise in technology and the availability of smartphones, many startups find it easy to connect with users and clients via apps. The app market has also grown in the last few years and is expected to grow exponentially in the coming decade. The app development market has also been on a rise and has allowed a countless number of app developers to exhibit their skills and find a suitable job. With this shift into apps, much development and research have been done to deliver the best and to make the app development process faster and much simpler. Apps can be broadly categorized as: 1. iOS Apps: These apps are made for apple devices and wears. iOS apps are made using the Swift language. The iOS apps have an extension of .ipa. 2. Android Apps: These apps are made for android devices and wear. Android apps are made using Java and Kotlin, with an extension of .apk. Many app developers who had to work in a cross-platform work environment, and are responsible for the development of both android and iOS apps, found it a difficult and lengthy process to develop apps for both platforms. The major problems encountered by companies and developers were:
- Time Constraints:
- No Cross-Platform Dependency:
- More Employees:
- Development Cost:
Making a professional app, from coding to designing requires a lot of time. Companies usually set a time limit in which the app should be ready to be launched into the market. Those developers who had to work in both these platforms often found had time limit issues, and the efficiency and quality of work degraded.
iOS and Android apps work very differently internally, so the developers had to redesign and reconfigure the same content for individual platforms.
This problem was encountered by companies. Since they have to develop an app for both the platforms, a greater number of app developers knowing about the individual platform had to be hired.
Since the app has to be made individually for both the platforms, the cost of development will increase, as more developers will be required.
Since the launch of Flutter in May 2017, it has resolved many of the existing problems in the app development industry. Flutter is a powerful language packed with a powerful mobile framework that can be used in both iOS and Android applications. Flutter is often used with DART, which is an object-oriented programming language by Google. The flutter development tools come with graphics library and material design allowing faster operations of the app and also giving the app a stunning look, irrespective of its operating platform! The biggest advantage of flutter is that it can be used to create cross-platform apps. Using flutter one can create iOS and Android apps in just one go, there is no need to develop app individually for both the platform.