Code Craft
State Management and Dart Nullability
On this episode of the Creative Engineering podcast, hosts Rody Davis and Norbert Kozsir discuss state management and Dart nullability with Simon Lightfoot. State management is something almost all Flutter developers are concerned with, so I find these sorts of conversations useful in my own personal dev work.
Oh, and if you'd like more information on nullability (or "null safety") in Dart, be sure to check out Filip Hracek's Medium post, which introduces the topic in good detail.
Rody Davis Interview
Speaking of Rody Davis, in a recent episode of the It's All Widgets podcast, Rody sits down with Hillel Coren for a fascinating discussion on everything from Rody's thoughts on state management, to how he maintains such a high level of productivity, and a lot of ground in between. I found Rody's comments on using the web version of your app as a free trial to be quite compelling -- something I hadn't considered before.
If it's not obvious, Rody has been a huge contributor to the Flutter community, so I'll take this moment to congratulate him on his new role at Google.
Just don't be a stranger to the Flutter community, OK Rody? ;-)
Localization Considerations
Let's face it, localization of your app can get complicated quickly, and it helps if you get your project started on the right foot. While I don't think a one-size-fits-all approach works when it comes to deciding what is best for your app, an exposure to several different localization methods can at least help you understand the issues you'll need to consider. The method Anna Domashych describes here can help.
Tutorials
Add Push Notifications to Your Flutter App
Need to add push notifications to your Flutter app and don't know where to start? This handy YouTube video describes one approach, explained within the context of a larger, multi-part tutorial series.
Creating an IoT Flutter App to Interact With Home Electrical Equipment
Pretty cool article here from Souvik Biswas on interfacing your Flutter app to Arduino hardware over Bluetooth. (And if that sentence doesn't grab you -- sorry, I've got nothin' for you.)
Tips & Tricks
Top 12 Flutter Tips & Tricks
OK, so normally I'm a bit skeptical of videos with titles like this, but this one from the Fireship YouTube channel delivers some solid advice. As a VS Code user myself, I was especially interested in some of his tips for using the editor. Even though this tutorial is over a year old now, I think you'll find some of this advice helpful, even if you're a seasoned Flutter developer.
// From Mark
New Beginnings
Welcome to Issue #1 of Flutter Developer Weekly!
As someone who's been "doing software" now for 25+ years, I find that I'm pretty picky when it comes to deciding when I should invest in learning a new technology. The questions that seem to lurk just below the surface for me are those like, "Is this just a fad?" or "Is the tech up to the job at hand, or will it quickly unravel as I dive deeper into a real project?"
For me, as soon as I tried that first Flutter sample app, I felt those background concerns melt away. (And yes, if you haven't tried Flutter yet, it's that good.)
Of course, as with any attempt to learn a new technology, it can be hard to separate the truly useful bits of knowledge from all of the fluff and hype. And with new developments in Flutter occurring all the time, it can be hard to keep up.
I hope you'll find this curated weekly newsletter helpful in your personal journey as you hone your craft as a Flutter developer.
Let the Apps begin!
Mark Winters