Tutorials
Working with Web Sockets in Flutter
Sometimes when learning Flutter it's easy to develop an over-reliance on Google searches while ignoring something more fundamental: the official Flutter Documentation.
If you haven't yet discovered it, the official docs include a Flutter Cookbook with all sorts of useful "recipes" to help you with your Flutter knowledge consumption.
One of these recipes outlines a fairly straightforward approach to dealing with web sockets in a Flutter app. Be sure to check it out if you're in need of handling real-time notifications from your server.
Learning Flutter - A Playlist
If you're brand new to Flutter and wondering how to get started, you may find this YouTube playlist helpful in reducing that learning curve. Put together by the Flutter team itself, it covers a nice range of topics, including building your first Flutter app, the basics of state, null safety, and more.
Top 10 Most Viewed Flutter Videos on Youtube
I think this idea by Dhruv Nakum is great -- a list of Flutter's "Top 10" YouTube videos, all listed together nicely in one place.
These seem to be mostly aimed at beginners, so if that category fits your situation, I think you should find at least one of these videos helpful, as they cover diverse topics from app monetization, to building your first Flutter widget, to a couple of full tutorials along with other interesting topics mixed in along the way.
Tips & Tricks
VSCode Shortcuts, Extensions & Settings for Flutter Development
I've lost track of the number of times I've been watching someone else code -- either online or in person -- when I've seen them use some neat little editor trick and wondered, "How they did they do that?"
Along these lines, I appreciate this rather cool list put together by Andrea Bizzotto which outlines some of his favorite VSCode shortcuts, extensions, and settings. Regardless of how long you've been coding in Flutter, I'd be surprised if there isn't at least one item here that doesn't prove helpful at stepping up your editor game.
Making a Custom-Shaped AppBar
Sometimes you can know a lot about individual widgets and packages in Flutter, but when it comes time to create a specific effect, you're just not sure exactly which widgets to use or how you would combine them to create that effect.
Because of this, I sometimes find it helpful to see how other developers have achieved specific effects, and especially which widgets they relied on and how they combined them to get there.
One such example is contained in this tutorial by Daria Orlova, where she creates a custom-shaped AppBar for use in her "Bunny Search" app. It includes a nice gradient background, as well as transitioning into a pinned AppBar on scroll along with a fading image and accompanying text.
Adding Haptic Feedback in Flutter Is Simple
I sort of stumbled across this tweet by Flutter Developer Roaa, and it reminds me yet again that doing things in Flutter is often very simple.
We're talking about haptic feedback here, and the range of feedback supported is broad and easy to implement. It includes impacts with a light, medium, or heavy force, as well as vibrate.
// From Mark
Prayers for Ukraine
As I sit down to write this week's newsletter, I'm very much aware that some of this newsletter's subscribers live in Ukraine.
With this violent conflict passing three weeks now, I want those subscribers to know that although I'm here writing about Flutter, I realize that there are more important things at stake right now in your part of the world.
And although as a single individual I can't do much, I can provide at least one additional voice of moral support. So please know that I'm sending prayers your way and hoping for peace to return soon.
Please stay safe.
Mark Winters