Flutter Web gets Hot Reload
Finally, in the current 3.31 beta, the Flutter team has added Hot reload to Flutter Web. Is that the end of developing on desktop and laboriously testing the web version?
If all goes well, we'll see the full feature in the next stable release. All devs working with Flutter Web will no doubt celebrate this significant victory.
Return of old formatting?
The new Flutter version also introduced several changes to the formatting of Dart code. But the community isn’t totally over the moon with the new formatter.
Many developers find it, diplomatically speaking, too restrictive. In fact, it automatically removes many of the "trailing commas" we love so much.
(Source: https://x.com/Stephen10810/status/1897367077381710159/photo/1)
But don't worry – Dart is getting a new switch that will preserve these trailing commas.
Flutter Performance Book
The inimitable Filip Hráček has started cooking a book about Flutter Performance. He decided to turn his insights from Twitter and blog articles into a comprehensive guide on how to optimize app performance.
The opening chapters are out and they definitely deserve a look: https://filiph.net/flutter-performance/.
Static enough meta programming
Meta programming is not happening – most of us probably know that. We’ll likely see certain parts of it, like library augmentations or improvements to build_runner performance. However, Dart developers are not shutting the door just yet and are constantly thinking about possible adjustments.
Say hello to "Static enough meta programming" - https://github.com/dart-lang/language/issues/4271.
This is a proposal of other languages and what Dart could theoretically offer.
It’s definitely worth reading.
Splitting Material and Cupertino into libraries?
We're probably not alone in complaining that changing the built-in Material widgets is challenging, sometimes downright hellish.
An old issue suggesting Flutter should only contain "Core" widgets and all Material and Cupertino widgets should be separate libraries has been revived again – https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/101479.
At Netglade, we’d gladly welcome this change.
Flutter is Dead!
We read similarly alarmist proclamations at least once a month.
You may recall last year’s wave of layoffs, when suddenly everyone was predicting the death of Flutter: https://www.reddit.com/r/FlutterDev/comments/1cduhra/more_layoffs_for_the_flutter_team/.
"Flutter is Dead, long live Flutter.”
A year later, we're watching Flutter gain momentum as more and more companies introduce ambitious projects. Flutter still has a lot to offer and we're not worried about a sudden cutoff.
So let's keep at it.
Flutter Prague joins forces with mDevCamp
Flutter Prague, the Czech Flutter community organized by Netglade, joins forces with mDevCamp, the largest domestic mobile development conference. Look forward to a full track of Flutter talks, a Flutter Prague booth, and a dedicated workshop led by our expert devs.
Grab your ticket early while they last.
See you soon! 👋
