Flutter is a cross-platform tool that allows developers to create iOS apps, Android apps, and Web apps in a single codebase. Flutter’s UI framework is powered by a stateless widget architecture that provides a flexible, scalable, and fast platform for building apps. The UI is composed of widgets that are reusable and can be combined in novel ways, making flutter an ideal choice for developers who want to build unique user experiences.
In this article, we’ll explore how flutter achieves its high performance, and why you might choose it for your next mobile app project. We’ll take a look at the core principles that drive flutter, and discuss some of its unique features, including hot reload, which speeds up app development by allowing you to see changes in your app instantly (usually within milliseconds) as you write the code.
This is made possible by a design principle called “pattern matching,” in which each class is designed to provide a single, specific function, thereby reducing the number of classes in the framework. For example, Container is made up of the LimitedBox, ConstrainedBox, Align, Padding, and DecoratedBox widgets, which perform distinct functions for layout, painting, positioning and sizing, hit testing, theming, animations, and navigation.
Another unique feature is that flutter doesn’t need an extra translator (like a bridge) to talk to the device on which it runs, as many other tools do. Instead, flutter uses the Dart programming language and its powerful built-in features to directly communicate with the native OS and devices it runs on. This is what gives flutter its speed and agility, as well as makes debugging much easier.