Flutter for Beginners

• Understand the fundamentals of the Dart programming language
• Explore the core concepts of the Flutter UI and how it compiles for multiple platforms
• Develop Flutter plugins and widgets and understand how to structure good plugin code
• Style your apps with widgets and learn the difference between stateful and stateless widgets
• Add animation to your UI using Flutter's AnimatedBuilder component
• Integrate your native code into your Flutter codebase for native app performance

Google Flutter is a cross-platform mobile platform that makes it easier to write secure and high-performance native apps for iOS and Android. This book begins by introducing you to the Flutter framework and basics of Dart. You’ll learn to set up the development environment to get started with your Flutter project. The book will guide you through designing the user interface and user input functions for your app. As you progress, you’ll explore the navigator widget to manage your app routes and understand how to add transitions between screens. You’ll then get to grips with developing your own plugin and discover how to structure good plugin code. The book will help you display a map from the Flutter app, add markers and interactions to it, and use the Google Places API. You’ll build on your knowledge by not only adding tests to create a bug-free app, but also preparing it for deployment on Apple's App Store and Google Play. In later chapters, you’ll learn to improve the user experience with advanced features such as map integrations, platform-specific code with native programming languages, and personalized animation options for designing intuitive UIs. By the end of this book, you’ll be well-versed with Dart programming and have the skills to develop your own mobile apps or build a career as a Dart and Flutter app developer.

 Get up to speed with the basics of Dart programming and delve into Flutter development

• Understand native SDK and third-party libraries for building Android and iOS applications using Flutter
• Package and deploy your Flutter apps to achieve native-like performance

Table of contents

1 An Introduction to Dart
Getting started with Dart
Understanding why Flutter uses Dart
Introducing the structure of the Dart language
Introduction to OOP in Dart
Summary
Further reading

2 Intermediate Dart Programming
Dart classes and constructors
Interfaces, abstract classes, and mixins
Understanding Dart libraries and packages
Introducing async programming with Futures and Isolates
Introducing unit testing with Dart
Summary

3 An Introduction to Flutter
Comparisons with other mobile app development frameworks
Flutter compilation (Dart)
Flutter rendering
Widgets introduction
Hello Flutter
Summary

4 Widgets: Building Layouts in Flutter
Stateful versus stateless widgets
Built-in widgets
Understanding built-in layout widgets
Creating a UI with widgets (favor manager app)
Creating custom widgets
Summary

5 Handling User Input and Gestures
Handling user gestures
Input widgets
Validating Input (Forms)
Custom input and FormField
Putting it all together
Summary

6 Theming and Styling
Theme widgets
Material Design
iOS Cupertino
Using custom fonts
Dynamic styling with MediaQuery and LayoutBuilder
Summary

7 Routing: Navigating between Screens
Understanding the Navigator widget
Named routes
Screen transitions
Hero animations
Summary

8 Firebase Plugins
Firebase overview
Firebase authentication 
NoSQL database with Cloud Firestore
Cloud Storage with Firebase Storage
Ads with Firebase AdMob
ML with Firebase ML Kit
Summary

9 Developing Your Own Flutter Plugin
Creating a package/plugin project
A plugin project structure
Adding documentation to the package
Publishing a package
Plugin project development recommendations
Summary

10 Accessing Device Features from the Flutter App
Launching a URL from the app
Managing app permissions
Importing a contact from the phone
Integrating the phone's camera
Summary

11 Platform Views and Map Integration
Displaying a map
Adding markers to the map
Adding map interactions
Using the Google Places API
Summary

12 Testing, Debugging, and Deployment
Flutter testing – unit and widget testing
Debugging Flutter apps
Profiling Flutter apps
Inspecting the Flutter widget tree
Preparing apps for deployment
Summary

13 Improving User Experience
Accessibility in Flutter and adding translations to apps
Communication between native and Flutter with platform channels
Creating background processes
Adding Android-specific code to run Dart code in the background
Adding iOS-specific code to run Dart code in the background
Summary

14 Widget Graphic Manipulations
Transforming widgets with the Transform class
Exploring the types of transformations
Applying transformations to your widgets
Using custom painters and canvas
Summary

15 Animations
Introducing Animations
Using animations
Using AnimatedBuilder
Using AnimatedWidget
Summary