Flutter for Beginners

Introduction

• How to Use This Course
• Conventions Used in This Course
• What You Don’t Have to Read
• Foolish Assumptions
• How This Course Is Organized
• Icons Used in This Course

What Is Flutter?

• Hardware and Software (Things You May Already Know)
• Where Does Flutter Fit In?
• Enough New Terminology! What’s Next?

Setting Up Your Computer for Mobile App Development

• The Stuff You Need
• What to Do
• Dealing with the Devil’s Details
• Divisiveness Among Devices
• Using Android Studio
• Running This Course’s Sample Programs
• Were These Setup Steps Fun or What?

“Hello” from Flutter

• First Things First
• Classes, Objects, and Widgets
• Making Things Look Nicer
• Hey, Wait a Minute …

Hello Again

• Creating and Using a Function
• Programming in Dart: The Small Stuff
• Variations on a Theme from Die Flutter Mouse
• More Fun to Come!

Making Things Happen

• Let’s All Press a Floating Action Button
• Enhancing Your App
• Whew!

Laying Things Out

• The Big Picture
• Nesting Rows and Columns
• More Levels of Nesting
• Using the Expanded Widget
• How Big Is My Device?

Interacting with the User

• A Simple Switch
• Wait For It!
• How Much Do You Love Flutter?
• Dealing with Text Fields
• Creating Radio Buttons
• Creating a Dropdown Button
• Onward and Upward

Navigation, Lists, and Other Goodies

• Extending a Dart Class
• From One Page to Another
• Passing Data from Source to Destination
• Passing Data Back to the Source
• Passing Data in Both Directions
• Creating Named Routes
• Creating a List
• Fetching Data from the Internet
• What’s Next?

Moving Right Along …

• Setting the Stage for Flutter Animation
• Moving Along a Straight Line
• Bouncing Around
• Animating Size and Color Changes
• Moving Along a Curve
• Dragging Things Around

Ten Ways to Avoid Mistakes

• Put Capital Letters Where They Belong
• Use Parentheses When (and Only When) They’re Appropriate
• Limit Access to Variables
• Call setState
• Make Adjustments for Indices Starting at Zero
• Use the Expanded Widget
• Add itemCount to Your ListView.builder
• Add Imports When They’re Required
• Declare Assets and Dependencies in pubspec.yaml
• Indent Your Code According to Dart Language Guidelines

Ten Ways to Enhance Your App Development Career

• Practice! Practice!
• Critique Your Own Code
• Have Others Review Your Code
• Find Out Which Technologies Your Nearby Companies Use
• Attend User Group Meetings
• Ask Questions
• Ask Yourself Whether You Truly Understand
• Learn Things That You May Never Need to Know
• Do What You Love to Do
• Get Plenty of Sleep

Ten Lessons about Flutter App Development

• Introduction
• What Is Flutter?
• Setting Up Your Computer for Mobile App Development
• ‘Hello’ from Flutter
• Hello Again
• Making Things Happen
• Laying Things Out
• Interacting with the User
• Navigation, Lists, and Other Goodies
• Moving Right Along …

Doris’s Dating App