Flutter Web: A Comprehensive Guide
Flutter has not only made mobile app development easier and efficient but also has revolutionized web development. Flutter Web is a highly productive framework from Google that enables the creation of web applications with the same codebase as Flutter mobile applications. In this tutorial, we’ll explore the basics of Flutter Web and understand how easy it is to use Flutter for web development.
Creating a Flutter Web Project
To create a Flutter Web project, we need to set up a new Flutter project using either Android Studio or Visual Studio Code. As Flutter Web requires a web renderer, we also need to install either Chrome or Edge as a web renderer. Once both are set up, create a new Flutter project by running the following command in the terminal:
``` bash
flutter create my_web_app}
Adding Web Support to a Flutter Project
Flutter Web support can be added to an existing Flutter project with the following command:
``` bash
flutter config --enable-web}
With this command, Flutter downloads the necessary packages and sets up everything needed to build Flutter web applications.
Building and Running the Flutter Web App
To build and run the app, we need to run the following command in the terminal:
``` bash
flutter run -d web-server}
This command will build the project and run it on a web server using the Chrome or Edge web renderer.
Using Flutter for Responsive App Design
Flutter Web has a unique feature that provides responsive app design, allowing developers to create applications that adapt to various screen sizes and resolutions. Flutter Web makes use of a set of widgets called responsive widgets, which enables the smooth scaling and repositioning of widgets across different screen sizes.
Example Code Snippet Using Flutter Web
Here’s an example code snippet that shows the use of responsive widgets to provide great user experience on multiple screen sizes:
``` dart
Row(
children: [
Expanded( //Left Purple Box
flex: 1,
child: Container(
width: 100,
height: 100,
color: Colors.purple,
),
),
Expanded( //Right yellow Boxes
flex: 2,
child: Column(
children: [
Expanded(
flex: 1,
child: Container(
color: Colors.yellow,
),
),
Expanded(
flex: 1,
child: Container(
color: Colors.yellow[800],
),
),
],
),
),
],
)}
With this code, we’re creating a single Row widget containing two Expanded widgets with the flex options set to 1 and 2. The flex options set the amount of space each child should get based on their weight, with the total weight of all children being equal to the total number of flex points on the Row.
