Optimizing Flutter Apps for Performance Part 1

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an Open source development kit developed by Google. It is introduced in 2018.They mainly focus on the development of mobile applications. But now  it supports six platforms. Android, iOS, web, windows, macOS and Linux. It allows developers to make a website, desktop and cross-platform applications which allow developers to create a single code base with multiple  platform Applications. that’s why It is called as cross-platform development framework. Flutter uses the open-source programming language Dart, which was also developed by Google. Dart is optimized for building UIs, and many of Dart’s abilities are used in Flutter. Dart is inspired from multiple languages like Java-script, Java, C language.

Why optimize your Flutter app?

Google introduced flutter to create beautiful and user friendly UI designs. So for having a smooth and lag-free user experience developers need to optimize the flutter applications. It also allows developers to create smooth animations and app transitions. Both Flutter App Development and Native App Development require code optimization to reduce computational complexity and improve execution speed. Flutter apps use a unique architecture that combines the Dart language with the Skia graphics engine, whereas native apps use platform-specific languages and frameworks. Flutter’s widget-based UI requires optimization techniques specific to its architecture, whereas native apps use platform-specific UI components. Flutter has limitations such as iOS and Android‘s different rendering engines, whereas native apps are optimized for a specific platform.

Importance of app optimization

Let’s discuss some importance of app optimization. It’s not only for flutter. Here, I will give some common  importance that are most common at any platform. We can reduce the maintenance cost of the applications. If the app is well optimized then it can create a good revenue from the play store and Appstore. It also boosts apps store visibility and downloads. If the app is well managed / optimized then it can bring a positive impact to the customer. it is directly connected to the App revenue. because by this it can give a positive impact from the customer reviews and feedback about the app. As for the Flutter, Platform reliability is also a one factor to optimize app, because it runs on a single code. It should be optimized enough to run smoothly without any problem in any platform. Code Optimization also increases the widgets rendering performance, code reusability, and minimizing unnecessary widget rebuilds. 2) Code Optimization

• Efficient widget usage:

As many of you know there are two types of Widgets. one is the Stateful widget and another is a Stateless widget. Both widget has their separate uses. But the thing is we need to use it in the widget tree in a proper way. Once we create Stateless widgets they cannot change their property this means they are immutable and Ui also  remains the same. Use stateless widgets whenever possible. Stateless widgets are more efficient than stateful widgets  because they do not have to rebuild every time the state changes. stateful widget have it’s own mutable state. It can  be changed as per the user interaction. In stateful widget we can see the dynamic changes in the UI. we need to use the proper widget.

• Avoiding unnecessary rebuilds: 

Avoiding unnecessary rebuilds in widget-based frameworks is crucial for optimizing performance and ensuring a smooth user experience. One of the primary ways to achieve this is by carefully managing state and using widgets that efficiently handle  changes. Stateless widgets, for instance, do not rebuild till their parent widget is built, But for the dynamic elements, It is essential to use the stateful widgets, But we need to ensure that it does not rebuild the entire widget tree. In the summer we need to avoid rebuilding the widget.

• Use of const and final constructors:

“Const”, as name suggests const keyword is used to assign the constant value during the compile  time and it cannot be changed. It ensures that the widget can be reused without rebuilding as it is immutable. “Final”, the final keyword in Dart indicates that a variable can only be set once and is initialized at runtime. When used in constructors, it ensures that the variable’s value is assigned once and cannot be modified later. Use the const when the the values are the static and the final keyword is suitable for the dynamic content. 

• Splitting large widgets into smaller ones.

In the widget-based frameworks like Flutter. It is good practice to splitting the large widget in the smaller widgets. It increases the reusability of the widgets. It also make code readable and main table. This enables the widgets to build faster. Use the stateless or stateful widgets instead of creating the widgets. As they Build very fast occupies less memory than the widget.

• Using async and await effectively.

For Mobile App Development using Flutter, async and await are keywords used to write asynchronous operations. Async is used to declare a function that returns a Future, while await is used to wait for the completion of a    Future. Future is a dart object which is the result of a asynchronous operations. When a Future is created, it’s in a pending state. Once the operation completes, the Future is resolved with a result or an error.

Conclusion

To optimize your Flutter app, focus on several aspects such as : use widgets efficiently and avoid unnecessary rebuilds to improve performance. Utilize “const” and “final” constructors for variables and widgets that don’t change, and split large widgets into smaller, manageable ones. Effectively handle asynchronous operations with “async” and “await” to maintain responsiveness. By incorporating these strategies, you’ll enhance your app’s speed and efficiency, ensuring a smoother and more responsive user experience, whether you’re developing a complex project or a simple application. Stay tuned for  ‘Optimizing Flutter Apps for Performance Part 2‘ where we’ll dive deeper into advanced techniques to make your Flutter app run smoother than ever!