UPDATED 07:05 EDT / DECEMBER 11 2019

APPS

Google’s ambient computing vision gets closer with Flutter 1.12 release

Google LLC today announced a major update to its open-source Flutter framework that’s used to build applications that can run on multiple computing platforms.

Flutter is a framework that’s used by developers to write “native” apps on operating systems such as Android, iOS, Windows and MacOS. The idea is that they can write their apps just once using Google’s Dart programming language and have them run perfectly across all of those platforms, without needing to tinker the code for each version.

Google’s goal with Flutter is to enable what it calls “ambient computing.” The idea, which stretches back decades to Xerox Corp.’s famed Palo Alto Research Center, is that people can access apps and services from any location, be it at home or work, on any kind of device, using a consistent set of methods and commands.

Tim Sneath, group product manager for Flutter and Dart, told SiliconANGLE in an interview that the need for ambient computing is becoming a lot more pressing as developers target an increasing number of platforms for their applications.

“You always need to ask first where my app is going to run,” Sneath said. “Typically you have to hire a team focused on the web or a particular device. And the problem is just getting worse and worse with more devices such as smart thermostats, Assistant devices and more. It’s a world that is vastly more heterogeneous than any world in the past.”

Instead of forcing developers to start app development by asking which device they’re targeting, Google aims wit Flutter to enable them simply to focus on what they want to build.

The release of Flutter 1.12 go a long way toward enabling ambient computing, as Google has made some big strides in its effort to support desktop operating systems such as MacOS. For example, it’s now possible to build a fully optimized MacOS application using Flutter, Google said. In addition, Flutter’s web application support has moved into beta, adding “more stability and maturity” to the preview that was first shipped in May.

An example of a MacOS app made in Flutter

An example of a macOS app made in Flutter

Further updates have been made to the Dart programming language. Dart 2.7 adds new capabilities such as an updated DartPad that enables users to edit their code and view the changes made in a rendered user interface.

Besides enabling ambient computing, Google wants developers to see Flutter as a kind of “canvas” for their creative expression, a place where they can build beautiful applications that don’t compromise on visual quality. In a blog post, the company cited Flutter’s “stateful hot reload feature” that it said makes it easy to make and see changes in real time, as well as the ability to blend user interfaces,, graphical content, text and video with customized animations and transformations.

To highlight Flutter’s creative capabilities, Google showcased the work of digital artist Robert Felker, who has created a series of generative art explorations with Flutter that combine geometry, texture and light in stunning ways.

robert-felker-images

To enable more creative expression, Flutter is being integrated with several popular developer tools that make it easy to design beautiful application interfaces. For example, Flutter is now fully integrated with the Supernova design and prototyping tool, which is used by developers to create user interfaces and translate them into production-ready code that can be embedded directly into an app. Flutter is also being directly with Rive Inc.’s real-time animation tools.

Meanwhile, Adobe Inc. announced support for Flutter in its Creative Cloud platform via a plugin that exports designs made in its user experience design platform Adobe XD directly to the framework. It enables product design teams to design and prototype user experiences for mobile, web, desktop and other environments.

With reporting from Robert Hof

Images: Google

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