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Flutter looks amazing! I was looking for some new dev challenges and wanted to mess with some mobile app development that is outside of the React Native / Ioni

Flutter looks amazing! I was looking for some new dev challenges and wanted to mess with some mobile app development that is outside of the React Native / Ionic / js world. Gave Flutter a serious look, loved it, but ultimately decided to just skip and mess with Swift and Apple's tools - so no Android stuff for me for now. I just don't trust it to be around long enough to be an investment for me. I know I'm just 1 developer working on a crappy hobby app for fun, but Google's quick lifecycle of products has real impact. But then on the other hand I love Firebase. Just wanted to share.

warent 8y ago
"I just don't trust it to be around long enough to be an investment for me." Normally I would be inclined to agree with you given that this is Google, but the good news is that Flutter is open source. So even if Google discontinues internal development on it, it's likely that the community will continue it anyway.
- nailer 8y ago
  Dart (the lang used in Flutter) already failed to gain traction in the web dev community and nobody seems to be maintaining it there.
  - thosakwe 8y ago
    > nobody seems to be maintaining it there That's factually incorrect. Development of Dart for the Web has never stopped. AngularDart is still officially supported, and under active development.
    - nailer 8y ago
      Nobody in the community. Context is key.
  - sudhirj 8y ago
    Flutter is Dart's killer app, and don't think it's unmaintained. Dart 2.0 came out pretty recently with some much needed improvements, probably driven by Flutter.
    - sigzero 8y ago
      Dart 2.1 is now available as well. So still kicking! :)
  - forgot-my-pw 8y ago
    Dart is being used internally at Google for AdWords and other core products: https://www.dartlang.org/community/who-uses-dart https://www.dartlang.org/community/who-uses-dart Even if it's not popular elsewhere, with its use inside Google, it won't be going away anytime soon.
    - lern_too_spel 8y ago
      AdWords previously used GWT, which is no longer maintained by Google. I get the feeling the AdWords team just really doesn't like JavaScript, which is understandable, but it doesn't say anything about whether AdWords will stick with the current non-JavaScript language du jour or move to another.
      - forgot-my-pw 8y ago
        GWT served them well for 8 years. Now the Dart one is expected to last for the next 7+ years. Read this interview if you're interested to learn more on their reasoning: https://news.dartlang.org/2016/03/the-new-adwords-ui-uses-dart-we-asked.html https://news.dartlang.org/2016/03/the-new-adwords-ui-uses-da...
        lern_too_spel 8y ago
        7+ years from early 2016, which means 4+ years today. Take it as you will. The point being that just because Google uses something for AdWords doesn't mean Google will maintain it for the long run. I might find other arguments more convincing.
        stickfigure 8y ago
        All technologies will get replaced by something else eventually. Presentation technologies have a short shelf life. GWT is 12 years old now, that's quite a good run.
        lern_too_spel 8y ago
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > Dart (the lang used in Flutter) already failed to gain traction in the web dev community and nobody seems to be maintaining it there. Dart for web underlies Hummingbird, Google's Flutter-for-web effort that was also announced as a sneak peak alongside the Flutter 1.0 announcement, so Dart for web is very much alive and maintained at Google.
    - nailer 8y ago
      You're missing the point. OP asked what would happen if Google abandoned the project, and it's pretty obvious Dart would die as it being maintained by Google, not the community.
- mhd 8y ago
  That's what I thought about Tcl/Tk.
  - stickfigure 8y ago
    Tcl/Tk is 30 years old. I would be willing to bet my retirement that none of the now-popular presentation technologies will be mainstream 30 years from now. They just don't have that kind of shelf life. If Flutter lasts a decade, it will have lived gloriously. React should be so lucky.
    - 1024core 8y ago
      > I would be willing to bet my retirement that none of the now-popular presentation technologies will be mainstream 30 years from now X-Windows? That thing started life more than 30 years ago, and still going strong on Linux.
      - pjmlp 8y ago
        More due to inertia and inability to get Wayland ready than anything else.
    - mhd 8y ago
      I wasn't talking about Tcl/Tk's current state, but about the similar situation it "enjoyed". It, too, had a pretty large community, which quickly went on too greener shores. User base is much more fickle than one might think. Flutter could be even worse off, as mobile/web development is often corp development, i.e. not something people do because it's enjoyable. Even more people used MFC and Motif, but I don't see a lot of fansites dedicated to those.
    - linkmotif 8y ago
      React will definitely make 10 years. It’s almost at 5...
      - stickfigure 8y ago
hasbot 8y ago
> working on a crappy hobby app for fun That's where it's best to explore and take chances. The only risk is wasting time.
- hbhakhra 8y ago
  Risk of wasting time, upside of having fun and learning.

warent 8y ago

"I just don't trust it to be around long enough to be an investment for me." Normally I would be inclined to agree with you given that this is Google, but the good news is that Flutter is open source. So even if Google discontinues internal development on it, it's likely that the community will continue it anyway.

nailer 8y ago
Dart (the lang used in Flutter) already failed to gain traction in the web dev community and nobody seems to be maintaining it there.
- thosakwe 8y ago
  > nobody seems to be maintaining it there That's factually incorrect. Development of Dart for the Web has never stopped. AngularDart is still officially supported, and under active development.
  - nailer 8y ago
    Nobody in the community. Context is key.
- sudhirj 8y ago
  Flutter is Dart's killer app, and don't think it's unmaintained. Dart 2.0 came out pretty recently with some much needed improvements, probably driven by Flutter.
  - sigzero 8y ago
    Dart 2.1 is now available as well. So still kicking! :)
- forgot-my-pw 8y ago
  Dart is being used internally at Google for AdWords and other core products: https://www.dartlang.org/community/who-uses-dart https://www.dartlang.org/community/who-uses-dart Even if it's not popular elsewhere, with its use inside Google, it won't be going away anytime soon.
  - lern_too_spel 8y ago
    AdWords previously used GWT, which is no longer maintained by Google. I get the feeling the AdWords team just really doesn't like JavaScript, which is understandable, but it doesn't say anything about whether AdWords will stick with the current non-JavaScript language du jour or move to another.
    - forgot-my-pw 8y ago
      GWT served them well for 8 years. Now the Dart one is expected to last for the next 7+ years. Read this interview if you're interested to learn more on their reasoning: https://news.dartlang.org/2016/03/the-new-adwords-ui-uses-dart-we-asked.html https://news.dartlang.org/2016/03/the-new-adwords-ui-uses-da...
      - lern_too_spel 8y ago
        7+ years from early 2016, which means 4+ years today. Take it as you will. The point being that just because Google uses something for AdWords doesn't mean Google will maintain it for the long run. I might find other arguments more convincing.
        stickfigure 8y ago
        All technologies will get replaced by something else eventually. Presentation technologies have a short shelf life. GWT is 12 years old now, that's quite a good run.
        lern_too_spel 8y ago
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Dart (the lang used in Flutter) already failed to gain traction in the web dev community and nobody seems to be maintaining it there. Dart for web underlies Hummingbird, Google's Flutter-for-web effort that was also announced as a sneak peak alongside the Flutter 1.0 announcement, so Dart for web is very much alive and maintained at Google.
  - nailer 8y ago
    You're missing the point. OP asked what would happen if Google abandoned the project, and it's pretty obvious Dart would die as it being maintained by Google, not the community.
mhd 8y ago
That's what I thought about Tcl/Tk.
- stickfigure 8y ago
  Tcl/Tk is 30 years old. I would be willing to bet my retirement that none of the now-popular presentation technologies will be mainstream 30 years from now. They just don't have that kind of shelf life. If Flutter lasts a decade, it will have lived gloriously. React should be so lucky.
  - 1024core 8y ago
    > I would be willing to bet my retirement that none of the now-popular presentation technologies will be mainstream 30 years from now X-Windows? That thing started life more than 30 years ago, and still going strong on Linux.
    - pjmlp 8y ago
      More due to inertia and inability to get Wayland ready than anything else.
  - mhd 8y ago
    I wasn't talking about Tcl/Tk's current state, but about the similar situation it "enjoyed". It, too, had a pretty large community, which quickly went on too greener shores. User base is much more fickle than one might think. Flutter could be even worse off, as mobile/web development is often corp development, i.e. not something people do because it's enjoyable. Even more people used MFC and Motif, but I don't see a lot of fansites dedicated to those.
  - linkmotif 8y ago
    React will definitely make 10 years. It’s almost at 5...
    - stickfigure 8y ago

hasbot 8y ago

> working on a crappy hobby app for fun That's where it's best to explore and take chances. The only risk is wasting time.

hbhakhra 8y ago
Risk of wasting time, upside of having fun and learning.