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The way it atleast used to be framed is that web is a fallback target. Meaning if the target device isn't running Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS or Android (unlikel

The way it atleast used to be framed is that web is a fallback target. Meaning if the target device isn't running Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS or Android (unlikely), then hey, you can atleast build a passable version that will run in a browser. I don't know if this has changed, but I know only a mad man would try to build a proper website in Flutter. It's not the tool for the job.

LocalPCGuy 4y ago
No, it is 100% being framed as "You can build your app once and deploy it everywhere" with everywhere including web. It's sorta maddening, IMO. There are certain types of apps I could see using Flutter for (basically, ones that would lean heavily on canvas anyways, games, drawing, etc.)
- mekkkkkk 4y ago
  It's hard to quantify exactly what "everywhere" means, but for the vast majority of end-user devices, you'll have a more efficient Flutter build target than web. You're probably right in that they are pushing the "first class web target" narrative a bit far, though.
  - LocalPCGuy 4y ago
    Just to be clear, I used the word everywhere. I believe they are quite a bit more explicit in framing it for all platforms, including web specifically. It's possible we'll see it get there, but I think there is a lot of things to do (and undo) to do that.
chrismorgan 4y ago
I’ve encountered a Flutter web app exactly once, https://app.travellerdeclaration.govt.nz/ https://app.travellerdeclaration.govt.nz/. It was very painful. (Part of the pain was related to them using a selectable-button style for radio buttons, which isn’t entirely Flutter’s fault, though I bet it contributed to that misguided decision; but when there’s no scrollbar and the Yes/No button you clicked is at the very bottom of the visible page—well, that was the position.) When I filled it out last year, they had an alternative, vastly better accessible version that I think didn’t even require JavaScript, though good luck finding it, since it was accessed by an invisible button that Flutter event handling made unfocusable. Now that button sets a flag in sessionStorage and reloads, and on startup checks for the flag and sets flutterWebRenderer = "html", so that at least the content is in the accessibility tree, even if they still badly reimplement half the stuff the browser provides manually (links, focus, scrolling, they even damage bits of IME).
- mekkkkkk 4y ago
  That was painful indeed! Why you would use Flutter for something that seems to be web-only, and on a govt website that presumably values accessibility, is beyond me.

LocalPCGuy 4y ago

No, it is 100% being framed as "You can build your app once and deploy it everywhere" with everywhere including web. It's sorta maddening, IMO. There are certain types of apps I could see using Flutter for (basically, ones that would lean heavily on canvas anyways, games, drawing, etc.)

mekkkkkk 4y ago
It's hard to quantify exactly what "everywhere" means, but for the vast majority of end-user devices, you'll have a more efficient Flutter build target than web. You're probably right in that they are pushing the "first class web target" narrative a bit far, though.
- LocalPCGuy 4y ago
  Just to be clear, I used the word everywhere. I believe they are quite a bit more explicit in framing it for all platforms, including web specifically. It's possible we'll see it get there, but I think there is a lot of things to do (and undo) to do that.

chrismorgan 4y ago

I’ve encountered a Flutter web app exactly once, https://app.travellerdeclaration.govt.nz/ https://app.travellerdeclaration.govt.nz/. It was very painful. (Part of the pain was related to them using a selectable-button style for radio buttons, which isn’t entirely Flutter’s fault, though I bet it contributed to that misguided decision; but when there’s no scrollbar and the Yes/No button you clicked is at the very bottom of the visible page—well, that was the position.) When I filled it out last year, they had an alternative, vastly better accessible version that I think didn’t even require JavaScript, though good luck finding it, since it was accessed by an invisible button that Flutter event handling made unfocusable. Now that button sets a flag in sessionStorage and reloads, and on startup checks for the flag and sets flutterWebRenderer = "html", so that at least the content is in the accessibility tree, even if they still badly reimplement half the stuff the browser provides manually (links, focus, scrolling, they even damage bits of IME).

mekkkkkk 4y ago
That was painful indeed! Why you would use Flutter for something that seems to be web-only, and on a govt website that presumably values accessibility, is beyond me.