Should I learn Dart or Flutter first?

If you’re interested in learning Flutter, then you will hear about Dart one way or another. That’s because the programming language used to write Flutter applications. In other words, if Dart is the language, then Flutter is the toolkit that uses it. 

However, many beginners in the field get confused about whether they should familiarize themselves with Dart before or after Flutter. The short answer is Dart first, Flutter second. Let’s explore “why” in detail. 

Dart vs. Flutter: Key differences

While Dart is a programming language used to build Flutter applications, Flutter is an open-source UI toolkit created by Google. It is primarily used for creating mobile, web, and desktop applications from a single codebase. Flutter’s framework is built on top of Dart. It utilizes predesigned widgets, tools, and libraries to create responsive UIs.

Dart is also the only language used in Flutter, so they come in a pack even if you want to avoid learning a new programming language. However, this has advantages because you won’t have to constantly switch between multiple languages when working on different layers of an application. Everything from UI design to application logic is written in Dart alone. 

Widgets

Flutter’s widgets are written in Dart and are its core building blocks—text, row, column, and container widgets are some of the common ones, among many others. The screen’s view, configuration, and state depend on these widgets and their sequence, and developers use them to create the entire UI. 

State management

State management in Flutter is done using Dart and involves managing the state of your application—in other words, the data that influences the UI and its interactions. The UI comprises widgets, which can either be mutable or immutable. 

There are two types of states: the ephemeral state (local state) and the app state (global state). The ephemeral state is only used in a small part of the app and can be managed directly using the StatefulWidget and State classes. Meanwhile, the app state is shared across various app parts and requires a sturdy state management solution. 

Animation and gestures

Dart handles animations and gestures created in Flutter, and its animation system is known to be flexible and efficient in complex motion graphics. 

The AnimationController class is generally used to control animations in Flutter. It allows you to establish the animation’s progression and maintain its life cycle. Flutter animations and gestures are a great way to enhance user experience through dynamic transitions and interactions. 

Learning Dart: Where to begin?  

Before starting with Dart, you should ask yourself two questions to guide you as you progress in your learning journey. 

Are you a beginner in programming?

Whether you are familiar with other programming languages or not will significantly affect your beginner experience with Dart. This is because Dart has C-style syntax similar to other programming languages such as JavaScript, Java, C#, and Python. So, if you are familiar with any of these, Dart will not be as challenging to learn as a beginner. 

Moreover, Dart is an object-oriented language (OOP) similar to Java, C#, and C++, so if you have experience with these and their concepts like classes, objects, inheritance, and polymorphism, applying these in Dart will be easy. 

However, even if you are a complete beginner to programming, learning Dart is not impossible. Dart is a programming language known for its simplicity and accessibility, emphasized by its general learning time of two to three months. 

Are you familiar with another framework or library? 

Being familiar with other frameworks or libraries, particularly those related to UI, web, and mobile app development, can give you a leg up when you start learning Dart. 

This is because most frameworks and libraries share common programming concepts such as state management, event handling, routing, etc. Because of their similar patterns, basic knowledge of frameworks like React, SwiftUI, or Kotlin will help you grasp Dart and Flutter.   

Dart and Flutter’s approach to building user interfaces is similar, especially with their widget-based architecture. Understanding how to compose UIs from reusable components is helpful. 

What to know before starting Flutter

Besides learning Dart, there are some other basics you should be familiar with before starting to use Flutter. These factors will help you understand why Flutter is relevant in cross-platform application development. 

Understanding OOP

Before starting to learn Flutter, grasp the core fundamentals of object-oriented programming (OOP) because it relies heavily on OOP principles to structure and manage the code you will be writing and working on. 

Flutter widget system is OOP-based, and some OOP knowledge will allow you to build custom widgets. Moreover, OOP principles such as encapsulation allow you to maintain a clean and organized codebase in Flutter, an important aspect when building complex UIs. 

Having an idea of mixins and abstract classes, which are advanced OOP features, will aid in reusing code across multiple classes without using inheritance. Many of the design patterns used in Flutter are also based on OOP principles. 

Basics of software development 

Foundational software development knowledge is crucial before starting with Flutter because that is the only way to lay out a pathway to grasp advanced concepts and practices. 

• Core programming concepts such as variables, data types, loops, and control structures form the building blocks of any software application. In Flutter, you will use them to manipulate data, build UI, and control the overall flow of your application. 

• The software development life cycle (SDLC) involves the planning and design phase, where the software design is decided, including requirements gathering, system design, and UI design. The next stage is testing and debugging, which are core software development skills. Flutter provides various debugging tools that need a basic understanding before use. 

• Algorithm design is one key to solving problems effectively in software development, especially those related to performance; sorting data, collecting information, and optimizing processes are all included. 

• UI/UX principles include UI design, which involves layout design, color theory, and user experience. Responsive design is another element that involves designing responsive interfaces with different screen sizes and orientations. 

Familiarity with IDE (Integrated development environments) 

IDEs like Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ IDEA, or Android Studio are designed to make coding efficient and offer code completion, syntax highlighting, and code navigation features. Knowing how these features work beforehand will allow you to concentrate on learning Flutter instead of writing and managing code. 

In addition, IDEs play a big role in project file management and in helping keep directories organized. Managing and navigating files within IDE keeps the workflow streamlined and avoids confusion, especially in larger Flutter projects where you will most likely handle various Dart files and assets simultaneously. 

Debugging tools hold a lot of weight in IDE, and being able to set breakpoints, step through code, inspect variables, and view call stacks is critical to know as a developer working on applications. Developing complex UI layouts will require extensive debugging, and in Flutter, knowing these basics will allow for a more efficient process. 

Final words

Dart is a popular mainstream programming language for good reason; its association with Flutter allows it to be the backbone of an accessible and efficient framework for writing applications. Learning Dart and Flutter as a developer is sure to help you gain the ability to create dynamic and innovative applications, pushing forward the industry standard.