Google has released version 3.3 of its cross-platform framework Flutter. Three months have passed since the major release 3.0, and in the meantime more than 5,600 merge requests have been received. Among other things, the new version brings performance improvements, updated text handling and innovations for Flutter Web and Desktop.
As usual, the Dart programming language, which was also developed by Google and is behind the framework, is being updated at the same time. Dart 2.18 mainly works on interoperability with Objective-C and Swift. In addition, the company Auth0 has released a new Flutter SDK for use with the authentication service of the same name.
Intuitive global text selection
Flutter 3.3 brings the ability to select text globally. Previously, Flutter exhibited unexpected behavior when users tried to highlight text, according to the development team. Selecting different web elements with a single swipe gesture, which is common in a traditional web application, was not easily possible in a Flutter application.
The new SelectableArea-Widget helps: The selection function is activated in each child element of the widget. Developers can use the new feature by using the Route bodies, for example Scaffold, wrap with the new widget. More information can be found in the API documentation.
Material design and connection to VS Code
As another innovation, the Flutter team reports that they have migrated additional components from Material Design 3 to Flutter. Google introduced this design language at the end of 2021 and uses it, for example, in its email service Gmail. There are updates for the components, among other things IconButton, Chip and large and medium variants of AppBar.
Connection to Visual Studio Code is provided by the Flutter Extension. It now allows adding multiple dependencies in one step. This is what the new option is for Dart: Add Dependency ready. Dependencies can then be separated by a comma.
As announced with Flutter 3.0, support for 32-bit iOS devices and for iOS versions 9 and 10 was included for the last time. In the stable release of the 4th quarter of 2022, support for macOS 10.11 and 10.12 will also be dropped, which means a minimum version of 10.13 High Sierra. Flutter can be installed on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS.
The development team will share all further information about version 3.3 in a blog entry.
Dart 2.18 becomes more flexible
The programming language Dart 2.18, which was released at the same time, brings interoperability with the languages Objective-C and Swift as a preview feature. Dart can now call code written in the two programming languages, which is commonly used for APIs on macOS and iOS platforms. This interoperability is designed to work in any application, from the CLI app to backend code to a Flutter UI.
In addition, Dart 2.18 brings improved type inference, which should enable more precise Dart code, and has breaking changes ready. Among other things, the Dart Virtual Machine (VM) now does not restore the initial terminal settings when exiting. In the new release, programs are responsible for this Stdin-Settings lineMode and echoMode change.
A blog entry also describes the innovations in Dart 2.18.
New release: Auth0 Flutter SDK
The company behind the Auth0 authentication platform has announced that it has launched a new Auth0 Flutter SDK. Argentinian start-up Auth0 offers identity management applications for companies and was acquired by competitor Okta last year.
The Auth0 Flutter SDK is designed to ensure secure access to iOS and Android apps and is based on the existing libraries Auth0.Android and Auth0.swift. To use the SDK, users must be using at least Flutter SKD 3.0 and Dart 2.17. Interested parties can find the other current requirements and a start guide on GitHub.
