Why Dart?

Dart is the programming language used to develop Flutter apps. It was chosen because it is easy to learn and use, and it also has features that make it well-suited for building high-performance, cross-platform mobile apps. Additionally, Dart's Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation allows for fast startup times, while its Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation allows for fast development cycles. Overall, Dart is a powerful language that allows developers to create high-quality apps quickly and easily with Flutter.

Getting started with DartPad

If you’re learning only Dart or want to get started with Dart, you can save yourself from advanced installations using an online tool called DartPad.

DartPad is a free, open-source browser-based text online editor that can execute Dart code. It was built using Material components for the web UI via package:mdc_web, and Dart for the backend services to run compilation.

It was created by the Dart team as a "playground" or "scratchpad" of sorts, useful for testing small pieces of code, hence, it simplifies getting into Dart without having to install the Dart SDK and IDE plugins.

Dart and Its Pad

DartPad is a consequence of the Dart programming language. It began as an online playground for the Dart language built by the Dart tools team in 2015. It compiles, analyzes, and displays the results of its users' Dart code, and can be embedded in other websites as an iframe.

The Dart programming language was written in 2011 by Google as an alternative way to write Javascript, however, Javascript was too entrenched and thus the Dart language didn’t catch on, but it was later repurposed to write native applications. This evolution made Dart into an just in time compiled language as well as ahead of time compiled language.

One might be wondering why the history and basics of Dart is in this section of the article, and that would soon be made crystal clear.

Hint: pay attention to the words: “just in time compiled language as well as ahead of time compiled language.”

Code is a specialized language that is designed to be compact and human readable hence the computer doesn’t understand, which emerges the need for a compiler, a tool used to read code, and translate it into machine understandable and executable language.

There are two main types of compiling:

1. Ahead of Time compiling: An example is when one downloads an app. That is a code that has already been compiled for you.
2. Just in Time compiling: Your code is compiled at runtime in the browser. Since this requires less memory space, it can be used to improve application runtime and hence, optimize performance. It also allows code to be platform independent, implying that you may write your code to work on Windows and your program can now run on Mac or Linux.

Dart is a special language that has both compilers. One can even write code in Dart that can be cross compiled into Javascript which can then be run in a browser. Conversely, you can compile your code into a binary. This feature is what allows us to write mobile apps in Dart.

This feature’s importance is the building block of DartPad as allows us to actually write Dart code in a browser and see the results in real-time in the DartPad tool.

In Dec 2019, a new version of DartPad, was launched with a fresh new look-and-feel and support for the popular Flutter UI toolkit.

How to Use DartPad

DartPad is a web-based tool that allows you to write and run Dart code. To use it:

1. Go to the DartPad website https://dartpad.dev
2. You can start writing code in the left editor window.
3. You can run the code by clicking the "Run" button or by pressing the "Ctrl + Enter" key.
4. The output of the code will be displayed in the right window.
5. You can also test your code by clicking the "Test" button or by pressing the "Ctrl + Shift + Enter" key.
6. You can also change the version of Dart by clicking the settings icon in the top right corner.
7. You can also share your code by clicking the share button on the top right corner, this will give you a link to share your code with others.

Happy Darting!