2 months into Flutter

So I've been learning Flutter trying to get in deep. I'm been using Flutter for make an Android app and so far, I'm largely impressed but I have met a few small annoyances.

The good. 

1. Hot reload is the killer feature. I won't be a happy mobile developer if have to wait for the damn AVD to restart to see my changes. 

2. Android Studio support. I'll have to disclose that I'm also a Pycharm user so you could say this is a biased assessment. I've tried Flutter with VSCode, it works but having to manage the Android stuff like AVDs manually is a pain.

3. Good looking apps fast. Once you figure out how the layout system works along with the theming system, you'll have a blast creating your app UI also tweaking it.

4. Aside from good looking app, you also have nice responsive apps. Although I have to admit, the app I built didn't have that many moving parts.

The bad.

1. Dart. The language is like Java and JavaScript had a bastard child. Being a Python dev for the last decade, the curly braces just irks me. Also, it has a lot of optional syntax rules that bug me. 

2. The learning curve. Flutter isn't particularly easy especially for those without CS or programming training or experience. For example, how it handles databases and API calls is via Futures; Learning how to use Futures isn't trivial especially if you want a maintainable code base.

3. Missing key IDE features. The feature I'm taking about is the "build" feature. If you are using Android Studio, you'll still be forced to use the command line to build your final release APK. You can't do this from the IDE. May be the future.

I got nothing if you're an IOS developer.

Conclusion:

Flutter works although it has some of rough edges. I'd like to think these rough edges are teething problems. I expect a couple of these rougher edges be polished away before the end of year. I'm liking Flutter so far and I think I'm in good company - Alibaba used Flutter for their Xianyu app.