Pragmatic Programming – Flutter

Pragmatic programming is an approach that prioritizes practicality, efficiency, and readability in software development. In Flutter, pragmatic programming can help you create high-quality, maintainable code that is easy to understand and modify as your project evolves.

Let’s explore some examples of pragmatic programming in Flutter:

Use named constructors for clarity

Named constructors can help make your code more readable and easier to understand, especially when dealing with complex objects. For example, consider the following code:

Person person = Person(‘Santhosh’, ‘Adiga’, 30);

While this code is functional, it’s not immediately clear what the values represent. By using a named constructor, you can make the code more self-documenting:

Person person = Person.fromNameAndAge(‘Santhosh’, ‘Adiga’, 30);

This makes it clearer what each value represents, even to someone who is not familiar with the codebase.

Use the Builder pattern for complex UIs

When building complex user interfaces in Flutter, it can be helpful to use the Builder pattern to separate the construction of UI elements from their layout and styling. This can make your code more modular and easier to maintain.

For example, consider the following code:

Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  return Column(
    children: [
      Text('Hello'),
      Text('World'),
    ],
  );
}

This code works, but it’s not very flexible. If you wanted to add additional UI elements or change the layout, you would need to modify the code directly.

By using the Builder pattern, you can separate the UI construction from the layout and styling:

Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  return ColumnBuilder()
    .add(TextBuilder('Hello').build())
    .add(TextBuilder('World').build())
    .build();
}

In this code, we create a ColumnBuilder object that allows us to add individual UI elements using a chainable API. Each UI element is constructed using a separate TextBuilder object, which encapsulates the construction of a Text widget.

This makes it easier to modify the UI layout or add new UI elements, without needing to modify the original code directly.

Use the Factory pattern for object creation

The Factory pattern can be helpful for creating complex objects that require additional setup or validation before they can be used. This can help make your code more maintainable and easier to debug.

For example, consider the following code:

class Person {
  final String firstName;
  final String lastName;
  final int age;

  Person(this.firstName, this.lastName, this.age);
}

This code works, but it assumes that the input values are valid. If we wanted to add additional validation or setup logic, we would need to modify the constructor directly.

By using a Factory method, we can separate the object creation from any additional setup or validation logic:

class Person {
  final String firstName;
  final String lastName;
  final int age;

  Person._(this.firstName, this.lastName, this.age);

  factory Person(String firstName, String lastName, int age) {
    if (age < 0 || age > 120) {
      throw ArgumentError('Invalid age: $age');
    }

    return Person._(firstName, lastName, age);
  }
}

In this code, we use a private constructor to prevent direct instantiation of the Person object. Instead, we use a Factory method to create new Person objects, which allows us to perform additional validation or setup logic before returning the object.

This can make it easier to debug issues related to object creation, and can help prevent invalid objects from being created in the first place.

Conclusion:

Pragmatic programming can be a useful approach to take when developing Flutter applications. By prioritizing practicality, efficiency, and readability, you can create code that is easier to understand and maintain.

Some examples of pragmatic programming in Flutter include using named constructors for clarity, using the Builder pattern for complex UIs, and using the Factory pattern for object creation with additional setup or validation logic.

Of course, these are just a few examples of pragmatic programming in Flutter. There are many other techniques and patterns that you can use to make your code more maintainable and efficient. The key is to be mindful of the trade-offs between different approaches, and to always strive for a balance between readability, performance, and practicality.

With the right approach and mindset, you can create high-quality Flutter applications that are easy to maintain and extend, even as your codebase grows over time.