Learning Programming through a Flutter Project

Introduction

• Best way to learn programming: start building a simple project.
• Focus: Learn Flutter basics by doing a project.
• Objective: Improve programming skills and prepare for more advanced topics.

Getting Started with Flutter

• No need to cover Flutter installation (many online tutorials available).
• Command to create Flutter project:

  flutter create <project_name>
  

• Work primarily within the lib folder.
• main.dart file: Entry point of the Flutter application.
  • Main function: void main().
  • runApp function: Launches the application by passing a widget as the root.

Running the Application

• Select emulator and press F5 to run the application.
• Default Flutter application appears in the MyHomePage class.

Coding the Project

1. Creating Pages

   • Create a Pages folder for different app pages.
   • Create a home.dart file in the Pages folder.

2. Widgets Overview

   • Material Widgets: For Android, following Material Design guidelines.
   • Cupertino Widgets: For iOS, following Human Interface guidelines.
   • Stateless Widgets: No state changes.
   • Stateful Widgets: Mutable state, can be redrawn.
   • Use sdl shortcut in the editor for a Stateless widget.

3. Home Screen Setup

   • Set home property to HomePage class in main.dart.
   • Use const keyword for compile-time constants.

4. Build Method

   • Describes part of the user interface (returns a widget).
   • Use Scaffold: Provides framework for the app layout.
     • Contains widgets like AppBar, Drawer, etc.

5. App Bar Implementation

   • Add AppBar to Scaffold.
   • Center text in AppBar using centerTitle: true.
   • Change text style (size, color, weight).
   • Customize background color and elevation.
   • Add buttons (using Container and GestureDetector).
   • Use flutter_svg package for SVG icons.

6. Search TextField

   • Add TextField in Scaffold body.
   • Use Container for styling and margins.
   • Add shadow using BoxDecoration.
   • Customize TextField (remove border, add radius).
   • Add icons using prefixIcon and suffixIcon properties.
   • Include padding for correct sizing.
   • Display hint text (hintText property).
   • Remove debugShowCheckedModeBanner for clean UI.

7. Category Section

   • Create Category model class.
   • Define properties: category name, icon path, background color.
   • Use ListView.builder for horizontal list display.
   • Implement item spacing with ListView.separated.
   • Set item color and radius.
   • Display category details (icon, text) using Column.

8. Recommendation for Diet Section

   • Similar implementation to the category section.
   • Use ListView.builder and ListView.separated.
   • Display diets with icons and details.
   • Implement View button with gradient background.

9. Popular Section

   • Define model for popular items.
   • Use ListView for scrollable list.
   • Customize container styles and icons.
   • Implement button with click events.

Enhancements

• Modularize code: Extract methods for different sections.
• Use const wherever applicable to avoid warnings.

Conclusion

• Successfully created a basic Flutter application.
• Continue exploring Flutter by building more projects.
• Follow up with next tutorials for advanced features.