Takeaways from GDG Lagos Flutter Deep Dive interaction

As it usually happens at GDG Lagos events, registration was seamless and people were given swags, including Flutter T-shirt.

For the uninitiated, Flutter is not affiliated with Flutterwave. Flutter is an open-source user interface software development kit created by Google. It allows developer to create native mobile apps with one code base; that is, you can create two apps—iOS and Android—using Flutter. And it has been projected that Flutter will become more popular in 2020.

The Main Event

We kicked things off with a welcome address by Olise Okpala, Engineering Manager at Firstbank Digital Innovation Lab. He was ushered in by Gbolahan Alli, Partner Engineering Manager at Andela.

Olise charged the attendees to take advantage of the event to the fullest and did some housekeeping by reeling out the rules of engagement and other important information like the WiFi password.

FirstBank Digital Lab is partnering with Flutter Lagos and GDG Lagos to host technology enthusiasts at the Flutter Deep Dive, on Saturday the 14th of December!

Register for FREE using: https://t.co/V5wBSKZ2ab
1/2 pic.twitter.com/LAM3Oq3ECr

— FirstBank Nigeria (@FirstBankngr) December 12, 2019

First Speaker: Lekan Baruwa

Thereafter, the first speaker Lekan Baruwa [Senior Software Engineer at Andela and Mobile Application developer at ginger.io] delivered a talk on Flutter App Architecture.

Everything is a widget. Widgets are basically user interface components used to create the user interface of the application. In Flutter, the application itself is a widget

Lekan further explained that there are about three models used in Flutter development. These are: the Vanilla model, the BLoc (Business Logic Component) style, and the Scoped model, which is more popular among some developer circle. According to Lekan, most of the mobile apps we are working on have at least one of these functionalities:

• Request/upload data from/to the network
• Map, transform, prepare data and present it to the user.
• Put/get data to/from the database.

The 'Flutter App Architecture ' session is currently ongoing and is facilitated by @LekanBaruwa of @Andela_Nigeria #FlutterInteract #FlutterLagos #GDGLagos #FirstBankFiresideChat pic.twitter.com/vimFtEIY1f

— GDGLagos #FlutterInteract #FlutterDecember (@gdglagos) December 14, 2019

Lekan also emphasized the importance of collaboration among software developers, engineers and technology experts as they are key to the development and adoption of Google's Flutter.

Second Speaker: Olanrewaju Okewande

Olanrewaju Okewande, Software engineer at Kobo360, delivered a talk on "The Flutter Bloc Way".

Olanrewaju, who formerly worked at TeamApt, explained that it is easy to have an overview of the screens of applications using wireframing and prototyping tools such as Adobe XD and Sketch.

BLoC style helps me to examine each screen and decide which widget need to keep track of a state.

@okewandelanre talking about 'The Flutter Bloc Way' at the #Flutter Deep Dive. #FlutterInteract #FlutterLagos #GDGLagos #FirstBankFiresideChat pic.twitter.com/CD3vRVrHnZ

— GDGLagos #FlutterInteract #FlutterDecember (@gdglagos) December 14, 2019

All talks and no refreshment, makes an event boring. So, we had a short lunch break after Olanrewaju's talk.

Third Speaker: Lekan Oladosu

After the refreshments, Lekan Oladosu mount the podium to talk about "Building Reusable Components in Flutter".

'Building reusable Flutter Components' by @oladlek currently going on. #FlutterInteract #FirstBankFiresideChat #GDGLagos #FlutterLagos pic.twitter.com/KTm7Q9InWd

— GDGLagos #FlutterInteract #FlutterDecember (@gdglagos) December 14, 2019

After Lekan's talk, it was time for Q & A. Relevant questions were posed to the three facilitators.

Gbolahan Alli, once again, came on stage to give the closing remark. And it was a wrap.

Overall, GDG Lagos Flutter Deep Dive meetup was was an amazing event. We learned, and were able to connect and interact with one another.