Mobile App Development with Flutter vs React Native- Exploring PHP MySQL Backend

September 4, 2023
Posted by: SouTech Team
Category: Blog, Mobile Application Development Service and Training, PHP Web Development Free Training

Building a simple eLearning app using Flutter on a Windows laptop involves several steps. Below is a simplistic guide that should help you create a very basic eLearning app. This guide assumes you have basic knowledge of Dart and Flutter.

Step 1: Setting up your environment

Install Flutter SDK:

Visit the Flutter installation page
Download the Flutter SDK and unzip it somewhere.
Add flutter\bin to your PATH environment variable.

Install Android Studio (or another IDE of your choice like Visual Studio Code):

Download it from the official site
Install it and configure the Flutter and Dart plugins.

Check Flutter Installation:

Open your command prompt and type flutter doctor to ensure everything is set up correctly.

Step 2: Creating a new Flutter Project

Open your command prompt and navigate to the directory where you want your project.
Run flutter create elearning_app
Navigate into your new project directory (cd elearning_app)

Step 3: Set up your app

Open main.dart: This file is located inside the lib folder in your project directory. Open it in your IDE.
Edit main.dart: Replace the existing code with the following basic code.

[ import ‘package:flutter/material.dart’;

void main() {
runApp(MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
home: HomePage(),
);
}
}

class HomePage extends StatelessWidget {
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(‘eLearning App’),
),
body: Center(
child: Text(‘Welcome to the eLearning App!’),
),
);
}
} ]

Run your app: In your terminal, make sure you are inside the project directory and run flutter run.

Step 4: Add Features

Let’s make a simple list of courses that the user can see.

Edit HomePage in main.dart:

dart

class HomePage extends StatelessWidget {

final List<String> courses = [

'Course 1',

'Course 2',

'Course 3',

'Course 4',

];

@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(‘eLearning App’),
),
body: ListView.builder(
itemCount: courses.length,
itemBuilder: (context, index) {
return ListTile(
title: Text(courses[index]),
onTap: () {
// Navigate to course content
},
);
},
),
);
}
}

Step 5: Test Your App

Run flutter run again to see your changes. You should now have a list of courses that you can scroll through.

Step 6: Building for release

Android: Run flutter build apk to generate an APK file.
iOS: Run flutter build ios to build the iOS app (You would need a MacOS machine for this).

Step 7: Launch your App

To install your app on your device, you can use flutter install after building the APK.

That’s a very simplistic eLearning app in Flutter! From here you can add more features like video content, user authentication, quizzes, and so on.

A react native and a flutter mobile app which will be better for a beginner to deploy using php,mysql as backend to serve the elearning mobile app

Both React Native and Flutter have their pros and cons, and either could be used effectively with a PHP and MySQL backend to serve an eLearning mobile app. Here’s a quick rundown to help you decide:

React Native

Pros:

JavaScript: If you are already familiar with JavaScript, React Native will be easier to pick up.
Community Support: React Native has been around longer, so you’ll find more community support and third-party libraries.
Web + Mobile: If you’re also planning a web version and are using React, you can reuse some of your web components in your React Native app.

Cons:

Performance: React Native’s performance is generally good but may not be as high as Flutter’s for more graphics-intensive apps.
Native Modules: Some features will require you to write native modules in Swift, Objective-C, Kotlin, or Java.

Beginner-Friendly Aspects:

Strong community support means plenty of tutorials, forums, and third-party tools.
Easier to find issues and solutions that have been addressed by the community.
JavaScript is a beginner-friendly language.

Flutter

Pros:

Performance: Flutter offers high performance by compiling to native code.
UI Flexibility: Easily create complex UIs with a high degree of customization.
One Codebase: Write one codebase that works on both Android and iOS.

Cons:

Dart Language: Dart is less commonly used, so you might find fewer third-party libraries and community support (though this is rapidly changing).
Younger Ecosystem: Flutter is newer than React Native, so you might encounter fewer tutorials and resources.

Beginner-Friendly Aspects:

Strong, growing community and a lot of up-to-date tutorials.
Excellent documentation.
Less need to venture into native code for performance tuning.

Backend Compatibility

Both frameworks can interact with a PHP/MySQL backend using HTTP requests. You can create a REST API in PHP and then call this API to get or send data from your mobile app, irrespective of whether you use Flutter or React Native.

Conclusion

For a beginner:

If you’re already familiar with JavaScript, React Native might be easier to pick up quickly.
If you’re starting from scratch and want to focus more on the mobile UI, Flutter may be a better fit.

Either way, both frameworks are robust enough to build an eLearning platform with a PHP and MySQL backend. The choice may ultimately come down to your personal preference and long-term needs.

Author: SouTech Team

Soutech Ventures is primarily an Information Technology Firm, which was created to be the numero uno in business promotion development & implementation, eBusiness & IT systems integration and consultancy industry of the Nigerian Economy and to partners worldwide. Our Core strengths are - Tech Trainings and Certifications - Data Analytics and Cybersecurity Solutions - Software Development & Deployment for SME & Govt. - Tech Internship, HR & Partnerships