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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
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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

  1. Install Flutter SDK:
  • Visit the Flutter installation page
  • Download the Flutter SDK and unzip it somewhere.
  • Add flutter\bin to your PATH environment variable.
  1. 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.
  1. 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

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

Step 3: Set up your app

  1. Open main.dart: This file is located inside the lib folder in your project directory. Open it in your IDE.
  2. 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!’),
),
);
}
} ]

 

  1. 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.

  1. 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
},
);
},
),
);
}
}

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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

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

Step 7: Launch your App

  1. 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:

  1. JavaScript: If you are already familiar with JavaScript, React Native will be easier to pick up.
  2. Community Support: React Native has been around longer, so you’ll find more community support and third-party libraries.
  3. 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:

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

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

Cons:

  1. Dart Language: Dart is less commonly used, so you might find fewer third-party libraries and community support (though this is rapidly changing).
  2. 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.

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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
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