Due to the absolute lack of interest in SQWKLER, I didn’t hype it up or post much about it. It’s always interesting (and humbling) to create something, along with a lot of invested time, and the reception is, “Okay.” I was even asked why I did it. It’s a good question and totally valid. Here’s my reason: It is a project I can use in my portfolio and I wanted to. I’m not trying to be a jerk, it’s just that I don’t have a lot that I can call my own and the majority of my time is used to help my employer or my clients.
Approach
I started SQWKLER with a basic Flutter app and set out to add authentication. Flutter and Firebase are both open source and free to use with freemium and priced plans. Authentication allows for user creation and each user can then create their own profile. That was it – a starter app + authentication. Should be easy right? You know darn well it wasn’t. There are two tutorials that flat out don’t work, one that creates all of the functionality that’s already written by Google, and then the one I eventually found which still had a hurdle to get over. The experience was only slightly frustrating so I reassessed the process.
Features
This was towards the beginning of 2024 and I was already using AI for a number of things. I remember the feeling of “Oh WOW, why didn’t I think of this earlier,” when I realized that ChatGPT works with .dart. Boom – instant progress. I started to blow through bugs, long docs, large functions and classes, and I then dropped $9 on a month of top tier ChatGPT which gave me more time and late nights of productivity. I moved from Authentication to Firestore Database and Storage which enables livestreams.
Finish
From there I added an “about” screen (section) and took the livestreams further with “flocks” which are more or less “groups.” With ChatGPT, there were still hurdles, but they were overcome so quickly that it was mind bending. I couldn’t believe how fast it was. I don’t want to give away the entire process of the project and the other functionality I created for it, but the last two features were private messaging and then I hosted it – again, free with Google Firebase.
Alongside Altimeter, this is software. This is what I love to do.
