Category: code

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.

I’m excited about Flutter and the move into it’s production phase – I’ve been using and learning it for two years and this was great to see. I was surprise to learn that Rive, an animation tool in beta, was built with Flutter. It’s also powering Supercell (a video game company my kids love) which runs as smooth as anything I’ve used on my phone. Other name drops were Universal Studios and a billion users on WeChat. Flutter began in 2018 and is now used in a number of companies and open-source for anyone to use/learn. It’s supported by Google and has a number of services available through Firebase like cloud hosting, databases, authorization, and a few more. Those services start with freemium and rise (reasonably) based on what your project requires.

I just went to another Flutter meetup in Woodstock, GA. There are others and it’s good to connect with others that speak the language – I highly encourage finding a group or event and attending it in person or online. It’s a great, free resource that can help you get started. Be sure to ask questions and use the documentation to get started if you’re new – heads up, it involves installing an IDE and the Flutter program on your system. Experience with the terminal would come in handy.

It took me a hot minute to learn that the person being interviewed was the lead singer of Weezer we missed the first 7 minutes due to whatever happened at the beginning of the presentation on YouTube.

One thing that stood out, for me, is the support for WASM and also the improvement in graphic rendering.