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Posted inOpinion

Why I Think Flutter Doesn't Deserve a Place on the Linux Desktop
[Opinion]

Some people like the idea of using Google's Flutter toolkit for
desktop Linux applications. I am not one of them.
[svg][1226713e37b6]by Jacob CrumeMay 9, 2021May 9, 2021

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[svg]Flutter

When Google announced that they were bringing their Flutter UI
Toolkit to Linux, there were a lot of mixed reactions. Some thought
this would revolutionize desktop Linux, others thought it would
increase reliance on Google.

But with the amount of fragmentation between different Linux projects
(especially when it comes to the UI), do we really want or need
another UI Toolkit?

What Is Flutter?

[svg][flutter]

Flutter is a new UI toolkit from Google that aims to allow app
developers the ability to create apps for multiple platforms from a
single codebase. According to the Flutter documentation:

    Flutter is Google's UI toolkit for building beautiful, natively
    compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single
    codebase.

    Desktop support allows you to compile Flutter source code to a
    native Windows, macOS, or Linux desktop app. Flutter's desktop
    support also extends to plugins--you can install existing plugins
    that support the Windows, macOS, or Linux platforms, or you can
    create your own.

While this may sound beneficial for developers, we also need to
remember that Qt provides many of the same features. Additionally, Qt
is much more mature - not to mention not being made by Google.

What Is Wrong With Flutter?

As we have touched on previously, there are already enough UI
toolkits available for the Linux desktop. Most notably among those
are Qt and GTK. Both are open-source, well documented, and
cross-platform.

Alongside these two major toolkits, we also have some others such as
Electron and TK. Why Google believes we need yet another toolkit is
beyond me. This is made even worse by the fact that Flutter doesn't
make use of the standardized Qt and GTK widgets. This means that
Flutter apps look out-of-place on Linux, especially on GTK-based
desktops (as they make more use of rounded corners).

Additionally, Google doesn't have a particularly good track record
when it comes to maintaining projects. Just take a look at Google
Glass and Play Music. Even the projects that they maintain often fail
(looking at you Floc). If Google suddenly decided Flutter for Linux
wasn't so useful anymore, they could be killing thousands of
potential apps.

This leads to a wider problem associated with this corporate support
of Linux: More reliance on Google. Ever since the creation of Linux
in 1991, major corporations have mostly left it alone. This has put
Linux in a very unique position where it doesn't rely on anything
other than the community to function. Why should we change this?

Wrapping Up

Although Flutter is a very cool technology, we can't let it envelop
the Linux desktop. By adopting Flutter, the Linux community is
building a reliance on Google, which as we have seen in Chromium, can
backfire very easily. Even worse, we have already started to see the
adoption of Flutter, most notably with the new Ubuntu desktop
installer.

Between the mismatching UI, a new reliance on Google, and the fact
that there are already so many alternatives, I'm sure you can agree
that Flutter is a bad idea. We must ensure Linux remains independent,
even if that means turning down a cool new technology.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the official policy or position of It's FOSS.

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I'm not interested

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Jacob Crume

I am a Robotics Student in New Zealand that loves to tinker. In my
spare time, I love firing up virtual machines and trying out new
distros, as well as customizing them to maximize my productivity. I
enjoy... More by Jacob Crume

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