Dart is a programming language developed by Google for building web, mobile, and desktop applications. Created by Lars Bak and Kasper Lund, it found its niche as the language for Flutter, Google’s cross-platform UI framework.
Origins
Google developed Dart as a potential JavaScript replacement for web development. Though browsers never natively adopted Dart, the language found success in other contexts.
Key Features
Dart combines familiar concepts:
- Object-oriented: Classes and inheritance
- Strong typing: Optional static types
- Async/await: First-class asynchronous support
- Null safety: Sound null handling
- Hot reload: Instant development feedback
Flutter and Success
Dart’s success came through Flutter:
- Cross-platform mobile development
- Single codebase for iOS and Android
- Growing web and desktop support
- Fast UI rendering through Dart’s AOT compilation
Design Philosophy
Dart prioritizes:
- Familiar syntax (Java/JavaScript-like)
- Fast development iteration
- Predictable performance
- Scalability for large applications