[dr_kiszonka]

Do you know what is the relationship between Dart/Flutter and Kotlin? On paper, it seems that Dart/Flutter is a better choice in the context of mobile dev because it is cross platform. If I were to focus on Android exclusively, would Kotlin offer any advantages over Dart/Flutter?

I guess I am trying to understand why these two coexist, which one to learn, and how likely it is that Google will kill Dart/Flutter in the next 5-10 years.

[pjmlp]

Politics, go to Android SDK site, you will hardly find anything related to Flutter.

It is all about Java, Kotlin, C, C++, Web widgets and PWAs.

I am not a big Kotlin fan, the way Android has pushed it using their Android Java as counter example instead of supporting modern Java, however as JVM language it definitely has a broader industry support than Dart.

[dr_kiszonka]

Very useful - thanks for answering!

[fakedang]

Just to add on, Kotlin also does have some (limited) multi-platform features, with potential to build on for more.

Honestly, Flutter is an amazing framework conceptually, but Dart may prove to be its demise. I just hope there is a possibility for Flutter based on Typescript or Kotlin in the future.

[pjmlp]

That is impossible, because Flutter is written in Dart on top of Skia, most Dart 2.0 features have been done to improve that development experience, using any other language means basically a full rewrite.

[fakedang]

I know that.... But apparently with all the issues Flutter has, there is a possibility that a full rewrite will be absolutely necessary to rectify them.

[kennytilton]

"a full rewrite will be absolutely necessary"

cough Well, this article _is_ about a delightful Lispy alternative to Dart that compiles to Dart, yielding a superior language with Genuine Dart Inside(tm) and elegant support of Flutter.

Dart may end up living on inside ClojureDart, much like DOS living on deep inside Windows and PCs.