What’s the Buzz Around Google’s Dart Language?

Being an active participant of any web development community/blog/forum, you probably heard about the sudden onset of Google’s Dart Language, which was once a threat to JavaScript as the default web programming language. This all-new Dart with its latest version 2 is now getting rebooted for client-side web and mobile development.

Note: A beta version is now available

Throwing a Light on Dart’s History

Unveiled as a substitute for JavaScript for Java-based applications, Dart is an application programming language that is easier to learn, scale and deploy. In fact, it is stated on the official site of the Dart that Google depends on Dart for building large applications. Since the alpha release, Google was giving it equal billing as JavaScript in its renowned Chrome browser. But, by the time, the language was ready to make a feat in the programming world, JavaScript along with its strong ecosystem was miles ahead. Considering the JavaScript success, Google withdrawn its idea of promoting Dart. This led the company to repositioned it as a compile-to-JavaScript language along the lines of TypeScript or CoffeeScript.

To bring back Dart into the spotlight, Google hosted a Dart Developer Conference way back in 2016. This conference came up with multifarious sessions on web development using AngularDart 2.0, Angular components, Dart’s new Interoperability, Lightning Talks and so on.

What’s inside the Google: When we talk about within setting, Dart is gaining traction by picking up the pace as the most popular programming language. Both the AdWords, AdSense (most popular revenue-generating tool) and Google Fiber teams now rely on this language to write down the code for their consumer-facing web apps.

You can check out the complete redo of AdWords UI using Dart.

What’s outside the Google: In the outer sphere, there are some companies, namely Wrike, Workiva, Blossom, and others that have also been coding with Dart to develop their products. So, this is true that Dart user community exists outside of Google, too.

“The objective behind Dart was building out a Dart runtime in the browser and target the entire modern Web “- as per Dart co-founder Kasper Lund. Having both the Dart and JavaScript runtime in Chrome made it very difficult for the two languages to interact. With continuous emerging, team was able to eradicate all the dependencies that it holds like separate web browser, compiled JavaScript. Now, Dart can easily work with 3rd party tools for building web and mobile apps. Moreover, it can run on the server, with bundles for http server, web sockets, files, directories, and more.

Let’s talk about only Dart

As far as the language is concerned, it is getting an optional strong mode that convert it into strong typed language, leveraging the characteristics like class-based, single-inheritance and a complete object-oriented programming language. It supports reified generics and interfaces. Programs developed in Dart are statistically checked. The static checker in the language will report on the bugs, violations of the type rules.

Why should you care about Dart 2.0?

Dart 2 involves a strengthened type system, an uncluttered syntax, and most importantly a rebuilt developer toolchain. With its succinct syntax and capability of running on a VM using just-in-time compiler, this one-of-its-kind language helps programmers to create stunning, high-quality experiences across varied screens.

Developers gain tremendous advantages from fast development cycles wherein the code can be edited, compiled and replaced in apps running on a device. Compiling code ahead of time fillips the fast launch, as per Google statement. Adding more into its characteristics, Dart can be compiled to native code for ARM and x86 platforms. It’s quite interesting that Google has used this new beta version to build applications for platforms like iOS, Android, and the web.

Important features of Dart 2

• Strong typing to catch bugs in the early stage
• Boost quality, augment applications built by large team
• Defining UI as code so the need for context switching time can be reduced between a UI markup language and the programming language
• Web-specific libraries– dart: html and a full web framework

If you are a passionate developer and keen to get your hands dirty with this new language, give it a try on Github and the Dart SDK.

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