Dart (programming language)
Dart (programming language)
Dart is a client-optimized programming language developed by Google. It is designed for building web, mobile, and desktop applications. Dart is the primary language used with the Flutter framework, allowing developers to create cross-platform applications from a single codebase. The language emphasizes productivity, performance, and portability.
Dart supports both just-in-time (JIT) and ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation. JIT compilation enables a fast development cycle with features like hot reload, while AOT compilation produces native machine code for efficient deployment. Dart is also compiled to JavaScript for use in web browsers.
History
Dart was first announced by Google in October 2011 at the GOTO conference. It was created by Lars Bak and Kasper Lund, who had previously worked on the V8 JavaScript engine and the Strongtalk language. The initial goal was to provide a structured and scalable language for the web, intended to replace JavaScript. However, Dart initially required a dedicated virtual machine in browsers, which did not gain wide adoption. In 2013, Google shifted focus to compiling Dart to JavaScript as an alternative approach.
In 2014, the Dart language was standardized as ECMA-408 by Ecma International. After the release of Flutter in 2017, Dart became primarily associated with mobile and desktop app development. The language has since evolved to include features such as sound null safety (introduced in Dart 2.12 in 2021), pattern matching, and records.
Features
- Object-oriented and class-based: Dart uses classes and single inheritance, with mixin-based composition.
- Strong typing with type inference: Types are optional in some contexts, but the language is soundly typed.
- Asynchronous programming: Built-in support for futures, streams, and the
asyncandawaitkeywords. - Sound null safety: Introduced to eliminate null reference errors at compile time.
- Rich standard library: Includes packages for collections, I/O, math, and cryptography.
- Cross-platform compilation: Dart code can be compiled to native x86, ARM code, or JavaScript.
Usage
Dart is most widely known for its use in Flutter, which is used by companies such as Google, Alibaba, and BMW for building mobile apps. Dart is also used in server-side development through frameworks like Aqueduct and for command-line tools. The language is supported in popular IDEs such as Android Studio, Visual Studio Code, and IntelliJ IDEA.