Unlock the Power of Cloud-Based Development: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Flutter To-Do App

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, organizations are increasingly turning to cloud-based models to accelerate development and improve efficiency. Cloud-based services offer a comprehensive suite of tools and products that enable developers to build scalable, secure, and high-performance applications.

Getting Started

To get started, download the starter app, which includes prebuilt UI components. Open the app in your editor, build, and run it. Next, install the CLI globally using the command:

npm install -g @cli

This will configure the platform and prompt you to sign in to the cloud console.

Setting Up Your Project

To set up your project, add the plugins to your Flutter app by updating the pubspec.yaml file. Then, update the target iOS platform to 13.0 or later and the Android SDK version to 21 or later.

Creating a Data Model

Create a data model using GraphQL Schemas. Navigate to the admin interface, select the Data feature, and choose the To-do list schema. Add fields and types, including a boolean field for task completion. Then, test locally and generate the data model.

Integrating with the Cloud

Integrate the DataStore and use the generated model. Update the todo_view.dart file to initialize the libraries and create a list of Todo types. Next, update the _fetchTodos method to use the CRUD API locally using DataStore.

import 'package:cloud_datastore/cloud_datastore.dart';

void _fetchTodos() async {
  final todos = await DataStore.query(Todo.classType);
  // Update the UI state to display the fetched data
}

Creating a To-Do Item

Update the _saveTodo method to create a new Todo item and save it using DataStore.

void _saveTodo() async {
  final todo = Todo(title: 'New Todo Item', isComplete: false);
  await DataStore.save(todo);
  // Update the UI state to display the new Todo item
}

Listening to Todo Updates

Add a StreamSubscription to listen for Todo model update events. Update the _initializeApp method to fetch the Todo list when an update event occurs.

void _initializeApp() {
  final subscription = DataStore.stream(Todo.classType).listen((todos) {
    // Update the UI state to display the updated Todo list
  });
}

Updating a Todo

Update the _toggleIsComplete method to update a Todo item using the copyWith method. Then, pass the new instance to DataStore.save() to update the Todo item.

void _toggleIsComplete(Todo todo) async {
  final updatedTodo = todo.copyWith(isComplete:!todo.isComplete);
  await DataStore.save(updatedTodo);
  // Update the UI state to display the updated Todo item
}

Deleting a Todo

Update the _deleteTodo method to delete a Todo item using DataStore.delete().

void _deleteTodo(Todo todo) async {
  await DataStore.delete(todo);
  // Update the UI state to display the updated Todo list
}

Connecting to the Cloud

Connect your app to the cloud by deploying your sandbox backend. Provide the required data, select your deployment region, and click on Confirm Deployment. Then, add authentication and update your local project with the deployed environment.

Adding Additional Plugins

Add additional plugins to ensure DataStore has access to the API access it requires for communicating with the cloud. Update the pubspec.yaml file and add the plugins before configuring the platform.

And that’s it! You’ve successfully built a fully-featured CRUD application using cloud-based services and Flutter. Explore more about authentication, storage, functions, REST/GraphQL APIs, and other libraries from the cloud documentation.

• Authentication
• Storage
• Functions
• REST/GraphQL APIs