Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It is used to develop cross-platform applications. With Flutter, you can build natively compiled applications for mobile, web, desktop, and embedded devices from a single codebase.
Flutter also introduced native Linux support for Wayland, making it possible to run Flutter apps on Linux. This provides developers with more opportunities to build new embedded graphic applications for kiosks, digital signage, infotainment, or any other edge device.
But Flutter and other UI toolkits are not enough for embedding graphic applications into edge devices. For this, you need tools that provide orchestration services between functionalities, such as input modalities, display mode, windows behaviours, interfacing with GPU and more. This is where Ubuntu Frame comes in to ease the deployment of any graphic application.
What you’ll learn
In this tutorial, you will learn how to generate, build and snap a Flutter application on Ubuntu Core by leveraging Ubuntu Frame.
What you’ll need
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An Ubuntu desktop running any current release of Ubuntu or an Ubuntu Virtual Machine on another OS.
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A ‘Target Device’ from one of the following:
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A device running Ubuntu Core.
This guide shows you you how to set up a supported device. If there’s no supported image that fits your needs you can create your own image. - Using a Virtual Machine (VM). You don’t need to have a physical “Target Device”, you can follow the tutorial with Ubuntu Core in a VM. This guide shows you how to set up an Ubuntu Core VM.
- Using Ubuntu Classic. You don’t have to use Ubuntu Core. You can use also a “Target Device” with Ubuntu Classic. Read this guide to understand how to run kiosk snaps on your desktop, as the particular details won’t be repeated here.
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A device running Ubuntu Core.