Complete Guide to Using Flutter Package Info Plus for App Development

Hello Flutter enthusiasts!

Flutter has grown exponentially in today's tech-oriented world, becoming a popular framework for developing cross-platform apps. One of the key plugins, Flutter package info plus, is crucial in this development journey. This Flutter plugin allows you to query information about the application package, such as package name, version, and build number. It becomes beneficial when you want insights like the version string or have to distribute the app to an app store and need to supply package info for Flutter apps.

In this blog, we will study and delve deeper into the world of Flutter package info plus to aid your Flutter app development process.

Understanding Flutter Package Info Plus

The Flutter package info plus is an excellent Flutter plugin that provides an easy interface to fetch package data. This data includes the app name, package name, version string, and build number. It's a Flutter package everyone should get acquainted with, especially when querying information about the application package. It offers much-appreciated uniformity when developing for multiple platforms, including Android, iOS, Web, Windows, and Linux.

Remember, the version is essentially the current version of your Flutter app listed in the pubspec.yaml file under the version key. The build number represents the current build of your app, and it usually increases every time you make a build to distribute.

Prerequisites for Implementing Flutter Package Info Plus

Before we walk through the practical implementation of the Flutter package info plus, it's important to understand some prerequisites. As a Flutter developer, ideally, you should have:

1. Basic familiarity with Flutter and Dart for developing mobile or web apps.

2. Understand the Flutter project structure and how to work with the pubspec.yaml file where you would add dependencies.

3. Familiarity with creating and managing your Flutter plugins and calling Dart code from your Flutter project.

4. Understanding of the 'package' keyword in Dart, the language's mechanism for organizing and sharing code. Packages might contain 'dart:core' or 'flutter: material.dart'.

Steps to Install Flutter Package Info Plus

Installing the Flutter package info plus involves a straightforward process. Let's walk through the steps:

1. First, you will need to add the package to your Flutter project. Go to your pubspec.yaml file and under dependencies, add package\info\plus:. As per Dart's latest versioning scheme, you can replace it with ^<latest-version>.

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1dependencies:
2  flutter:
3    sdk: flutter
4  package_info_plus: ^<latest-version>

2. Run the command flutter packages get in your terminal to install the package.

3. Import the package into the Dart file where you plan to utilize it. It is typically imported at the top of the Dart file.

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1import 'package:package_info_plus/package_info_plus.dart';

With the package successfully installed, we can now explore its components!

Understanding the Components of Flutter Package Info Plus

Excited to see the package in action? Let's break down its key components before jumping onto the code:

1. PackageInfo Class:

This is the class providing access to the package information:

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1PackageInfo packageInfo = await PackageInfo.fromPlatform();

2. Application Package (appPackageName):

Usually matches the iOS bundle identifier or Android applicationId:

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1String appName = packageInfo.appName;

3. Package Name (packageName):

Name of the package. This also usually matches the package name on Android or bundle ID on iOS:

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1String packageName = packageInfo.packageName;

4. Version:

The version name as set in pubspec.yaml:

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1String version = packageInfo.version;

Detailed Guide to Implement Flutter Package Info Plus

Now that we've understood various components of the Flutter package info plus, let's see how they are implemented in the code. Let's create a simple Flutter app that displays its version and build number.

We start with the standard void main and class MyApp to create our new flutter app.

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1void main() => runApp(const MyApp());
2
3class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
4  const MyApp({Key? key}) : super(key: key);
5
6  @override
7  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
8    return MaterialApp(
9      home: Scaffold(
10        body: Center(
11          child: FutureBuilder<PackageInfo>(
12            future: PackageInfo.fromPlatform(),
13            builder: (BuildContext context, AsyncSnapshot<PackageInfo> snapshot) {
14              if (snapshot.hasData) {
15                return Text(
16                  'Version ${snapshot.data!.version}\n'
17                  'Build number: ${snapshot.data!.buildNumber}',
18                );
19              } else {
20                return Text('Loading...');
21              }
22            },
23          ),
24        ),
25      ),
26    );
27  }
28}
29

This code snippet fetches and displays the version and build number of the Flutter app.

Reading Package Information Using Flutter Package Info Plus

Taking advantage of the Flutter package info plus allows you to access important information about your Flutter app. As discussed in the previous sections, to access the app's version, for example, the version comes to your rescue.

To further illustrate, creating a new instance of PackageInfo and calling fromPlatform, will provide us all the data we need.

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1PackageInfo packageInfo = await PackageInfo.fromPlatform();

Remember that querying information about an application package can take a few milliseconds and thus, you should ensure doing it asynchronously in cases where quick response time is a priority.

Summarizing, the Flutter package info plus proves itself to be a robust and versatile Flutter plugin to enhance your app's transparency and usability.

Application of Flutter Package Info Plus in the Flutter App

The practical applications of Flutter Package Info Plus within your Flutter app are numerous. Some of the prominent use cases include:

1. Multi-environment Configuration: It can help differentiate apps built from different branches or stages such as development, staging, and production.

2. Analytics: Knowing the app's version and build number can be essential when analyzing user data.

3. Troubleshooting: This information is beneficial if the user files a bug report.

4. UI Display: Displaying version and build number helps users to know which app version they are using.

The package proves its necessity in several scenarios enhancing the overall Flutter app development process.

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1String appVersion = 'App Name: ${packageInfo.appName}\n'
2                    'Package Name: ${packageInfo.packageName}\n'
3                    'Version: ${packageInfo.version}\n'
4                    'Build Number: ${packageInfo.buildNumber}';
5

This will fetch all necessary package info in one string.

Common Issues & Solutions with Flutter Package Info Plus

As with every other package, the Flutter package info plus also might come with its share of issues. Here, we'll list some common issues and their solutions that you might face during its implementation:

1. Updating package info not reflecting in the app: Make sure you restart your Flutter app after every change in pubspec.yaml file or use the flutter clean command and then build the app again.

2. Package info displays unknown on iOS: If you run your app in the iOS simulator, package info might not be available or show as unknown.

3. Mismatch in iOS build numbers: Remember, iOS build numbers should be an integer, but Flutter allows both numbers and strings as build numbers due to the difference in Android.

Conclusion

We’ve covered quite a bit about the Flutter package info plus and touched on every facet, from detailed understanding, implementation, and troubleshooting of common issues, to the benefits it brings to your Flutter app.

Remember, Flutter package info plus can be an indispensable tool whenever you need to access package information, version strings, or build numbers. It has simplified fetching these vital details, ensuring your Flutter app development journey is smoother. The package info plus can make your Flutter app more efficient while also contributing to the app's transparency for your end-users. So, the next time you work on your Flutter app, don't forget to use this powerful tool!