Dart Programming Notes - Part 1: Fundamentals & Syntax

What is Dart?
Dart is a client-optimized programming language developed by Google in 2011. It's designed for
building fast apps on any platform, with a focus on:

Multi-platform development (mobile, web, desktop, server)

Fast performance with ahead-of-time (AOT) and just-in-time (JIT) compilation

Developer productivity with hot reload and strong tooling

Type safety with sound null safety

Getting Started

Installation & Setup

bash

# Install Dart SDK

# Windows: choco install dart-sdk
# macOS: brew install dart
# Linux: apt-get install dart

# Verify installation
dart --version

Basic Program Structure

dart

// Entry point of every Dart program

void main() {
print('Hello, World!');
}

// With command line arguments

void main(List<String> args) {
print('Arguments: $args');
}

Variables & Data Types

Variable Declaration
 dart

// Explicit type declaration

String name = 'John Doe';
int age = 25;
double salary = 50000.50;
bool isEmployed = true;

// Type inference with 'var'

var city = 'New York'; // String inferred
var population = 8000000; // int inferred
var temperature = 72.5; // double inferred

// Dynamic type (avoid unless necessary)

dynamic flexibleVar = 'Can be anything';
flexibleVar = 42;
flexibleVar = true;

Constants

dart

// final - runtime constant (set once)

final String currentUser = getUserName();
final DateTime now = DateTime.now();

// const - compile-time constant

const double pi = 3.14159;
const List<String> colors = ['red', 'green', 'blue'];

// late - lazy initialization

late String heavyComputation;
void initializeData() {
heavyComputation = performHeavyTask();
}

Core Data Types

Numbers
 dart

// Integers
int age = 25;
int hexValue = 0xFF; // 255 in decimal
int binaryValue = 0b1010; // 10 in decimal

// Doubles
double price = 19.99;
double scientific = 1.5e3; // 1500.0

// Number operations
int a = 10, b = 3;
print(a + b); // 13
print(a - b); // 7
print(a * b); // 30
print(a / b); // 3.3333...
print(a ~/ b); // 3 (integer division)
print(a % b); // 1 (remainder)

Strings

dart

// String literals
String singleQuote = 'Hello World';
String doubleQuote = "Hello World";
String multiline = '''
This is a
multiline string
''';

// String interpolation
String name = 'Alice';
int age = 30;
String greeting = 'Hello, $name! You are $age years old.';
String expression = 'Next year you will be ${age + 1}.';

// String methods
String text = 'Dart Programming';
print(text.length); // 16
print(text.toUpperCase()); // DART PROGRAMMING
print(text.toLowerCase()); // dart programming
print(text.substring(0, 4)); // Dart
print(text.split(' ')); // ['Dart', 'Programming']
print(text.contains('Dart')); // true
Booleans

dart

bool isActive = true;

bool isComplete = false;

// Boolean operations
bool a = true, b = false;
print(a && b); // false (AND)
print(a || b); // true (OR)
print(!a); // false (NOT)

Control Flow

Conditional Statements
 dart

// if-else
int score = 85;
if (score >= 90) {
print('Grade: A');
} else if (score >= 80) {
print('Grade: B');
} else if (score >= 70) {
print('Grade: C');
} else {
print('Grade: F');
}

// Ternary operator
String result = score >= 60 ? 'Pass' : 'Fail';

// Switch statement
String day = 'Monday';
switch (day) {
case 'Monday':
case 'Tuesday':
case 'Wednesday':
case 'Thursday':
case 'Friday':
print('Weekday');
break;
case 'Saturday':
case 'Sunday':
print('Weekend');
break;
default:
print('Invalid day');
}

Loops
 dart

// for loop
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
print('Count: $i');
}

// for-in loop
List<String> fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'orange'];
for (String fruit in fruits) {
print('Fruit: $fruit');
}

// while loop
int count = 0;
while (count < 3) {
print('While count: $count');
count++;
}

// do-while loop
int num = 0;
do {
print('Do-while: $num');
num++;
} while (num < 3);

Functions

Basic Functions
 dart

// Function with return type

String greet(String name) {
return 'Hello, $name!';
}

// Arrow function (single expression)

String greetShort(String name) => 'Hello, $name!';

// Function with multiple parameters

int add(int a, int b) {
return a + b;
}

// Function with optional parameters

String introduce(String name, [int? age]) {
if (age != null) {
return 'I am $name, $age years old.';
}
return 'I am $name.';
}

// Named parameters
String createUser({required String name, int age = 0, String? email}) {
return 'User: $name, Age: $age, Email: ${email ?? 'Not provided'}';
}

// Usage
print(greet('Alice'));
print(add(5, 3));
print(introduce('Bob', 25));
print(createUser(name: 'Charlie', email: 'charlie@email.com'));

Function Types & Higher-Order Functions

 dart

// Function as parameter
void executeFunction(Function callback) {
callback();
}

// Function returning function

Function makeMultiplier(int factor) {
return (int value) => value * factor;
}

// Usage
executeFunction(() => print('Callback executed!'));
var double = makeMultiplier(2);
print(double(5)); // 10

Null Safety
Dart has sound null safety, meaning non-nullable types cannot contain null.

dart

// Non-nullable types
String name = 'John'; // Cannot be null
// String name = null; // Error!

// Nullable types
String? nullableName = null; // Can be null
int? nullableAge; // null by default

// Null-aware operators
String? firstName = null;
String? lastName = 'Doe';

// ?? (null coalescing)
String displayName = firstName ?? 'Unknown';

// ??= (null assignment)

firstName ??= 'Anonymous';

// ?. (null-aware access)
print(firstName?.length); // null if firstName is null

// ! (null assertion)
String definitelyNotNull = firstName!; // Throws if null
This covers the fundamental concepts of Dart programming. The next response will cover Collections,
Object-Oriented Programming, and more advanced features.