Comment by opdahl
2 years ago
Just curious, did you ever think about using Flutter for this instead of Swift? To me it seems like a pretty obvious choice given you are a one-man team and want to get it onto multiple platforms.
2 years ago
Just curious, did you ever think about using Flutter for this instead of Swift? To me it seems like a pretty obvious choice given you are a one-man team and want to get it onto multiple platforms.
Good question. Yes it's the biggest question of course, what to do about cross platform. I started this codebase during iOS 7 so Flutter didn't exist yet, but I did decide to lean into serving a niche better than going wide from the start, which is why I stuck with native.
I'm pursuing a "Transmission app"-like model - native frontend, cross platform core (+ also some cross platform frontend, in my case). I believe this can translate to high value for users, and I get positive feedback on the design and native feel of my apps.
I have a lot of this app implemented within the webview/user scripts and am expanding the web part more with my next (adjacent/overlapping) project. I'll also be using Flutter for the upcoming mpv player as a component. This is still unsolved for me though, so far I am creating optionality and a direction toward a solution, but yes I need to go faster than just myself (and I refuse to seek investors for anything).
I'm also trying to get some worker cooperative structures going with one or two others on adjacent projects, around some shared codebase foundations, strategically to expand faster into web or other platforms. I bought IndieDevStack.com and will later blog about and also productize this approach with another app + open source.
I see, thanks for your answer. Sounds like you have a great, though difficult, plan. Best of luck!