Pros of flutter

• Official Flutter SDK with comprehensive documentation and support
• Larger community and ecosystem, leading to more packages and resources
• Seamless integration with mobile and web platforms

Cons of flutter

• Larger file sizes and potentially slower performance on desktop
• Less native look and feel on desktop platforms
• Limited access to platform-specific features without plugins

Code Comparison

flutter:

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(MyApp());
}

go-flutter:

package main

import (
	"github.com/go-flutter-desktop/go-flutter"
)

func main() {
	flutter.Run(flutter.Options{})
}

Summary

flutter is the official Flutter SDK, offering a comprehensive solution for cross-platform development with strong mobile and web support. It benefits from a large community and extensive resources but may have limitations on desktop platforms.

go-flutter is a community-driven project focused on bringing Flutter to desktop environments using Go. It provides better native integration and potentially improved performance on desktop platforms but has a smaller ecosystem and may lack some features available in the official Flutter SDK.

The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of your project, with flutter being more suitable for cross-platform development including mobile, and go-flutter offering advantages for desktop-focused applications.

Pros of flutter-rs

• Written in Rust, potentially offering better performance and memory safety
• Supports multiple rendering backends (OpenGL, Vulkan, Metal)
• Closer integration with native OS features due to Rust's low-level capabilities

Cons of flutter-rs

• Less mature and less actively maintained compared to go-flutter
• Smaller community and ecosystem support
• May require more complex setup and configuration

Code Comparison

go-flutter example:

package main

import (
    "github.com/go-flutter-desktop/go-flutter"
    "github.com/go-flutter-desktop/plugins/path_provider"
)

func main() {
    flutter.Run(flutter.Options{
        MainDartFile: "lib/main.dart",
        Plugins:      []flutter.Plugin{path_provider.Plugin{}},
    })
}

flutter-rs example:

use flutter_engine::FlutterEngine;
use flutter_plugins::path_provider::PathProvider;

fn main() {
    let mut engine = FlutterEngine::new();
    engine.add_plugin(Box::new(PathProvider::default()));
    engine.run("lib/main.dart");
}

Both examples demonstrate initializing the Flutter engine and adding a plugin. The go-flutter version uses a more declarative approach with a single Run function, while flutter-rs requires explicit engine creation and method calls.

Pros of Tauri

• Smaller bundle sizes and better performance due to native system APIs
• Supports multiple frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.)
• Strong security features with automatic updates and code signing

Cons of Tauri

• Less mature ecosystem compared to Flutter
• Steeper learning curve for developers new to Rust
• Limited mobile support (currently in alpha)

Code Comparison

Tauri (Rust):

#[tauri::command]
fn greet(name: &str) -> String {
    format!("Hello, {}!", name)
}

fn main() {
    tauri::Builder::default()
        .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![greet])
        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
        .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

go-flutter (Go):

func main() {
    options := []flutter.Option{
        flutter.WindowInitialDimensions(800, 600),
    }
    err := flutter.Run(append(options, flutter.AddPlugin(&example.ExamplePlugin{}))...)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("Failed to run the Flutter app: %v", err)
    }
}

Both frameworks allow for easy integration of native code with the UI layer, but Tauri offers more flexibility in terms of frontend technologies while go-flutter is specifically designed for Flutter applications.