dart-modern-features

Dart Modern Features

1. When to use this skill

Use this skill when:

• Writing or reviewing Dart code targeting Dart 3.0 or later.
• Refactoring legacy Dart code to use modern, concise, and safe features.
• Looking for idiomatic ways to handle multiple return values, deep data extraction, or exhaustive checking.

2. Features

Records

Use records as anonymous, immutable, aggregate structures to bundle multiple objects without defining a custom class. Prefer them for returning multiple values from a function or grouping related data temporarily.

Avoid: Creating a dedicated class for simple multiple-value returns.

class UserResult {
  final String name;
  final int age;
  UserResult(this.name, this.age);
}

UserResult fetchUser() {
  return UserResult('Alice', 42);
}

Prefer: Using records to bundle types seamlessly on the fly.

(String, int) fetchUser() {
  return ('Alice', 42);
}

void main() {
  var user = fetchUser();
  print(user.$1); // Alice
}

Patterns and Pattern Matching

Use patterns to destructure complex data into local variables and match against specific shapes or values. Use them in switch, if-case, or variable declarations to unpack data directly.

Avoid: Manually checking types, nulls, and keys for data extraction.

void processJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
  if (json.containsKey('name') && json['name'] is String &&
      json.containsKey('age') && json['age'] is int) {
    String name = json['name'];
    int age = json['age'];
    print('$name is $age years old.');
  }
}

Prefer: Combining type-checking, validation, and assignment into a single statement.

void processJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
  if (json case {'name': String name, 'age': int age}) {
    print('$name is $age years old.');
  }
}

Switch Expressions

Use switch expressions to return a value directly, eliminating bulky case and break statements.

Avoid: Using switch statements where every branch simply returns or assigns a value.

String describeStatus(int code) {
  switch (code) {
    case 200:
      return 'Success';
    case 404:
      return 'Not Found';
    default:
      return 'Unknown';
  }
}