Flutter REST API Crash Course Launch: Build a Coronavirus Tracking App

This article was originally published on my website.

Watch Video Tutorial on YouTube.

Today I'm launching a new crash course, where you will learn how to use REST APIs with Dart and Flutter.

I created this course because REST APIs are used everywhere in today's web.

And if you master the basics of the Dart http library, you can write Flutter apps that can tap into thousands of web APIs.

So in this crash course we will build a simple but completely functional Coronavirus Tracker Application in Flutter.

This application is just a simple dashboard that shows all the cases of Coronavirus worldwide.

We will use the nCoV 2019 REST API to fetch the data. This is a free API that is relatively simple to use. But from a technical point of view, it will give us plenty of things to learn about.

What's in this course

Here's a list of topics that are covered in this crash course:

• Short introduction to REST: what it is and how it works
• Overview of the nCoV 2019 health API. This is used to fetch statistics about the Coronavirus outbreak around the world.
• Api keys & access tokens: what they are and how to use them
• REST Client: a VSCode extension that you can use to send HTTP requests and view the response directly in VS Code
• Design a REST API service in Dart: we will use the http package and learn how to make requests
• Parsing JSON, as needed when handling responses from the REST API
• Build a single-page UI, using the API service that we created
• Combine multiple API requests into a single response by using futures
• How to use a RefreshIndicator to get updated data from the API
• Error handling: a very important topic when designing robust applications
• Shared preferences: we will use this to cache API responses, so that the data is saved on device for offline use

This course is all about mastering the basics. While we will only build a single page application, you will get all the knowledge you need to work with REST APIs in Dart, and use them to build slick-looking UIs in Flutter.

Not only that, but we will talk about app architecture as well. Architecture is a very important topic, so we will build this app following best practices.

And I'm confident that by the end of this course, you will be able to build Flutter apps that connect with any other REST API that you want to use.

Course organization

This course will be divided into separate videos, and follow the topics in the order that I have described.
You will have access to the full source code for each lesson, right here on GitHub.

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with the Dart Language. If you're new to Dart, check out my Dart Introduction on YouTube.
• Have Flutter installed on your system.
• Visual Studio Code or Android Studio, configured for Flutter development.
• Some prior knowledge of the most common Flutter widgets, and the difference between stateful and stateless widgets.

Basics aside, this course is for you if you want to learn how to use REST APIs and build maintainable Flutter apps.

Where to find this crash course

Part of this course will be available for free on YouTube.
To get the full content, you have to buy the course on Teachable.

Included for free

• Short introduction to REST
• Overview of the nCoV 2019 health API
• Api keys & access tokens
• REST Client
• Design a REST API service in Dart
• Parsing JSON

Included in the paid course

All of the above, plus:

• Build a single-page UI
• Combine multiple API requests with Futures
• How to use a RefreshIndicator
• Error handling
• Shared preferences and caching

The paid course comes with premium support. I will aim to answer all questions within 24 hours.

I will also keep it up to date with the latest Flutter and Dart packages.

So to recap, you'll get a few lessons for free here on YouTube. But the full course will be available on Teachable.

What about Udemy?

This is not planned for now. I think I will be able to offer a better teaching experience on Teachable.

I will offer this and future courses on Teachable. And you'll be able to purchase multiple courses for a discounted price in a single bundle. This is not something that is possible with Udemy.

Course length

The final course will likely have between 2 and 3 hours of content.

As a crash course, it aims to get you up to speed with REST APIs in a short amount of time.

Pricing

The course is already on sale with an introductory price of $12.

This includes the first chapter of the course, with an introduction to REST APIs.

I'll try to add new content on a weekly basis. The course should be complete within the next couple of months.

Enroll today to get the course and all future updates for $12.

The price will go up as I add more content.

Now is the best time to purchase my course. You can enroll at this link:

• courses.codewithandrea.com

Happy coding!

Comments

[nubentos]

Hi Andrea, congrats for your great tutorials. We have recently launched version 2 of our COVID-19 tracking API, and are running our upgrade communication program for all users of version 1.0.0 to switch to the new version.

It would be great if you could update your contents accordingly, otherwise you will be leading your followers and your audience to a version that will be retired in the coming weeks.

I also encourge you to have a look to the new version, you might find it interesting.

Thank you and keep it up!