DEV Community: Smartters

Trump's H-1B Visa Fee Hike: Impact on India's Software Industry

Chittaranjan Nayak — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:58:07 +0000

The H-1B visa has been the Golden ticket to Indian IT professionals who would like to work in the United States. Over the years, this program has allowed the Indian talent to bring the best talent to America and work in the thriving tech sector and it has assisted the Indian IT companies to increase their market share in the world market. However, the balance is changing with the move by the Trump administration to raise the charges of the H-1B visa and to tighten its regulations. Although this has become a cause of concern among Indian professionals and software giants, it is also an opportunity to India to develop its software development sector within the country.

What is the H-1B Visa and Why Does it Matter to Indians?

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H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that enables the U.S. companies to recruit foreigners in specialized jobs such as software engineering, data science, and IT consulting. The U.S. issues approximately 85,000 H-1B visas annually, but almost 70% of them belong to Indians.

For Indian professionals, it has been the most sought-after route to:

Work with top U.S. tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Earn significantly higher salaries compared to India.
Gain international exposure and career growth.

The H-1B has been essential to Indian IT firms like Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL to provide on-site talent in the U.S. enabling them to conduct projects directly with the clients.

The Fee Hike Under Trump

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The H-1B visa fee was between $2,000 and $5,000 prior to the implementation of the Trump policy depending on the size of the company filing. The cost was relatively small to small firms and mid-sized firms but it was an investment to the large Indian IT companies.

During the Trump administration, the costs rose, now, firms must spend up to $100,000 on each H-1B application, in certain instances. This dramatic rise renders the task of sending Indian professionals to the U.S. very costly and IT firms are forced to re-evaluate their staffing and project strategies.

Intent Behind the Changes

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The Trump administration introduced these changes with the stated intent to:

Protect American jobs by discouraging companies from hiring foreign workers cheaply.
Encourage U.S. firms to hire local talent instead of depending on Indian outsourcing.
Make it harder for outsourcing firms (mostly Indian IT giants) that heavily rely on the H-1B program.

Impact on India’s Software Development Industry

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The immediate consequences of the H-1B visa fee hike are largely negative for Indian IT companies and professionals:

Higher costs for companies: Sending skilled employees to the U.S. has become prohibitively expensive.
Reduced onsite opportunities: Fewer Indian professionals may get a chance to work abroad, affecting career growth.
Slower project execution: Projects that require onsite presence in the U.S. could face delays or downsizing.
Financial strain on IT firms: Large companies and startups alike must rethink budgets and staffing due to the sudden spike in visa costs.

Turning Setback into Opportunity

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While the Trump-era H-1B visa fee hike looks like a hurdle, it may be the push India needs to emerge stronger:

Remote Work Revolution: With global companies now more open to remote collaboration, India can market itself as the world’s largest pool of affordable and skilled developers.
Boost to “Digital India”: Investments in R&D, skill development, and infrastructure could reduce dependence on foreign visas.
Global Outsourcing 2.0: Instead of exporting workers, India can export end-to-end digital solutions from within its borders.
Talent Retention: Skilled professionals may prefer staying in India, fueling local innovation and strengthening the domestic tech ecosystem.

Conclusion

The IT industry in India is being shaken by the H-1B visa fee increase under Trump. It also brings out the dangers of excessive reliance on U.S. visa policies and underscores the necessity of building domestic capacity. It may be true that Indian IT firms will be in short-term agony but this is the time when India can start a new chapter where it will establish itself as a global software powerhouse on its own land. India can not only survive such changes in policies, but also use its talent, infrastructures, and innovations to make them work in favor of its software development sector in the long run.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is H-1B visa and what impact will it have on Indian IT professionals?
H-1B visa is a working visa in the U.S. that permits firms in the U.S. to hire foreign workers in specialized fields. The greatest beneficiaries of this program have been the Indian IT professionals, who can now work in the best companies in the U.S. in the technological sector and acquire international exposure.

2. What has been the effect of the recent increase in the H-1B visa fee on the Indian IT companies?
The move by the Trump administration to charge $100,000 on every new H-1B application has made Indian IT companies operations very expensive. This is a high increase in fees, which have resulted in limited onsite opportunities, project delays, and financial stress, forcing companies to reassess their staffing plans in the U.S.

3. Is the H-1B increase the opportunity that India can make of its software industry?
Indeed, this is an opportunity that India can exploit through the promotion of remote development models, development of talent within the country, and finding international customers who are interested in cost-effective solutions. Digital infrastructure and upskilling can make India a global software development centre.

Advanced React Hooks You’re Probably Not Using, But Should!

Chittaranjan Nayak — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 06:32:32 +0000

Think you know React Hooks? If your mind immediately jumps to useState and useEffect, you’re only scratching the surface. React offers a treasure of powerful hooks that can boost your performance, simplify complex logic, and make your code cleaner than ever. In this blog, we’ll uncover 9 advanced hooks that go beyond the basics, complete with examples you can start using today.

Hooks

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Hooks are special functions in React that let you use state, lifecycle, and other React features in functional components, without writing class components. They were introduced in React 16.8 and allow you to use features that were previously only available in class components.

We all know about the basic and most used hooks mentioned below:

useState: useState hook in React JS is a fundamental hook that allows functional components to manage and update state.
useEffect: useEffect is a React Hook that allows functional components to perform side effects (data fetching, subscriptions, DOM updates).
useContext: useContext in React JS is a Hook that allows functional components to subscribe to a React Context and read its value. It is part of the React Context API, which provides a way to share data across the component tree without having to manually pass props down through every level of the hierarchy (a problem known as "prop drilling").
useRef: useRef hook in React.js is a built-in Hook that provides a way to create a mutable reference to an element or a value that persists across renders without triggering re-renders of the component.

There are many more useful hooks that can be used based on your requirement.

1. useMemo

It is a React Hook that optimizes performance by memoizing (caching/storing) the result of a computationally expensive function or calculation.
It prevents unnecessary re-execution of this function on every component re-render, ensuring it only runs when its dependencies change.

Instead of using this

  const [multiply, setMultiply] = useState<number>(0); 


  useEffect(() => { 
    setMultiply(num * 5); 
  }, [num]);

Use this

const multiply = useMemo(() => { 
    return num * 5; 
  }, [num]);

As you can see above using useMemo hook we don’t need to create a separete state and useEffect for updating state , it simply returns the value updated by the function on dependency change.

2. useCallback

It is a React Hook that memoizes a function definition between renders.
It is used to optimize performance by preventing unnecessary re-creation of functions, especially when those functions are passed as props to child components or are dependencies in other Hooks like useEffect.

Insted of using this

  const handleClick = () => { 
    setCount((prevCount) => prevCount + 1); 
  };

Use this

  const handleClick = useCallback(() => { 
    setCount((prevCount) => prevCount + 1); 
  }, [count]);

3. useReducer

useReducer Hook in React is an alternative to useState for managing component state.T
his hook particularly useful when state logic becomes complex or involves multiple related state values.
It uses reducer function.
You define a reducer function that takes the current state and an action object as arguments.
This function contains the logic for how the state should be updated based on the action dispatched.
It returns an array containing:

The current state. Here current state is an updated state returned by the function that is paased to useReducer hook
A dispatch function. A dispatch function lets you update the state to a different value and trigger a re-render. You need to pass the action as the only argument to the dispatch function.

"use client"; 
import { Box } from "@mui/material"; 
import { useReducer } from "react"; 

function reducer(state, action) { 
  switch (action.type) { 
    case "increment": 
    default: 
      return state; 
  } 
} 

export default function Counter() { 
  const [count, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, 0); 

  return ( 
    <Box> 
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: "increment" })}> 
        Count: {count} 
      </button> 
    </Box> 
  ); 
}

4. useId

It is a React Hook used for generating unique IDs that can be passed to accessibility attributes within your components .
Ids generated by this hook remain stable across server-side and client-side rendering which is too good for hydration.
Its primary purpose is to provide unique IDs for accessibility attributes like id, htmlFor, aria-labelledby, and aria-describedby.

Instead of using this

 <FormControl> 
        <InputLabel htmlFor="my-input">Email address</InputLabel> 
        <Input id="my-input" aria-describedby="my-helper-text" /> 
        <FormHelperText id="my-helper-text"> 
          We'll never share your email. 
        </FormHelperText> 
 </FormControl>

Use this

  //generate ids  
  const id = useId();  
  const inputId = `${id}-input`; 
  const helperId = `${id}-helper`; 

     //use it 
   <FormControl>  
        <InputLabel htmlFor={inputId}>Email address</InputLabel> 
        <Input id={inputId} aria-describedby={helperId} /> 
        <FormHelperText id={helperId}> 
          We'll never share your email. 
        </FormHelperText> 
   </FormControl>

5. useLayoutEffect

This react hook is same as useEffect, the only difference is in its execution timing.
useEffect runs asynchronously after the browser has painted the screen.
useLayoutEffect runs synchronously immediately after all DOM mutations have been applied by React, but before the browser paints the screen.

Instead of using this

  useEffect(() => { 
    if (boxRef.current) { 
      boxRef.current.style.backgroundColor = "blue"; 
    } 
  }, []);

Use this

  useLayoutEffect(() => { 
    if (boxRef.current) { 
      boxRef.current.style.backgroundColor = "blue"; 
    } 
  }, []);

6. useImperativeHandle

React Hook that allows a child component to expose a limited, custom interface to a parent component when a ref is attached.
We need to use 3 things here :

useRef
forwardRef
useImperativeHandle

Here

useRef is used in parent component that creates a link between parent and child component or components.
forwardRef is used in child component and used for receiving ref from parent to childcomponent so that parent component can have the special access to child component’s DOM node or custom functions (via useImperativeHandle).
useImperativeHanle is also used inside child component used for specifying the accessibility of child component’s methods or values that can be used by parent component.

Page.tsx (parent component)

"use client"; 
import React, { useRef } from "react"; 
import { Button } from "@mui/material"; 
import Child from "@/components/Child"; 

const page = () => { 
  const btnRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement|null>(null); 
  return ( 
    <div> 
      <Child ref={btnRef} /> 
      <Button variant="contained" onClick={() => btnRef.current.hi()}> 
        Click 
      </Button> 
    </div> 
  ); 
}; 

export default page;

Child.tsx (child component)

import React, { forwardRef, useImperativeHandle } from "react"; 
import { Typography } from "@mui/material"; 

function Child(props: any, ref: React.Ref<any>) { 
  useImperativeHandle( 
    ref, 
    () => ({ 
      hi: () => alert("Hello"), 
    }), 
    [] 
  ); 

  return ( 
    <div> 
      <Typography sx={{ color: "black" }}>Child Component</Typography> 
    </div> 
  ); 
} 

export default forwardRef(Child);

7. useActionState

The useActionState hook in React is a new addition, primarily designed to streamline the management of state updates based on the results of form actions.
It simplifies handling asynchronous operations related to forms, such as submissions, by providing a direct way to manage the state and feedback (like loading or error states).
This hook is used for enabling seamless form handling with state management between the server and client.
It is designed to streamline state updates based on the result of a form action.
It takes two arguments:
1. initialState: The initial value for the state managed by the hook.
2. action function: This is the function that will be executed when the form action is triggered (e.g., when a form is submitted). It receives the previousState and formData as arguments.
It returns an array containing:

state: The current state value, which is updated based on the return value of the action function.
formAction: A new function that you pass to the formAction attribute of your form element or a button's formAction attribute.
isPending (optional): A boolean indicating whether the action is currently in progress.

"use client"; 
import { useActionState } from "react"; 
import { Box, Button, TextField, Alert } from "@mui/material"; 

export async function submitAction( 
  prevState: { error?: string; success?: string }, 
  formData: FormData 
): Promise<{ error?: string; success?: string }> { 
  const email = formData.get("email")?.toString(); 
  const password = formData.get("password")?.toString(); 

  if (!email || !password) { 
    return { error: "Email and password are required" }; 
  } 
  if (password.length < 6) { 
    return { error: "Password too short" }; 
  } 
  await new Promise((res) => setTimeout(res, 1000)); 
  return { success: "User registered successfully!" }; 
} 
export default function RegisterPage() { 
  const initialState = { 
    error: "", 
    success: "", 
  }; 

  const [state, formAction, isPending] = useActionState( 
    submitAction, 
    initialState 
  ); 

  return ( 
    <Box 
      component="form" 
      action={formAction} 
      sx={{ 
        maxWidth: 400, 
        mx: "auto", 
        display: "flex", 
        flexDirection: "column", 
        gap: 2, 
        p: 3, 
        border: "1px solid #e0e0e0", 
      }} 
    > 
      {state?.error && <Alert severity="error">{state.error}</Alert>} 
      {state?.success && <Alert severity="success">{state.success}</Alert>} 
      <TextField label="Email" name="email" type="email" required fullWidth/> 
      <TextField 
        label="Password" 
        name="password" 
        type="password" 
        required 
        fullWidth 
      /> 
      <Button 
        type="submit" 
        variant="contained" 
        color="primary" 
        disabled={isPending} 
      > 
        {isPending ? "Registering..." : "Register"} 
      </Button> 
    </Box> 
  ); 
}

As you can see in the above example using this hook we don’t need to to create a separate state for storing and updating data as well as for loading state...we can simply get all input Feilds data in formData and handle those data using the function that is passed to useActionState hook.

8. useLinkStatus

This react hook is used to monitor the status of a link, such as whether it is currently being prefetched, visited, or idle.
It returns an object containing a pending boolean property, which is true when the link is in a pending state and false otherwise.
In modern single-page apps, a user might click on a link and nothing seems to happen that leads bad user experience.
Using this hook we can display some message , loader , spinner and any custom component when there is a blocker while navigating to a link.
useLinkStatus is useful in the following situations:

Prefetching is disabled or still in progress: This ensures that there is some delay, allowing your pending state logic to execute and be visible to the user.
The destination route is dynamic and doesn't include a loading.js file: This again ensures there is a delay for the pending state logic. The loading.js file shouldn't be available because it would show up instead of the pending state logic.

"use client"; 
import Link, { useLinkStatus } from "next/link"; 

function MyLinkComponent() { 
  const { pending } = useLinkStatus(); 

  return ( 
    <Link href="/actionState"> 
      Click me {pending && <span>(Loading...)</span>} 
    </Link> 
  ); 
} 

export default MyLinkComponent;

9. use

React 19 introduces a significant new hook called use().
It handle asynchronous operations, particularly data fetching and context consumption.
It allows you to directly read the value of a promise or consume context within a component's render phase.

import { use } from "react"; 

async function fetchData() { 
  const response = await fetch("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts"); 
  return response.json(); 
} 

function MyServerComponent() { 
  const data = use(fetchData()); // Directly await the promise 
  return ( 
    <div> 
      <h1>Data:</h1> 
      <pre>{JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}</pre> 
    </div> 
  ); 
} 

export default MyServerComponent;

As you can see above, we don't need to create a separate state and run useEffect for storing and updating data , we simply created async function that fetch data while component render phase storing it in a variable using this hook and using it directly.

Conclusion

React Hooks have completely transformed the way developers build functional components, moving far beyond just useState and useEffect. By exploring advanced hooks like useMemo, useCallback, useReducer, useId, useLayoutEffect, useImperativeHandle, useActionState, useLinkStatus, and the new use() hook in React 19, you can write cleaner code, improve performance, and handle complex logic with ease. Mastering these React Hooks will not only streamline your development process but also help you create faster, scalable, and more efficient React applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you use Hooks in class components?

No, you cannot use React Hooks inside class components. Hooks are designed exclusively for functional components and must follow the rules of hooks (e.g. only call them at the top level). If you're working in class components, you’ll need to convert them to functions to leverage Hooks.

2. What’s the difference between a custom Hook and a regular function?

A custom Hook lets you encapsulate stateful logic using built-in React Hooks, like useState or useEffect, and reuse that logic across components. A plain JavaScript function doesn’t offer access to React lifecycle or state. In short, if your logic relies on React features, wrap it in a custom Hook named with “use…”; otherwise, a regular function suffices.

3. When should you use useLayoutEffect instead of useEffect?

Use useLayoutEffect when you need to make DOM measurements or modifications before the browser paints, for example, syncing layout or animations to avoid visual flicker. Otherwise, use useEffect for standard side effects like data fetching or subscriptions, which can run after the paint.

Why Material 3 Expressive Signals the End of Minimalist UI

Chittaranjan Nayak — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 18:24:21 +0000

Minimalism once felt like a revolution. Clean lines, quiet colors, and stripped-down layouts brought order to the chaos of early digital design. But somewhere along the way, it became a uniform. Every app started to look the same, pale, flat, and forgettable. That’s where Material 3 Expressive steps in. It keeps the clarity we loved about minimalism but breathes life back into interfaces with color, motion, and personality. It’s not just a new design trend, it’s proof that functional can still be beautiful, and simple can still make you feel something.

Difference between Minimalism and Expressive

Minimalism:

Minimalism once felt refreshing and digital products became calmer and easier to navigate. At that time, it was a response to the chaos of overly decorated, skeuomorphic designs. But eventually, everyone embraced this style. Every app, every site, and every dashboard began to look the same with thin sans-serif fonts, pale gray icons, and endless white space. It lost its intention and started to feel lazy.

Was it functional?

Yes and in many ways better than other styles. But also lifeless and soulless, like every product wearing the same plain white T-shirt. So products started losing their identity.

Minimalism vs Expressive Design:

Minimalism focuses on restraint where as expressive design focuses on personality.

Material 3’s Expressive mode doesn’t just add decorations. It uses color, shape, motion, and typography to convey a message. It still values clarity, but now it has energy.

Buttons feel substantial.
Motion provides feedback.
Colors have meaning.
The interface actively engages with you rather than quietly waiting for you to figure it out.

What Makes Expressive Different

It’s faster to use.
Google’s tests: 46 studies with 18,000 people. Which showed that tasks were completed up to four times faster with Expressive designs. Even older users kept up with younger ones.
It’s visually communicative.
Shapes, animations, and dynamic palettes guide you before you even read a label.
It’s adaptable.
Designers can introduce personality without losing clarity or accessibility.
New components are built for context.
Components like Split Button and new Loading Indicator address real interaction problems rather than being unnecessary additions.

Why This Feels Like the End of Minimalism

Minimalism provided clarity but also drained character. Expressive design maintains clarity while adding warmth, movement, and individuality.

The UI stops pretending to be invisible and starts engaging with the user. This isn’t the end of simplicity. It’s the end of the cold, generic aesthetic we’ve all experienced for years. Material 3 Expressive shows that functional design can still be vibrant.

Conclusion

Minimalism had its time. It improved design, made products usable, and established a new standard for clarity. After a decade of stripped-down sameness, people are seeking more. More color. More emotion. More humanity in their daily tools.

Material 3 Expressive isn’t about discarding minimalism; it’s about evolving beyond it. It demonstrates that interfaces can remain simple without being sterile. You can guide users quickly and clearly while still evoking emotions. We’ve reached a point where “less is more” is no longer enough. Now, it’s “less, but meaningful… and alive.”

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What makes Material 3 Expressive different from standard motion guidelines in Material Design?

Material 3 Expressive elevates motion through intuitive, physics-inspired animation, think springy transitions, morphing shapes, and spatial reactions, that bring UI elements to life instead of static fades or slides. It uses these “expressive” motion schemes to enrich user interaction and emotional resonance.

2. How does Material 3 Expressive adapt to a user’s personal style or device context?

It features dynamic theming that tailors UI color palettes based on user wallpapers or themes, imagine earthy tones for desert backgrounds or breezy blues for beach scenes, creating a more personalized and emotionally connected experience.

3. Is Material 3 Expressive accessible across different devices like foldables, tablets, and Wear OS?

Yes, this design system spans across multiple Android platforms, from phones and tablets to foldables and Wear OS, ensuring consistent and emotionally rich interfaces across devices.

Will Trump Tariffs Derail India’s Software Export Success?

Chittaranjan Nayak — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 11:40:19 +0000

India has become the world hub of software services that exports IT solutions to more than 100 countries. As the United States is the biggest consumer of this service, any turbulance in the US-India trade relations causes the ripples to spread instantly to the Indian software market.

One such jolt came recently when Donald Trump as the President of the United States of America, imposed a set of tariffs on Indian products and excluded India from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Although these tarrifs are primarily aimed at physical commodities such as textiles, leather and drugs, the indirect effect on the Indian software export sector have been hard to miss.

Let's understand how these trade choices can impact the Indian software export industry- and what the future holds to the Indian IT giants and new tech start-ups.

Why Were the Tariffs Imposed in the First Place?

In 2019, the Trump administration ended India's GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) status claiming that India was not granting the U.S. a fair and reasonable access to its markets. The move was under "Make America Great Again" agenda to correct trade imbalances and to encourage nations to further open up their economies to U.S. exports.

Consequently, the U.S. has imposed tariffs of up to 25% and then 50% on a number of Indian products, primarily agriculture, textile, auto parts and pharmaceuticals. The industries started experiencing instant price increases and tough competition in the American market.

Although the software services did not fall directly into such tariff brackets, still the economic protectionism and sour trade relations are affecting inderictly the software export business between India and US.

1. Tariffs That Shook the Ecosystem, Even Without Direct Hits

Even though the Trump's tariffs did not target software services directly, it changed the image of India as a stable trading partner. Withdrawal of the GSP benefits worsened bilateral trade relations and the pull effect of this influenced the service industry as well.

The slogan was clear as it could be: Bring business back to America. Such a protectionist approach caused the U.S. companies to be less eager to depend on offshore software providers.

2. The H-1B Visa Clampdown, A Direct Blow to Software Service Models

Although the tariff is on headline, visa policy is the real kick. Long-established service delivery models were shaken by the tightening of H-1B visas that are important to Indian tech professionals onsite in the U.S.

Now it's more difficult to handle projects that needed close coordination with clients.
The businesses are forced to spend on local talent in the United States, which raised their operations.
Mid-sized and small companies in particular had difficulties to stay competitive.

This shift forced a change in the classical outsourcing process, pushing Indian companies toward increased focus in remote-first delivery, and automation.

3. American Clients Rethinking Offshore Partnerships

A psychological transformation was provoked by the protectionist act of Trump. Companies based in the U.S. (particularly small ones) also started to seek nearshoring or domestic technology partners to evade political and logistical challenges.

To Indian IT service providers this meant:

A tough competition from local and Latin American presence.
Longer sales cycles as a result of increased client skepticism.
The necessity to restore trust through the provision of more valuable and innovation-based services.

4. Domino Effect on India's Software Sector

This is how this shift is unfolding:

Revenue Volatility: This is because of over-dependence on the U.S. market, so that when there is a slight change of policy, it causes a significant financial tremor.
SMEs Bearing the Brunt: Smaller Indian software exporters, which do not have global delivery centers or subsidiaries in the U.S., will be less able to adjust.
Increasing Costs, Decreasing Margins: Recruitment in the U.S. or establishment of local offices increases the cost, particularly to cost-conscience operations.
Diversification Push: Indian companies now exploring Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific aggressively in order to diminish their reliance on one market.

5. Turning the Challenge Into an Opportunity

Nevertheless, the software export industry of India has demonstrated its characteristic flexibility. This is how it is fighting back:

AI, Cloud, and Cybersecurity Investment: The high-end tech services are not likely to be outsourced just comparing the price.
Remote Delivery Models: The COVID-19 pandemic hastened the adoption of remote processes, which minimized the necessity of physical presence and reliance on the visa regulations.
Going Global: Firms are busy developing client bases in new geographies in order to remain robust in times of uncertainty.

Conclusion

Trump-era tariffs did not necessarily impose a direct tax on Indian software exports, but they transformed how the world understands outsourcing, especially the U.S., the largest customer of India. These, together with tougher visa regulations and increasing protectionism, forced Indian IT companies to reconsider their approach.

Large firms have been swift to respond but smaller exporters are yet to close the gap. The silver lining? The scenario prompted the necessary push to diversify, automate, and innovate based on values.

The software industry in India is not new to disruption and based on history, it will emerge better, smarter and even more global.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do U.S. tariffs on Indian goods indirectly affect India’s IT and software services?

A. High tariffs on Indian exports, up to 50%, inflate costs for U.S. client industries like manufacturing, retail, and logistics. As these sectors tighten budgets, discretionary IT spend slows, delaying projects and weakening demand for Indian software export services.

2. Can India retaliate against U.S. tariffs through trade or technology measures?

A. While India can impose retaliatory tariffs or pause imports, its current strategy focuses on countermeasures like pausing certain U.S. defense procurements and reinforcing local manufacturing incentives, but it's less likely to engage in outright tech retaliation, especially in the software domain.

3. Are these tariffs a temporary spike or a long-term shift in U.S.–India trade relations?

A. Recent escalations, like 50% penalty tariff, signal a broader, more sustained shift under Trump’s “America First” policy. Many analysts view this as a structural realignment toward trade protectionism, not a short-lived change.

AI Is Winning Developers, But Losing Their Trust

Chittaranjan Nayak — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 07:52:07 +0000

Artificial Intelligence has now replaced the toolbox of the developer. By 2025 a mojority of developers agreed that they already use or intend to use AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and others. Whether it is code suggestions, documentation, or quick bug fixes, AI is making workflows easier than ever. However, as AI adoption is booming, an unexpected is occurring behind the scenes; the developers are beginning to doubt the tools that they are using.

Confidence Is Falling Fast

Although such usage is common, the accuracy of AI-generated code is trusted by only one third of the developers in 2025. That is a sharp decline compared to last year. The problem? According to the developers, AI results are usually almost correct but not completely, which increases the time spent on debugging rather than on development. Almost half confess that they lose precious time in the correction of the AI-generated code.

Why Developers Still Use AI, Despite the Doubts

Why then continue to use tools that they do not fully trust? Cause it's fast and easy! With the use of AI tools, developers can quickly receive suggestions, mainly in the cases of repetitive tasks or documentation. A lot of devs view AI as a second brain. However, this increasing dependency without total trust is sounding alarm bells- particularly in the area of code quality.

Security Risks Are Growing Too

A recent Veracode study tested more than hundreds of AI models with different coding tasks. Nearly half of the AI-generated code had critical vulnerabilities like SQL injections and XSS flaws. Java outputs were especially risky. As more companies rush to integrate AI into their development pipelines, they may also be introducing dangerous security holes without realizing it.

AI Can Slow You Down

Compared to the developers who did not use AI, experienced developers who did use AI were bit slower in real-world coding. Ironically they felt that they were quicker, that shows a significant gap between the perception and the reality. Some call this "productivity illusion", that unless used wisely, can end up being more of a distraction rather than a solution.

What Developers Really Think

According to the 2025 Developer Survey conducted by Stack Overflow, although majority of developers are willing to use AI, most of them still would rather ask a human colleague when they encounter a roadblock. Developers want to understand their code, not just accept what an AI tool recommends. Confidence, context and control are the things that developers desire, not convenience primarily, so trust in AI is declining.

How to Use AI Tools Responsibly

AI is not going anywhere, but the way that we utilize them needs to change. Developers are advised to use AI as an help and not an authority of the code. To strike the right balance between speed and reliability, review outputs. conduct security checks, and use AI to ideate not to execute. Companies also have to be clear on how they can use AI to ensure quality and security.

Conclusion

The use of AI in the world of software development has become a necessity, yet the trust gap is only increasing. Their advantages are speed and efficiency, but the associated security, accuracy and productivity risks are too large to overlook. The most intelligent developers in 2025 are not those who apply AI in a blind manner. They are the ones to question it, test it and use it wisely.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why are developers using AI tools more but trusting them less?

A. Despite majority of developers using AI tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT into their workflows in 2025, trust has sharply declined. The main reason is the codes that are almost right, but not completely and having subtle bugs that developers spend more time debugging than coding.

2. What are the biggest risks of trusting AI‑generated code?

A. Security risks are real: Half of AI-generated code contains known vulnerabilities such as SQL injections, XSS, or log injection flaws, Java being especially vulnerable. These flaws can open serious security gaps if left unchecked.

3. How can developers use AI tools more responsibly?

A. To avoid over-reliance, developers should treat AI as a trusted assistant, not a replacement. Always review AI output, run security scans, and stick to human-in-the-loop workflows. Use AI for ideation, boilerplate, or refactoring, but retain control over validation, testing, and deployment. This approach balances productivity gains with quality and trust.

Preparing Your Flutter Apps for Google Play's 16KB Page Size Requirement

Chittaranjan Nayak — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:30:01 +0000

Google Play is constantly improving and offering a superior experience in both terms of the users and the developers. One of the major changes that Flutter developers should know about is the new compatibility requirement of memory page size of 16KB. Beginning November 1, 2025, any new apps and app updates to Google Play that are intended to support Android 15 (API level 35) or newer must support the 16KB memory page size on 64-bit devices.

The apparent small change is a very significant one, particularly in the case of apps that have native code. And here is why it is important and, more to the point, how to make your Flutter application ready.

Beginning November 1 st, 2025, all new apps and updates to existing apps submitted to Google Play and aiming at devices with Android 15+ must be built to support 16 KB page sizes.

What's Changing and Why?

In the past Android has mostly used 4KB memory pages. But now that the modern devices are more RAM-filled and Google is encouraging faster performance, switching to 16KB pages has a number of advantages:

Better Performance: Increased page sizes decrease memory management overhead and make apps launch faster (up to 30 percent faster in some applications), start the camera faster, and are more generally efficient.
Less Fragmentation: Heap fragmentation is easier to handle with 16KB pages and this is an essential requirement of memory intensive applications.
Improved battery use: Optimization of this sort can also lead to better battery life.

The main point is that in case your app or any of its dependencies (particularly those that use native C/C++ code) make the assumption that the page size is hardcoded to 4KB, it may crash or otherwise malfunction on Android 15+ devices that use 16KB pages

Is Your Flutter App Affected?

Flutter apps usually utilize native code by using multiple plugins and the Flutter engine itself. Thus, there are high chances that your app will be affected, especially in case you:

Use native libraries through the use of plugins (e.g. ads, analytics, camera, machine learning, etc.).
Write custom native code in C/C++.
Are on Flutter, its dependencies, or the Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) and NDK older versions.

How to Check Your App's Compatibility?

Google Play Console offers an opportunity to verify the compliance of your app build right in the App Bundle Explorer. Look for messages related to 16KB native library alignment.

How to Fix the 16KB Compatibility Issue in Flutter

Here's a comprehensive guide to ensure your Flutter app is compliant:

Update Your Toolchain to the Latest Versions:

Android Gradle Plugin (AGP): Increase the version of AGP to 8.5.1 and above. This is essential since newer versions of AGP usually have in-built support of the latest platform requirements of Android.
NDK Version: NDK version R28 or above.
Flutter SDK: Make sure that your Flutter SDK is kept up to date on the latest stable release. This guarantees that you will receive the most up-to-date incompatibility issues on platforms and improvements.
Dependencies: Upgrade all your project dependencies (in pubspec.yaml) to the latest version that is compatible. Most common SDKs to Flutter already provide 16KB compatible versions.

For AGP and NDK, check your android/build.gradle and android/app/build.gradle files.

Rebuild All Native Libraries:

Even if you don't have custom native code, the native libraries bundled by Flutter and your plugins need to be rebuilt with 16KB alignment. Updating your AGP, NDK, and Flutter SDK typically handles this automatically during the build process.

Test Thoroughly on 16KB Enabled Devices/Emulators:

This is a very crucial step. Do not jump into the conclusion that your changes have solved the problem without testing.

Android 15 Beta Emulators: Android Studio will allow you to create an emulator with an Android 15 system image and turn on 16KB page support in the advanced emulator settings.
Physical Devices: In case you have Pixel devices with Android 15 installed, you can enable Developer Options > "Use 16 KB memory pages" and run your app on it.

To verify the page size on a device you can do so by

adb shell getconf PAGE_SIZE

Analyze App Size with DevTools:

The Flutter DevTools has an App Size tool that enables you to examine the build of your app and discover what is making it big.

Run flutter build appbundle --analyze-size and then open the created JSON file in DevTools.

Conclusion

The Google play compatibility feature of Android 15+ that requires 16KB is a significant step towards Android app performance optimization. Through updating your Flutter toolchain, inspecting any native code, and testing well, you will be able to make your app automatically fit this new standard. Moreover, to ensure that you can easily satisfy this particular requirement, the general best practices of optimizing the size of your apps will not only allow you to satisfy this requirement, but will also optimize the overall user experience of your Flutter apps on Google Play. Don not leave it too late to prepare your apps, start now!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens if my Flutter app isn’t compatible with 16KB page size on Android 15?

A. If your Flutter app isn’t updated for 16KB memory pages, it may crash, perform poorly, or fail Google Play submission for Android 15+. Updating your toolchain and testing on Android 15 is essential for compatibility.

2. How do I test my Flutter app for 16KB page size support?

A. You can test your Flutter app on an Android 15 emulator with 16KB pages enabled, or on a Pixel device running Android 15 with Developer Options > “Use 16 KB memory pages” turned on. Use adb shell getconf PAGE_SIZE to verify.

3. How do I make my Flutter app ready for 16KB memory pages?

A. To make your Flutter app ready for Android 15, update your Flutter SDK, Android Gradle Plugin (AGP 8.5+), NDK (R28+), and all dependencies. Rebuild your app and test on Android 15 emulators or devices to ensure compliance.

How to Set Up CI/CD Using Jenk

Chittaranjan Nayak — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 11:42:53 +0000

In modern backend development, automation is a must. You want every code change to be tested, built, and deployed — without manual steps that slow you down or cause mistakes. This is the promise of CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment).

In this post, you’ll learn how to:

Install Jenkins on Windows
Connect Jenkins with GitHub
Set up a pipeline (Jenkinsfile)
Deploy your backend automatically

What is CI/CD (and Why Jenkins)?

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Continuous Integration (CI): Automatically build and test your code when you push changes
Continuous Deployment (CD): Automatically deploy after tests pass

Why Jenkins?

Open-source and proven
Works with any language or tool
Huge plugin ecosystem
You control where it runs, including your Windows machine

How to Set Up Jenkins on Windows

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1. Download and install Jenkins

Go to: https://www.jenkins.io/download/
Download the Windows installer (.msi)
Run the installer - follow the wizard (accept defaults is fine for most)

2. Access Jenkins UI

Open browser: http://localhost:8080
Unlock Jenkins: find the password at (C:\Program Files\Jenkins\secrets\initialAdminPassword)
Paste it into the web UI

3. Install recommended plugins

Pipeline: Enables defining CI/CD as code via Jenkinsfile. Core for modern CI/CD.
Git plugin: Allows Jenkins to pull from your GitHub repository.
GitHub plugin: Provides GitHub integration (webhooks, commit status reporting, PR builds).
SSH Agent: Lets Jenkins handle SSH keys securely, needed for GitHub access or server deployment.
Credentials Binding: Helps securely inject API tokens, SSH keys, passwords into your builds.
NodeJS plugin (if using Node.js): Manage Node.js versions for build/test steps.
PowerShell plugin: Run PowerShell commands/scripts directly in your pipeline (essential for Windows).
Publish Over SSH (optional): Transfer files / execute commands on remote servers over SSH.
AnsiColor plugin: Makes console logs more readable by adding color support.
Email Extension plugin (optional): Send detailed build status notifications.
Timestamper plugin (optional): Adds timestamps to console output, helpful for debugging long builds.

You can always add plugins later via Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins > Available tab

4. Create admin user

Navigate to the Manage Jenkins page from the Jenkins dashboard.
Select Users under the Security section.
Select create user and fill the details.

Connect Jenkins to GitHub

1. Generate SSH key on Windows (for Jenkins)

Use Git Bash or PowerShell: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C jenkins@yourdomain.com
You'll be prompted to enter a file in which to save the key. You can accept the default or specify a different location.
You can optionally set a passphrase for added security, but this is not required.
This will generate two files: id_rsa (private key) and id_rsa.pub (public key).

2. Add the public key to GitHub deploy keys

GitHub > Your repo > Settings > Deploy keys > Add deploy key
Name it Jenkins
Paste the content of id_rsa.pub
Allow write access (if Jenkins will push)

3. Add private key in Jenkins credentials

Jenkins > Manage Jenkins > Credentials > Global > Add Credentials
Kind: SSHUsername with private key
Username: git
Private key: paste or load from file

4. Set up GitHub webhook for automatic builds

GitHub > Your repo > Settings > Webhooks > Add webhook
Payload URL: http://YOUR-PC-IP:8080/github-webhook/
Content type: application/json
Event: Push events
In Jenkins pipeline job > Build Triggers > GitHub hook trigger for GITScm polling

Create Jenkins Pipeline Job

Jenkins dashboard > New Item > Pipeline
Pipeline script from SCM > Git
Repository: git@github.com:YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPO.git
Credentials: select your SSH credential you added earlier
Branch: */main (or your branch)

Example Jenkinsfile

pipeline { 
  agent any 
  stages { 
    stage('Checkout') { 
      steps { 
        git branch: 'main', url: 'git@github.com:YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPO.git' 
      } 
    } 
    stage('Install Dependencies') { 
      steps { 
        bat 'npm ci' 
      } 
    } 
    stage('Run Tests') { 
      steps { 
        bat 'npm test' 
      } 
    } 
    stage('Deploy') { 
      when { 
        branch 'main' 
      } 
      steps { 
        bat 'echo Deploy step: Copy files to server or trigger deployment script' 
      } 
    } 
  } 
  post { 
    success { 
      echo 'Pipeline succeeded.' 
    } 
    failure { 
      echo 'Pipeline failed.' 
    } 
  } 
}

Deployment on Windows

Copy files to another server using xcopy, robocopy, or WinSCP
Use PowerShell scripts for remote deploy
Use Docker if installed

Reference Links

Jenkins official site: https://www.jenkins.io/
Jenkins Windows install guide: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/book/installing/windows/
Jenkins pipeline syntax: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/book/pipeline/syntax/
Jenkins credentials: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/book/using/using-credentials/
GitHub deploy keys: https://docs.github.com/en/developers/overview/managing-deploy-keys
GitHub webhooks: https://docs.github.com/en/webhooks

Final Thoughts

By setting up Jenkins on Windows and connecting it with GitHub:

Your backend builds and tests automatically on every push
You reduce manual deployment work
You’re ready to add more automation (Docker, Kubernetes, cloud deploys)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Jenkins used for in CI/CD?

A. Jenkins is an open-source automation tool used in CI/CD pipelines to build, test, and deploy code automatically whenever changes are pushed to the repository. It helps developers deliver faster and with fewer errors.

2. How do I install Jenkins on Windows?

A. To install Jenkins on Windows, download the .msi installer from jenkins.io, run the setup wizard, unlock Jenkins using the initial admin password, and install the recommended plugins.

3. How do I connect Jenkins to GitHub?

A. You can connect Jenkins to GitHub by adding an SSH deploy key to your GitHub repo, saving the private key in Jenkins credentials, and configuring a webhook in GitHub to trigger Jenkins builds on push events.

Top 10 Typography System Tips for High-Conversion UI Designs

Chittaranjan Nayak — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 11:44:37 +0000

We have come to learn that typography does a whole lot more than just make a product pretty in our design process. It influences the way users perceive the content, the speed at which they can get information, and the amount of confidence they can act upon.

By creating, experimenting and refining a number of digital products, our design team has established a typography playbook that continues to deliver higher conversions and engagement with users.

In this article, we are going to offer our 10 best typography tips, which are practical, tested and experience-based.

1. Choosing Readable, UI-Optimized Fonts

(Img Source)

The most excellent typography begins with appropriate font choice.

During the initial work we were lured by fonts that appeared to be fashionable but failed to work well in real-life UI application, particularly in small screens and low resolutions. We have been taught to give priority to fonts that are digital interface specific.

Inter, Roboto, SF Pro, and Open Sans have become our favorite fonts, as:

They are responsive.
They are crisp in small portions.
They provide various weights to be flexible.

A practical project example: In one of the dashboards we designed in the field of finance, we did use Poppins because of its modern appearance. However, during testing tables and small labels on mobile, we observed that users had difficulties reading them. The change to Inter made legibility much better and friction lower.

Our tip: Don t finalize fonts in your design system without testing them in different weights, sizes and on mobile, tablet and desktop.

2. Limiting Typefaces or Font Families

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Trust and clarity are a result of consistency.

We have experienced designs that have become messy when there are numerous fonts used. The extra fonts do not make it elegant, they make it messy.

Our guideline: Use only one main font and (as an exception) one secondary font to be used as accents.

The reason why we recommend it:

It brings visual harmony.
It assists users to concentrate on content, but not the unwanted switch in style.
It makes handoffs and development of designs simple.

An actual project example: On one of the social media applications we developed, a consistent font family on all the elements provided a sense of unity to the platform and enhanced the user experience during content scanning.

Our tip: When you are about to add a secondary font, question it: Does this clarify or is it merely decorative? Unless it is contributing functionality it is contributing noise.

3. Applying a Type Scale

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Structure beats random sizing.

The first problem we had when we began to create typography systems was that we randomly chose text sizes because they were what looked right on each screen. The result? Rhythmic and visual ill-flow.

We now use a type scale all the time, which is a set of font sizes that we predetermine, that are mathematically proportional to each other, and provide a harmonious rhythm to the interface.

The modular scales we use are often:

12px, 14px, 16px, 20px, 24px, 32px

This system:

Enhances visual consistency
Makes design choices straightforward
Makes responsive scaling predictable

An actual project scenario: A structured type scale was introduced in an e-commerce project and kept the whole team (designers, developers, QA) on the same size throughout the pages and components without the need to guess the same sizes twice.

Our tip: Type scale calculators or keep it simple by using ratios such as 1.25x or 1.333x. Record the scale in your design system to ensure that it is easy to implement.

4. Setting a Clear Hierarchy

(Img Source)

The eye should be led through typography.

It has been one of the largest lessons we have learned that typography is a form of visual storytelling. It informs the users on what to look first, second and third. In the absence of a definite hierarchy, users are lost or overwhelmed.

We make hierarchy by:

Font size
Font weight
Color emphasis
Spacing above and below elements

An actual case scenario: We implemented a strong hierarchy on a mobile banking application with the account balance being the biggest, boldest text, the secondary options such as the Transfer and Pay Bills options being smaller but bold text, and the informational text being smaller and lighter.

This assisted the users to intuitively locate important actions, which increased the completion rate of tasks.

Our tip: Squint and look at your screens, can you still see what is most important? Otherwise, the hierarchy is not transparent enough.

5. Using proper Line-Height and Tracking between Letters

(Img Source)

Give your typography space to breath.

We have come to know throughout the years that text must have space in order to be comfortable. Cluttered text causes more eye strain and less understanding, particularly on mobile.

Our common standards:

Body text: line-height: 1.4x to 1.6x
Letter-spacing (tracking): A small positive value enhances readability, particularly on upper case and smaller fonts

Actual project case: In a long form blog section, raising the line-height of 1.2 to 1.5 made the copy much easier to read and boosted session duration by 15%.

Our tip: Be particularly careful with tight line-heights and negative letter-spacing, they may appear tidy, but usually damage legibility.

6. Setting proper Text Alignment

(Img Source)

Readability can be determined by alignment.

The one thing we have always discovered is that left-aligned text is most effective in most of the UI designs particularly in the screens that are content-heavy. It offers predictive initial positions, and natural reading.

Center-aligned text is attractive on titles or hero modules, but if applied in paragraphs or lists, it interrupts the scanning.

An actual project case: On a help center page, the change of the center-aligned FAQs to the left-aligned saved users a lot of time in searching answers.

Our tip: Center alignment should be used sparingly- short heading or splash screens. Use left alignment on anything that the users need to read or scan fast.

7. Selecting proper contrast and colors for better accessibility

(Img Source)

Accessibility isn’t optional, it’s essential.

In some of our earlier projects, we prioritized aesthetics over accessibility, choosing subtle text colors that looked great in perfect lighting but failed in real-world usage.

We now always:

Ensure minimum contrast ratios (4.5:1 for body text) as per WCAG guidelines
Test color combinations across different backgrounds
Consider colorblind accessibility.

A real project example: In a food delivery app, we had to darken gray text that initially had a low contrast ratio. Post-adjustment, readability improved dramatically, especially for users on low-brightness settings.

Our tip: Use contrast checkers and test in both dark and light modes. Design for all users, not just those with perfect vision.

8. Avoid all caps when possible

(Img Source)

All caps may be considered aggressive and read slowly.

We have seen that upper case lettering removes the shapes of the words that we perceive unconsciously as we read. This reduces the reading speed and may create the impression of the UI being heavy-handed.

Now we restrict all caps to:

Small labels
Short call to action buttons
Occasional emphasis where attention-grabbing is critical

A real project example: On a social site, switching the labels on all the buttons to sentence case (“Post comment”) instead of all caps (“POST COMMENT”) made the site seem more chatty and inviting.

Our tip: Never use all caps in paragraphs or in vital information, only when you really need to add weight or urgency.

9. Use Consistent Spacing Systems

(Img Source)

The clean design is the silent structure of spacing.

A clear system of spacing, usually on a grid of 4px or 8px, is one of the things that our team stresses. Having different spacing is visually distracting and usually interrupts the flow of a layout.

We standardize:

Vertical distance between heading, paragraphs and buttons
Margins and paddings between components
Text block gaps in line and paragraphs

Actual project example: During the redesign of a B2B platform, the overall typography spacing system was changed to an 8px system, which had a profound effect on the visual alignment, lessening the design review feedback, and giving the product a feeling of polish.

Our tip: Embed your spacing system in your design tokens and follow it through your project lifecycle.

10. Document all the rules you’ve decided in a Style Guide

(Img Source)

A system is only helpful when everybody can abide by it.

At the beginning of our design process, we were using memory and disorganized Figma files, which was a mistake. The result? Screen and platform inconsistencies.

Now we always:

Document typography scales
Name font families, weights and sizes
Detail line-heights, letter-spacing, and alignment rules
Add accessibility color combinations

An actual project scenario: In the process of developing a cross-platform ERP system, we simply needed a more detailed typography section in our design system, which reduced hours of handovers between design, development, and QA teams.

Our tip: Consider your typography documentation a living documentation. Maintain it as your system changes.

Final Thoughts

Typography is a lever that is usually underestimated, but in our experience, it is one of the most effective to increase usability, drive conversion, and influence brand perception.

When we steadily apply these principles, our team has managed to create interfaces that are intuitive, balanced, and accessible.

These are not only theory-based but also are based upon many hundreds of hours of designing, testing, and refining actual products.

Tell us, we would be happy to help you upgrade your typography.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is typography important in UI/UX design?

A. Typography improves readability, guides user attention, and enhances the overall user experience, making your UI more effective and engaging.

2. What are the best fonts for web and mobile UI?

A. Fonts like Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, and SF Pro are optimized for digital interfaces, ensuring clarity and accessibility across devices.

3. How can typography improve conversion rates?

A. Good typography creates clear hierarchies, improves usability, and builds trust, all of which lead to higher user engagement and conversions.

Microsoft Clarity for Flutter

Chittaranjan Nayak — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 11:29:00 +0000

In the app development battleground, creating a seamless user interface is just half the job — you must also see how users are using your app. Is everything going to plan? Are they getting stuck on a screen? Are they dropping off halfway? That's where Microsoft Clarity can help.

Microsoft Clarity is a free, simple-to-implement behavior analytics solution built by Microsoft that gives session recordings, heatmaps, and user journey tracking to enable developers and product teams to see precisely how users are interacting with their websites and apps.

From trying to minimize churn, to enhancing UI/UX, or debugging unforeseen behavior — Clarity gives strong visual feedback that standard analytics tools typically fail to do.

In this blog post, we will find out how to use Microsoft Clarity in a Flutter application.

Getting started with Clarity

To get started we need to first register in the Clarity dashboard and create a project.

Sign up for Clarity:

Onboarding Clarity is free and easy. If you're new to Clarity, start by signing up. Go to https://clarity.microsoft.com/ and select Sign up/Sign in using Microsoft account/Google/Facebook.
Upon successful sign in you will navigate to the Projects screen.

Add a new project

Select New project to start adding a project.
Go to the Mobile tab. Choose Flutter in the platform and enter the Project Name with industry. Select Add new project once done.
Once the project is created you can find the Clarity project ID. Save this ID for later use.

Integration in Flutter

Add Dependency

Add the clarity_flutter dependency to your pubspec.yaml file.

dependencies:
  clarity_flutter: <latest release>

Import the Package

Import the clarity_flutter package in your main.dart file.

import 'package:clarity_flutter/clarity_flutter.dart';

Initialize and Wrap Your App

Initialize the ClarityConfig object and wrap your app with the ClarityWidget widget.

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:clarity_flutter/clarity_flutter.dart';

void main() {
  final config = ClarityConfig(
    projectId: "your_project_id" Paste your clarity project code
  );

  runApp(ClarityWidget(
    app: MyApp(),
    clarityConfig: config,
  ));
}

That’s it you can now run the application and get the analytics in Clarity dashboard.

Analytics Dashboard

Live recording:

Heatmaps:

Getting deep into it

Masking Widgets

The Clarity Flutter SDK provides masking widgets to mask sensitive information in your app. These widgets are ClarityMask and ClarityUnmask.

ClarityMask

Use ClarityMask to mask widgets containing sensitive information.

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:clarity_flutter/clarity_flutter.dart';

class MaskedWidget extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return ClarityMask(
      child: Text('Sensitive Information'),
    );
  }
}

ClarityUnmask

Use ClarityUnmask to unmask widgets within a masked area.

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:clarity_flutter/clarity_flutter.dart';

class UnmaskedWidget extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return ClarityUnmask(
      child: Text('Non-sensitive Information'),
    );
  }
}

Conclusion

Microsoft Clarity brings enterprise-level user behavior insights to any Flutter app, for free. It helps developers

Reposition buttons for better visibility
Fix invisible UX bugs
Clean up redundant code
Improve performance based on real user data

Best part? It’s 100% free forever. If you’re serious about Flutter UX, start using it today.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Microsoft Clarity and why should I use it?

A. Microsoft Clarity is a free user‑behavior analytics tool that provides session recordings, heatmaps, and frustration signals (like rage/dead clicks). It’s ideal for Flutter developers seeking deep visual insights into user interactions, without performance impact or costs.

2. How do I integrate Microsoft Clarity into a Flutter app?

A. Simply add the clarity_flutter dependency, import the package, and initialize Clarity by wrapping your app in ClarityWidget with your project ID. This starts session capture and heatmaps within minutes

3. Can I mask sensitive data with the Clarity Flutter SDK?

A. Yes. The SDK includes ClarityMask to hide sensitive widgets (like passwords) and ClarityUnmask to expose only non-sensitive parts. This ensures GDPR/CCPA compliance and protects user privacy

Apple Liquid Glass Design: A New Trend or Fail?

Chittaranjan Nayak — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:49:56 +0000

What should an Operating System provide in terms of design?

It changes from time to time based on targeted audience groups and the marketing strategy decided by the company to market the Operating System. But deep down it should be effortless in our day-to-day life while being easy and accessible enough to be used regularly for 7-8 hours.
(Img Source)

Operating Systems should not feel like a speed breaker while users perform daily tasks. But this is what Apple’s new Design Language system, showcased in Apple’s WWDC 25.

What is Liquid Glass? What does Apple mean by Liquid Glass?

(Img Source)

Known for their good marketing team, Apple named their new Design Style as Liquid Glass. It sounds cool & simple. But what they really mean by this is, their new Design Language System will work like Liquid on a Transparent Glass.

It sounds kind of weird, as we all know normal glass is transparent, and so is Liquid. But what Apple did here is, they used both the transparent and translucent properties. Not only that, this new system is designed to act like liquid. Which means the components in the design system respond to touch with liquid-like animations & also support reflections and refraction of light according to background elements dynamically. Those reflections & refractions also rotate based on the rotation and tilt angle of the device.

Why a sudden change from their Flat style design?

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This visual style change was really not that necessary right now. Everyone had noticed that when Apple updates their design style, the whole industry follows them slowly, except for 2-3 big players. This is not an issue for a general customer, but for big companies, it’s hard to differentiate & position their products when every other company has a similar style. Also, the flat design style seems to be overused and matured enough that it started looking boring.

This also indicates that their devices were getting powerful enough to handle these visual upgrades. Competitors like Google & Samsung have also started shifting to a different design style.

Then comes Vision OS which already had a different & futuristic style of UI. So by improving that style with liquid glass and using it for their other platforms, Apple is trying to improve the overall feel of its ecosystem.

Is it really an Advantage or Disadvantage for its users?

It’s pretty normal to see the reactions after Apple announced this change for its iOS, Mac, iPad, TvOS, Watch OS etc. So many people loved them while it was being presented and even when they tried. But now slowly a wave of hatred towards this design is also coming up.

Though there are advantages like:

A sense of depth and dimension which makes the interface feel closer to the real world.
Changing colour dynamically based on Light or Dark mode and surrounding contents to create a more aesthetic experience.
Dynamic and Real world like behaviour of animations based on user input and context provides a more engaging experience.

But there are major functional disadvantages also:

While the UI looks good, it doesn’t provide enough contrast to focus on a single element. Which is frustrating as a user, because now users really have to look at every button carefully before pressing.
While its animations are good, there are many instances where components feel like an elastic to interact instead of glass or liquid
If the background is really busy or text heavy, it makes some components almost invisible to look at with the overwhelming contrast of background and underwhelming contrast of the UI element.
When we’re working with something or consuming content, we need the UI to be more subtle and less attention grabbing. But this whole design system feels like it’s designed to grab the attention of users. Instead of being subtle, it has become loud, even though it’s a translucentt system. It’s happening because instead of muting down the brightness of UI elements, it distorts the background, and it does have highlights present on UI elements.

Conclusion

While the new Liquid Glass System looks and feels really attractive, it comes withits own set of issues which Apple needs to correct. It’s still very early to comment if it’s good or bad until it’s been released as a Stable Update. But by looking at the User base and age group of its users, it currently seems far from polished, which Apple is generally known for. We all are currently using it’s Developer Beta & it seems Apple is serious about it, and with this, it ends an era of flat design for Apple.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Apple’s Liquid Glass design system?

A. Apple’s Liquid Glass is a new design language introduced at WWDC 25, featuring translucent, fluid-like UI elements that respond dynamically to touch, light, and device tilt—creating a more immersive and realistic user interface.

2. Why did Apple shift from flat design to Liquid Glass?

A. Apple moved away from the overused flat design to offer a fresh, immersive experience that matches the power of its latest devices and sets a new visual standard for its ecosystem, including iOS, macOS, and VisionOS.

3. Is the Liquid Glass UI better for usability and user experience?

A. While Liquid Glass adds visual appeal and depth, it has usability concerns like poor contrast and overly distracting elements, making it a mixed experience for users focused on function over form.

Flutter 3.32: What's New

Chittaranjan Nayak — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 06:13:30 +0000

Flutter 3.32, published in May 2025, brings a package of changes to make developers more productive, enhance UI fidelity, and cross-platform performance. The update introduces experimental web hot reload, improved Cupertino widgets, and new Material elements and substantial performance improvements on all platforms. What is new? Let's see.
(Img Source)

Hot reload on the web (Experimental):

We can enable hot reload on the web by enabling a simple command line flag --web-experimental-hot-reload while invoking flutter run.

flutter run -d chrome --web-experimental-hot-reload

Framework Updates

New Widget Expansible:

ExpansionTile now uses Expansible widget that makes it easier to create widgets that expand and collapse with different visual themes.

animateToIndex in CarouselController:

carouselController.animateToItem(
  currentIndex + 1,
  duration: const Duration(milliseconds: 300),
  curve: Curves.easeIn,
);

Cupertino Squircles Shape:

Commonly called the Apple squircle, the shape is a key aspect of the iOS design language, which is more smooth and continuous in its curves than the traditional rounded rectangle.

This update provides us using these new APIs to adapt this design language:

RoundedSuperellipseBorder for painting or as a widget shape
ClipRSuperellipse for clipping.
Canvas.drawRSuperellipse, Canvas.clipRSuperellipse, and Path.addRSuperellipse for lower-level APIs that offer more direct control.

enableDrag argument on CupertinoSheetRoute:

We can also now use the new enableDrag argument on CupertinoSheetRoute and showCupertinoSheet to disable the Cupertino bottom sheet’s drag-down-to-dismiss behavior.

showCupertinoSheet(
   context: context,
   pageBuilder: (context) => CustomSheet(),
   enableDrag: false,
);

onHover callback on TabBar:

The TabBar has got onHover and onFocusChange callbacks now; you can have more control over the appearance of the widget in the various states.

animationStyle on showDialog:

When opening and closing the dialog we can customize the animation.

borderRadius on Divider:

Divider(
      radius: BorderRadius.circular(12),
      thickness: 12,
      indent: 20,
      endIndent: 20,
)

Custom error widget builder for FormField widgets:

TextFormField(
     Validator: 
     autovalidateMode:
     errorBuilder: (context, error){
        return Row(
          children: [
            Icon(Icons.error, color:Colors.red),
            Text(error),
          ],
        );
     },
)

Developer Tooling Improvements

Improvements to developer tools are intended to simplify the task of development:

Flutter Property Editor: A new addition to DevTools that enables editing of widget properties visually directly in the IDE, thus being more productive.

Deep Link Validator: Helps to detect and resolve Android deep link setup problems to provide an easier navigational experience.

DevTools Improvements: Better offline debugging, CPU profiling, network debugging, and bug fixes in different panels make the debugging experience better.

Conclusion

Flutter 3.32 is a new milestone in cross-platform development, as it provides tools and improvements that will be helpful to both programmers and users. It is a perfect moment to adopt the new version of Flutter because of its improved performance, richer UI components, and better tooling.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is new in Flutter 3.32?

A. Flutter 3.32 introduces experimental web hot reload, enhanced Cupertino widgets like Squircles, new Material elements, and developer tools like the Flutter Property Editor and Deep Link Validator for improved productivity.

2. How do I enable hot reload on the web in Flutter 3.32?

A. To enable experimental hot reload for Flutter web, run your app using the --web-experimental-hot-reload flag with the flutter run command.

3. What are Cupertino Squircles in Flutter 3.32?

A. Cupertino Squircles are iOS-style smooth-cornered shapes now supported in Flutter 3.32 via new APIs like RoundedSuperellipseBorder, ClipRSuperellipse, and canvas drawing tools for native iOS UI fidelity.

Monolith vs Microservices Architecture

Chittaranjan Nayak — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 06:08:51 +0000

Monolith Architecture

A monolithic architecture is a single software design with the components being coupled tightly and deployed as one. It is usually written following one codebase and one technology stack and can be deployed easily as one application package, e.g. a WAR file in Java.
(Img Source)

Characteristics:

In monolithic architecture, every feature, such as authentication, database access, and UI, are linked together. It is created in one programming language or framework and is supported as a single codebase. It is all packaged and implemented as one whole package.

Advantages:

Monolithic architecture is simple to develop, test, and deploy in the first place, and therefore, it suits small projects. It is also more performant as functions are called directly in the same process, rather than over the network. Debugging, logging and monitoring is easier with a single codebase. Also, teams are now able to use the same tools, IDEs, and frameworks.

Disadvantages:

There is a significant problem of scalability. To scale a particular section of the application, the whole system needs to be deployed. With an increasing application, the closely coupled codebase becomes more difficult to comprehend and maintain. Even small changes have the potential of affecting other unrelated sections of the system. Redeploying the whole application to make small changes incurs more risk of downtimes and new technologies tend to lock the application into the technology, which means rewriting the entire codebase.

Use Cases:

The monolithic architecture is suitable to small to medium-sized applications that have simple requirements. It is most suited to initial-stage startups who must rapidly prototype, or to applications with low scalability or complexity requirements, like simple e-commerce sites, blogs or in-house applications.

Microservices Architecture

Microservices architecture is a distributed style of designing applications in which an application is divided into small, autonomous services. All the services do a particular type of work and interact with other services through clearly specified APIs like REST or gRPC. They are implemented independently, giving more control over the system.
(Img Source)

Characteristics:

In microservices architecture, individual services are in charge of a certain business capability such as user management, payment processing, or notifications. Such services are loosely integrated and tend to have their databases. Services are not monolithic so it is possible to create services using a different language or framework, taking a polyglot approach. The deployment is normally performed per service and frequently in a container, such as Docker, and managed with platforms such as Kubernetes.

Advantages:

A major benefit is scalability, services can be scaled independently to the demand, e.g. scale up the payment service during a high-traffic sale. The ability to select the most suitable language or tool in each service would allow teams to customize solutions better, such as applying Python to machine learning modules and Node.js to real-time capabilities. The architecture is also resilient-friendly; when one service fails, it does not always affect the whole application. It makes development quicker since small and dedicated teams are able to work on various services simultaneously. It is also simpler to deploy continuously. The developers can make changes to a single service without redeploying the entire system.

Disadvantages:

Amid the advantages, microservices bring about complexity. The management of various services, APIs and databases requires greater operational coordination. The network is used to perform inter-service communication thus adding latency when compared to in-process calls. Other issues with distributed systems include data consistency, eventual consistency and network failure. A DevOps perspective makes it necessary to have strong CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and orchestration tools. The distributed nature makes system-wide end-to-end testing more complicated.

Use Cases:

They are suitable when the application is complex and large with varied requirements like the Netflix or Amazon platforms. They fit in systems that require great scalability or that are frequently updated. This architecture is highly beneficial to organizations that have several teams that work on various components of a product because they can develop and deploy it in parallel with minimal dependencies.

When to Choose What

Choose Monolith:

The monolithic architecture is a good decision in case you are developing a small to medium-sized application that is predictably growing. It is particularly applicable in small teams or teams with limited knowledge of DevOps since it does not require the management of distributed systems. When you need to have something running fast, monoliths are quick to develop and easier to deploy. To take an example, a simple CRM system or a personal blogging platform can be effectively managed with the help of a monolithic approach.

Choose Microservices:

Conversely, microservices are the solution when you have a large-scale application that is scalable and has diverse and complex needs, e.g. an e-commerce site that contains distinct systems to collect payment, manage inventory, and review products by customers. This would be more effective when you have several teams that can work independently and are specialized in a given service. Microservices also provide the option to use varying technologies on varying services and help to scale only the required application parts. The most accurate example is a streaming service such as Netflix, in which user profiles, recommendations, and content delivery are separate services.

Conclusion

To conclude, monolithic architecture is optimal when it comes to simplicity, smaller scale projects and faster launches, however, it may turn into a bottleneck as your application and team expands. Microservices are highly scalable, resilient, and can support large, rapidly moving teams, and are more complex and infrastructure-intensive. The correct decision should rely on such factors as the size of the team, complexity of the project, budget, and long-term vision. In case you are not sure, the best practice is to begin with a monolith and then refactor to microservices as your project needs change.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the main difference between monolithic and microservices architecture?

**A. **Monolithic architecture is a single, unified codebase where all components are tightly coupled. Microservices architecture breaks the application into independent, loosely coupled services that communicate via APIs.

2. Which is better: monolithic or microservices?

**A. **Microservices are better for large, scalable, and complex applications needing flexibility and independent deployment. Monoliths are better for small to medium apps needing fast development and simple management.

3. When should you choose microservices over monolithic architecture?

**A. **Choose microservices when you need high scalability, have multiple teams, or want to use different tech stacks for different modules. It's ideal for dynamic, complex applications with rapidly evolving requirements.