backend_driven_ui 0.1.0

Server-Driven UI framework for Flutter with ApiWidget - build data-driven interfaces without FutureBuilder boilerplate.

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

0.1.0 - 2025-03-17

Added

ApiWidget

• 🎯 Declarative API data fetching widget (FutureBuilder alternative)
• Built-in loading, success, error, and empty states
• Automatic caching with configurable TTL
• Retry logic with exponential backoff
• Polling support for real-time updates
• Success/error callbacks
• Retry button on errors

Backend-Driven UI

• 🚀 BackendDrivenScreen - Fetch and render UI from JSON schemas
• SchemaParser - Parse JSON into Flutter widgets
• WidgetRegistry - Extensible widget system
• 33 Built-in widgets:
  • Layout (12): Column, Row, Stack, Center, Padding, SizedBox, Expanded, Flexible, Wrap, Spacer, AspectRatio, Container
  • Display (4): Text, Icon, Image, Divider
  • Material (5): Card, ListTile, CircleAvatar, Chip, ClipRRect
  • Interactive (7): Button, ElevatedButton, TextButton, OutlinedButton, IconButton, GestureDetector, InkWell
  • Scrollable (3): ListView, GridView, SingleChildScrollView
  • Effects (2): Visibility, Opacity
• Conditional rendering (platform, screen size, theme detection)
• Widget schema caching for performance

Core Features

• 📦 Lightweight HTTP client (only http package dependency)
• Custom retry handler with exponential backoff
• LRU cache with TTL for API responses
• Server-controlled caching - Backend can specify cache policy per response:
  • cache - Cache with optional TTL
  • noCache - Always fetch fresh
  • refresh - Stale-while-revalidate pattern
• Action handler system (navigate, API calls, dialogs, etc.)
• Type-safe models for requests/responses

Documentation

• 📖 Comprehensive README with examples
• JSON Schema Reference Guide (SCHEMA_REFERENCE.md)
• Working example app with multiple demos
• Inline code documentation

Technical Details

• Zero heavy dependencies (50KB vs 350KB+ with dio)
• Production-ready error handling
• Material Design 3 support
• Platform-agnostic architecture