What is Dart and why does Flutter use it?

Dart is the programming language used to build Flutter apps. Flutter chose to use Dart for several key reasons:

1. Dart enables a fast development cycle with hot reload, which allows developers to inject updated source code into a running app and see the changes instantly, without restarting or losing app state[1][2]. This improves developer productivity.

2. Dart compilers produce efficient, ahead-of-time compiled code for fast startup and predictable performance in production deployments[1][4]. Dart's production compilers generate optimized ARM and x64 machine code for mobile, and optimized JavaScript for the web[4].

3. Dart is an object-oriented language that is easy to learn for developers familiar with languages like Java, Swift, or JavaScript[2][3]. This makes Flutter more approachable for a wide range of developers.

4. **Dart allows building high-fidelity apps for multiple platforms...