31.80 Flutter Style Pubspec

20241118

We often end up listing many packages within the pubspec file so it is useful keeping some track of why a package is included as a dependency. To support this I recommend adding a comment for each dependency on the same line (so we can keep the packages sorted alphabetically). Align the beginning of the comments in the file to have a tabular look and avoid the otherwise cluttered look.

Encouraged

dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter

  desktop_drop: ^0.4.4       # Drag and drop file functionality.
  file_picker: ^8.0.0+1      # Choosing a file from local storage.
  intl: ^0.19.0              # Formatting timestamps.
  markdown_tooltip: ^0.0.2   # Allow tool tips to be formatted.
  mime: ^1.0.5               # Detect input file type.
  package_info_plus: ^5.0.1  # Query the version number of the app.
  window_manager:  ^0.4.3    # Set the size of the desktop app window.

Discouraged

dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter

  desktop_drop: ^0.4.4 # Drag and drop file functionality.
  file_picker: ^8.0.0+1 # Choosing a file from local storage.
  intl: ^0.19.0 # Formatting timestamps.
  markdown_tooltip: ^0.0.2 # Allow tool tips to be formatted.
  mime: ^1.0.5 # Detect input file type.
  package_info_plus: ^5.0.1 # Query the version number of the app.
  window_manager:  ^0.4.3 # Set the size of the desktop app window.

Another improvement might be to line up the version numbers so we get a very tabular style that is easier to read.

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