docs: Add dot shorthands guide to Flutter concepts

Author: lamek

src/content/ui/dot-shorthands.md

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+---
+title: "Dot shorthands in Flutter"
+description: >
+  Learn how to use Dart's dot shorthands to write cleaner, concise
+  Flutter code.
+---
+
+The **dot shorthands** feature allows you to omit the explicit type when
+accessing static members, constructors, or enum values, provided the compiler
+can infer the type from the surrounding context.
+
+:::note
+For an technical overview of this feature, refer to the
+[Dot Shorthands guide](https://dart.dev/language/dot-shorthand) in the Dart
+documentation.
+:::
+
+## Why dot shorthands matter
+
+Building layouts in Flutter often involves deeply nested widget trees.
+Historically, this meant repeatedly typing explicit class and enum names for
+properties like colors, typography, and alignment. Dot shorthands reduce this
+boilerplate, making your code easier to read and faster to write.
+
+Here is a side-by-side comparison of building a simple `Container`:
+
+### Without dot shorthands
+```dart
+Container(
+  color: Colors.blue,
+  alignment: Alignment.center,
+  padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16.0),
+  child: Column(
+    mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
+    crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
+    children: [
+      Text(
+        'Hello World',
+        style: TextStyle(
+          fontWeight: FontWeight.bold,
+        ),
+      ),
+    ],
+  ),
+);
+```
+
+### With dot shorthands
+```dart
+Container(
+  color: .blue, // Instead of Colors.blue
+  alignment: .center, // Instead of Alignment.center
+  padding: const .all(16.0), // Instead of EdgeInsets.all(16.0)
+  child: Column(
+    mainAxisAlignment: .center, // Instead of MainAxisAlignment.center
+    crossAxisAlignment: .start, // Instead of CrossAxisAlignment.start
+    children: [
+      Text(
+        'Hello World',
+        style: TextStyle(
+          fontWeight: .bold, // Instead of FontWeight.bold
+        ),
+      ),
+    ],
+  ),
+);
+```
+
+## Where to use dot shorthands
+
+Dot shorthands work anywhere the Dart compiler has a clear "context type",
+meaning it knows exactly what type it expects. In Flutter, this is almost
+everywhere inside a widget's property list. 
+
+The most common targets for dot shorthands in Flutter are:
+
+*   **Enums**: `MainAxisAlignment`, `CrossAxisAlignment`, `BoxFit`,
+    `TextDirection`.
+*   **Static properties and methods**: `Colors`, `Icons`, `Alignment`. 
+*   **Constructors**: `EdgeInsets.all()`, `BorderRadius.circular()`.
+
+### Example: enums
+
+When a property expects an enum, such as `mainAxisAlignment`, you can omit the
+enum's name and just provide the value preceded by a dot (`.`):
+
+```dart
+Row(
+  mainAxisAlignment: .spaceEvenly, // Infers MainAxisAlignment.spaceEvenly
+  children: [ /* ... */ ],
+)
+```
+
+### Example: static properties
+
+`Colors.green` and `Alignment.bottomRight` are static properties on their
+respective classes. Since `color` expects a `Color` object, you can just write
+`.green`:
+
+```dart
+DecoratedBox(
+  decoration: BoxDecoration(
+    color: .green, // Infers Colors.green
+  ),
+  child: Align(
+    alignment: .bottomRight, // Infers Alignment.bottomRight
+    child: FlutterLogo(),
+  ),
+)
+```
+
+### Example: constructors
+
+You can also use dot shorthands for named constructors. A common case is
+`EdgeInsets`:
+
+```dart
+Padding(
+  // Infers EdgeInsets.symmetric
+  padding: .symmetric(horizontal: 16.0, vertical: 8.0), 
+  child: Text('Spaced out text'),
+)
+```
+
+You can even use `.new` to call an unnamed constructor, though this is less
+common in standard widget trees:
+
+```dart
+class _MyState extends State<MyWidget> {
+  // Infers ScrollController()
+  final ScrollController _scrollController = .new(); 
+  // ...
+}
+```

src/data/sidenav/default.yml

@@ -593,6 +593,8 @@
       permalink: /perf
     - title: Impeller
       permalink: /perf/impeller
+    - title: Dot shorthands
+      permalink: /ui/dot-shorthands
     - title: Performance best practices
       permalink: /perf/best-practices
     - title: App size