Why is Flutter NotificationListener not catching my notifications? - flutter

Question

I am having a problem with the NotificationListener in flutter. I've build a simple testing app because I am struggling with it.
After clicking on the FlatButton the Notification should be dispatched and then caught by the NotificationListener in onNotification.
So the expected console output would be:
"TestNot"
"Bubble"
But all I am getting is "TestNot".
So the notification is not caught by the listener.
Any idea what I could be doing wrong?
Thank you :-)
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() {
runApp(MyApp());
}
class MyNotification extends Notification {
final String title;
const MyNotification({this.title});
}
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
// This widget is the root of your application.
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
title: 'Flutter Demo',
theme: ThemeData(
primarySwatch: Colors.blue,
visualDensity: VisualDensity.adaptivePlatformDensity,
),
home: MyHomePage(title: 'Flutter Demo Home Page'),
);
}
}
class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
MyHomePage({Key key, this.title}) : super(key: key);
final String title;
#override
_MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
int _counter = 0;
void _incrementCounter() {
setState(() {
_counter++;
});
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(widget.title),
),
body: NotificationListener<MyNotification>(
onNotification: (notification) {
print("Bubble");
return true;
},
child: Center(
child: Column(
// horizontal).
mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
children: <Widget>[
Text(
'You have pushed the button this many times:',
),
FlatButton(onPressed: () {print("TestNot"); MyNotification(title: "TestNot").dispatch(context);}, child: Text("TestNot")),
Text(
'$_counter',
style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.headline4,
),
],
),
)),
floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
onPressed: _incrementCounter,
tooltip: 'Increment',
child: Icon(Icons.add),
), // This trailing comma makes auto-formatting nicer for build methods.
);
}
}

Answer 1

When you need a child to notify its parent, you can use NotificationListener.
But, when you need communications to be implemented inversely, in other words, a parent to notify its children, you can use ValueListenableBuilder
A nice doc about it available here:
https://medium.com/flutter-community/flutter-notifications-bubble-up-and-values-go-down-c1a499d22d5f
"Flutter, notifications ‘bubble up’ and values ‘go down’"

Answer 2

You cannot receive the notification at the same level of where it was dispatched. Please refer to docs : https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/NotificationListener-class.html
NotificationListener class :
A widget that listens for Notifications bubbling up the tree.
I've updated your code to make it work.
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
void main() {
runApp(MyApp());
}
class MyNotification extends Notification {
final String title;
const MyNotification({this.title});
}
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
// This widget is the root of your application.
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
title: 'Flutter Demo',
theme: ThemeData(
primarySwatch: Colors.blue,
visualDensity: VisualDensity.adaptivePlatformDensity,
),
home: MyHomePage(title: 'Flutter Demo Home Page'),
);
}
}
class MyHomePage extends StatefulWidget {
MyHomePage({Key key, this.title}) : super(key: key);
final String title;
#override
_MyHomePageState createState() => _MyHomePageState();
}
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
int _counter = 0;
void _incrementCounter() {
setState(() {
_counter++;
});
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text(widget.title),
),
body: NotificationListener<MyNotification>(
onNotification: (MyNotification notification) {
print("Bubble");
return true;
},
child: Center(
child: Column(
// horizontal).
mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
children: <Widget>[
Text(
'You have pushed the button this many times:',
),
MyChild(),
Text(
'$_counter',
style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.headline4,
),
],
),
)),
floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
onPressed: _incrementCounter,
tooltip: 'Increment',
child: Icon(Icons.add),
), // This trailing comma makes auto-formatting nicer for build methods.
);
}
}
class MyChild extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return FlatButton(
onPressed: () {
print("TestNot");
MyNotification(title: "TestNot").dispatch(context);
},
child: Text("TestNot"));
}
}