Provider.of<IsSpecialist>(context).value
is accessible above this Navigator.push:
Navigator.push(context, MaterialPageRoute(builder: (c) => ChatScreen()));
But in after the Navigator.push it's unavailable in ChatScreen:
Provider.of<IsSpecialist>(context).value
returns
Could not find the correct Provider above this Widget
Why is context broken? How to maintain the original context?
My current temporary solution is to get isSpecialist from Provider before the Navigator and send it as a parameter to the ChatScreen, but I need to find a better solution.
Context is not getting lost, you are just using the wrong context.
suppose A -> B -> C is the widget hierarchy.
I think you are pushing your IsSpecialist at B and accessing it in C but you are using context of A.
It would be more clear if you can post some more code that can give idea about your widget hierarchy.
Provider should be placed on the top of the widget tree, above MaterialApp
Related
Assume that class A is arbitrarily rooted, and its children are classes B, C, and D.
(Not all classes are in the same hierarchy)
When I use BlocConsumer or BlocBuilder in class D, I get an error.
I just want to reuse the Bloc state used in class A and class B.
is there any solutions? thanks
--UPDATE
I am talking about this https://github.com/felangel/bloc/issues/74
Is there any way other than passing it as navigator argument to class one by one?
Note: I assume you are using the flutter_bloc library, but the concept is the same even though you are not.
The BLoC you want to access must be provided ABOVE all the screens/pages you want to access this BLoC in. The simplest solution to your problem would be wrapping your root Widget (probably MaterialApp) with BlocProvider:
runApp(
BlocProvider<YourBloc>(
create: (_) => YourBloc(), // create your BLoC here
child: MaterialApp(...),
),
);
For more info, I would recommend watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laqnY0NjU3M
introduce blocprovider on main myapp page and use it on other pages
So I was wondering about the Command I use when I close an AlertDialog:
FlatButton(
child: Text('Okay'),
onPressed: () {
Navigator.of(context).pop();
},
),
What does .of() exactly do? I could not find anything in the flutter dev documentation (Probably because I was missing the correct search term)
Can anyone explain what happens there?
In the Flutter SDK the .of methods are a kind of service locator function that take the framework BuildContext as an argument and return an internal API related to the named class but created by widgets higher up the widget tree. These APIs can then be used by child widgets to access state set on a parent widget and in some cases (such as Navigator) to manipulate them. The pattern encourages componentization and decouples the production of information related to the build tree with its consumption.
In addition to Navigator.of (returns a NavigatorState) there are:
Theme.of (returns a ThemeData containing the ambient theme settings)
MediaQuery.of (returns a MediaQueryData containing information computed about the device screen size)
Directionality.of (returns a TextDirection containing information about text display)
Of course Flutter has non-specific methods for looking up parent widgets from the build context:
context.findAncestorWidgetOfExactType<T extends Widget>()
context.findAncestorStateOfType<T extends State>()
context.findRootAncestorStateOfType<T extends State>()
so Theme.of(context) is really just a static shorthand for context.findAncestorWidgetOfExactType<Theme>().data and Navigator.of(context).pop() is really just a shorthand for context.findAncestorStateOfType<NavigatorState>().pop()
From the documentation of the Navigator class,
Although you can create a navigator directly, it's most common to use the navigator created by the Router which itself is created and configured by a WidgetsApp or a MaterialApp widget. You can refer to that navigator with Navigator.of.
As a general rule, any time you see something along the lines of Classname.of(someObject) in an OO language, .of is a builder that returns an instance of Classname from someObject.
I'm still wrapping my head around state-management techniques in flutter and am a bit confused about when and why to use Provider.of<X> vs. Consumer<X>. I understand (I think) from the documentation that when choosing between these two you would use Provider.of when we want access to the data, but you don't need the UI to change. So the following (taken from the docs) gets access to the data and updates the UI on new events:
return HumongousWidget(
// ...
child: AnotherMonstrousWidget(// <- This widget will rebuild on new data events
// ...
child: Consumer<CartModel>(
builder: (context, cart, child) {
return Text('Total price: ${cart.totalPrice}');
},
),
),
);
Whereas, where we only need the data on don't want to rebuild with UI, we'd use Provider.of<X> with the listen parameter set to false, as below:
Provider.of<CartModel>(context, listen: false).add(item); \\Widget won't rebuild
However, listen isn't required and so the following will run too:
Provider.of<CartModel>(context).add(item); \\listener optional
So this brings me to a few questions:
Is this the correct way to distinguish Provider.of<X> and Consumer<X>. Former doesn't update UI, latter does?
If listen isn't set to false will the widget be rebuilt by default or not rebuilt? What if listen is set to true?
Why have Provider.of with the option to rebuild the UI at all when we have Consumer?
It doesn't matter. But to explain things rapidly:
Provider.of is the only way to obtain and listen to an object.
Consumer, Selector, and all the *ProxyProvider calls Provider.of to work.
Provider.of vs Consumer is a matter of personal preference. But there's a few arguments for both
Provider.of
can be called in all the widgets lifecycle, including click handlers and didChangeDependencies
doesn't increase the indentation
Consumer
allows more granular widgets rebuilds
solves most BuildContext misuse
Provider.of<>
applying provider, whole widget will rebuild if listen true.
Consumer<>
using consumer only specifically allowed widget will rebuild.
For your questions:
Is this the correct way to distinguish Provider.of<X> and Consumer<X>. Former doesn't update UI, latter does?
Provider.of<X> depends on value of listen to trigger a new State.build to widgets and State.didChangeDependencies for StatefulWidget.
Consumer<X> always update UI, as it uses Provider.of<T>(context), where listen is true. See full source here.
If listen isn't set to false will the widget be rebuilt by default or not rebuilt? What if listen is set to true?
Default value is true, means will trigger a new State.build to widgets and State.didChangeDependencies for StatefulWidget. See full source here.
static T of<T>(BuildContext context, {bool listen = true}).
Why have Provider.of with the option to rebuild the UI at all when we have Consumer?
Pretty much covered by Rémi Rousselet's answer.
There should not be any performance concern by using it, moreover, we should use consumers if we want to change some specific widget only on screen. This is the best approach I can say in terms of coding practice.
return Container(
// ...
child: Consumer<PersonModel>(
builder: (context, person, child) {
return Text('Name: ${person.name}');
},
),
);
Like in the above example, we are only required to update the value of the Single Text Widget so add consumers there instead of Provider which is accessible to other widgets as well.
Note: Consumer or Provider update the only reference of your instance which widgets are using, if some widgets are not using then it will not re-drawn.
The widget Consumer doesn't do any fancy work. It just calls Provider.of in a new widget, and delegate its build implementation to [builder].
It's just syntactic sugar for Provider.of but the funny thing is I think Provider.of is simpler to use.
Look at this article for more clearance
https://blog.codemagic.io/flutter-tutorial-provider/
We have 3 things to understand here.
When you wrap Provider around a widget it sets up a reference to a widget tree and a variable whose changes you want to refer to.
using Provider.of(context) you can get access to the variable you want to monitor and make changes in it.
Provider.of(context) with and without listen gives you a reference to the above-declared Provider object and a widget tree where it can be accessed from. But as said by others, it rebuild the whole widget tree it sits on top of when listen is not false.
In the end, you can use consumer to monitor any changes that happened using the above step
The consumer acts like a more granular listener and be applied to a fixed widget to help avoid unnecessary rebuilds.
it's just a personal preference and depends on how you understand and use provider.
so the way i think of provider is it's just an object that is providing a ChangeNotifier Object that has Code and Data down the widget Tree.
So,I use :
Consumer<T>
When i want to listen to changes in Data and update/rebuild my UI according to those changes.
Provider.of<T>
When i just want to call the Code. with the listen parameter set to false.
if your problem is to know what the difference is, here is a track
Consumer
reload consumer-only child widgets
Provider.of (with listen true)
reload from the last buildcontext found in the tree
actually in a simple example
exemple1 provider.of
in exemple1 when I click on my container, his increase his size ( gesturedetector send a newvalue at h variable , h variable is in function named method in provider)
with 'provider.of' flutter rebuild at the first Buildcontext below #override
that mean the totality of tree are rebuild
exemple2 consumer
in exemple2 when I click on my container, his increase his size ( gesturedetector send a newvalue at h variable , h variable is in function named method in provider)but with consumer only sélectionned widget are rebuild
that mean one widget are rebuild the other widget doesn't "move"
I hope I could help you
I would like to know the best way to pass the bloc. I read about the bloc providers, but what`s the difference between using them and just passing the bloc in the constructor like:
ExampleView X = ExampleView(bloc,...)
Actually I find this way easier to test and also a better way to keep the code cleaner. For example, if I have more blocs, something like this can happen:
XBlocProvider(
bloc: XBloc,
child: YBlocProvider(
bloc: Y,
child: ZBlocProvider...
)
or maybe it's just my lack of knowledge.
So, which ones are the benefits?
The problem with this:
ExampleView X = ExampleView(bloc,...)
It only make sense if you use your bloc as normal class/provider with some Stream\ValueNotifier. Otherwise it has some issues.
If it's global bloc, it's more exhausting way to pass it. You should use XBlocProvider on top of MaterialApp.
By the way, if it's global/top level bloc, you can do this:
XBlocProvider(
bloc: xBloc, // Singleton
child XPage,
...
This way, you can access this bloc from anywhere of the application and also you can listen it.
If it's local bloc, because the way we listen Bloc or ChangeNotifierProvider via InheritedWidget's updateShouldNotify method, it doesn't make sense to pass as constructor because you can't use it directly as you intended. You need to put that instance inside BlocProvider and consume it again, so it's extra work.
https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/InheritedWidget/updateShouldNotify.html
To overcome multi nested BlocProviders you can use MultiProvider or MultiBlocProvider.
Example:
MultiBlocProvider(
providers: [
XProvider(...),
YProvider(...),
ZProvider(...),
],
child: someWidget,
)
There are multi ways to pass depends on your need but don't worry about InheritedWidget because it's pretty fast and convenient way to obtain your XBlocProvider.
At the end, try to comprehend every approach, I especifically suggest you to grasp this article:
https://www.didierboelens.com/2018/12/reactive-programming---streams---bloc---practical-use-cases/
You'll get the idea when to use bloc with provider or as a singleton or instantiate like your example etc.
The first difference is how you access your bloc from the widget.
when you pass it through the constructor you have direct access to it
when you use BlocProvider then, in most cases depending on your
bloc implementation, you have obtain it via Provider which extends InheritedWidget
using context for example:
final xBloc = Provider.of<XBloc>(context);
What's more when you wrap your bloc with BlocProvider then your bloc's scope is limited to this widget's subtree so it can be only accessed by the BlocProviders descendants.
Not having to pass the bloc in the constructor is the benefit of using the provider. It reduces the complexity of your application by enabling you to propagate information down the widget tree with the help of InheritedWidget. All you just need is to access the bloc from the child widget with BlocProvider.of(context).
What does BuildContext do, and what information do we get out of it?
https://docs.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/BuildContext-class.html is just not clear.
https://flutter.dev/widgets-intro/#basic-widgets on the 9th instance of the term BuildContext there is an example, but it's not clear how it is being used. It's part of a much larger set of code that loses me, and so I am having a hard time understanding just what BuildContext is.
Can someone explain this in simple/very basic terms?
BuildContext is, like it's name is implying, the context in which a specific widget is built.
If you've ever done some React before, that context is kind of similar to React's context (but much smoother to use) ; with a few bonuses.
Generally speaking, there are 2 use cases for context :
Interact with your parents (get/post data mostly)
Once rendered on screen, get your screen size and position
The second point is kinda rare. On the other hand, the first point is used nearly everywhere.
For example, when you want to push a new route, you'll do Navigator.of(context).pushNamed('myRoute').
Notice the context here. It'll be used to get the closest instance of NavigatorState widget above in the tree. Then call the method pushNamed on that instance.
Cool, but when do I want to use it ?
BuildContext is really useful when you want to pass data downward without having to manually assign it to every widgets' configurations for example ; you'll want to access them everywhere. But you don't want to pass it on every single constructor.
You could potentially make a global or a singleton ; but then when confs change your widgets won't automatically rebuild.
In this case, you use InheritedWidget. With it you could potentially write the following :
class Configuration extends InheritedWidget {
final String myConf;
const Configuration({this.myConf, Widget child}): super(child: child);
#override
bool updateShouldNotify(Configuration oldWidget) {
return myConf != oldWidget.myConf;
}
}
And then, use it this way :
void main() {
runApp(
new Configuration(
myConf: "Hello world",
child: new MaterialApp(
// usual stuff here
),
),
);
}
Thanks to that, now everywhere inside your app, you can access these configs using the BuildContext. By doing
final configuration = context.inheritFromWidgetOfExactType(Configuration);
And even cooler is that all widgets who call inheritFromWidgetOfExactType(Configuration) will automatically rebuild when the configurations change.
Awesome right ?
what is the BuildContext object/context?
Before we knowing about BuildCotext, We have to know about the Element object.
What is Element object
(note: As a flutter developer we never worked with Element object, but we worked with an object(known as BuildContext object) that's similar to Element object)
The Element object is the build location of the current widget.
What's really mean by "build location" ?
when the framework builds a widget object by calling its constructor will correspondingly need to create an element object for that widget object.
And this element object represents the build location of that widget.
This element object has many useful instance methods.
Who uses the Element object and its methods ?
They are 02 parties that use the Element object and its methods.
Framework (To create RenderObject tree etc)
Developers (Like us)
What is BuildContext object ?
BuildContext objects are actually Element objects. The BuildContext interface is used to discourage direct manipulation of Element objects.
So BuildContext object = discouraged element object (That contains less number of instance methods compared to the original Element object)
Why framework discouraged the Element object and pass it to us ?
Because Element object has instance methods that must only be needed by the framework itself.
but what happens when we access these methods by us, It's something that should not be done.
So that the reason why framework discouraged the Element object and pass it to us
Ok Now let's talk about the topic
What does BuildContext object do in Flutter ?
BuildContext object has several useful methods to easily perform certain tasks that need to be done in the widget tree.
findAncestorWidgetOfExactType().
Returns the nearest ancestor widget of the given type T.
findAncestorStateOfType().
Returns the State object of the nearest ancestor StatefulWidget.
dependOnInheritedWidgetOfExactType().
Obtains the nearest widget of the given type T, which must be the type of a concrete InheritedWidget subclass, and registers this build context with that widget such that when that widget changes.
[Used by Provider package]
The above methods are mostly used instance methods of BuildContext object if you want to see all the methods of that BuildContext object visit this LINK + see #remi Rousselot's answer.