keyed_collection_widgets 0.1.0

BottomNavigationBar and IndexedStack that use item keys instead of indexes.

These are replacements to BottomNavigationBar and IndexedStack that use item keys instead if numeric indexes.

Problem

With traditional widgets you write something like

const tabFavorites = 0;
const tabSearch = 1;
// ...
if (tabIndex == tabFavorites) {
  // ...
}

If items in your bar can change, you get an error-prone conversion from indexes to meanings. Also with mature architecture you tend to use enum for your tabs, and even with constant bar items you must write code to convert between enum and int.

Usage

With this package you can use your enum directly with collection widgets. See the full runnable example in the example folder.

enum Tab {favorites, search}

class _MyHomeScreenState extends State<MyHomeScreen> {
  Tab _tab = Tab.favorites;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    // This is a simplified example: IndexedStack and KeyedStack are only
    // meaningful if they contain stateful widgets to preserve state
    // between switches.
    return Scaffold(
      body: KeyedStack<Tab>(
        itemKey: _tab,
        children: const {
          Tab.favorites: Center(child: Text('Favorites')),
          Tab.search: Center(child: Text('Search')),
        },
      ),
      bottomNavigationBar: KeyedBottomNavigationBar<Tab>(
        currentItemKey: _tab,
        items: const {
          Tab.favorites: BottomNavigationBarItem(
            icon: Icon(Icons.star),
            label: 'Favorites',
          ),
          Tab.search: BottomNavigationBarItem(
            icon: Icon(Icons.search),
            label: 'Search',
          ),
        },
        onTap: (tab) => setState((){ _tab = tab; }),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Some more advantages of enum over indexes:

• No way for the value to fall out of range.
• Easier debugging with IDE tools.
• You will never use magic numbers for indexes.

KeyedBottomNavigationBar and KeyedStack support all the arguments of their traditional counterparts. The only difference is that current keys are required and do not default to first element.