state_lifecycle_observer 0.0.3

A reusable Flutter state observer pattern implementation.

state_lifecycle_observer

A Flutter package to solve state reuse problems using an Observer pattern.

Features

• LifecycleObserver: A base class for creating reusable state observers.
• LifecycleObserverMixin: A mixin to manage the lifecycle of observers within a State.
• Built-in Observers: Classified into Base, Widget, and Anim categories to cover common scenarios.

Usage

1. Create a StatefulWidget and mixin LifecycleObserverMixin.
2. Instantiate observers in initState. They automatically register themselves.
3. Call super.build(context) in your build method.

class MyLogo extends StatefulWidget {
  final Duration speed;
  const MyLogo({super.key, required this.speed});

  @override
  State<MyLogo> createState() => _MyLogoState();
}

class _MyLogoState extends State<MyLogo> 
    with TickerProviderStateMixin, LifecycleObserverMixin<MyLogo> {
  
  late AnimControllerObserver _animObserver;
  late ScrollControllerObserver _scrollObserver;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();

    // LOGIC REUSE: Pass 'this' as the first argument.
    // The observer automatically registers itself to the mixin.
    _animObserver = AnimControllerObserver(
      this,
      duration: () => widget.speed,
    );

    _scrollObserver = ScrollControllerObserver(
      this,
      initialScrollOffset: 100.0,
    );

    _animObserver.target.repeat(reverse: true);
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    // Notify observers about build
    super.build(context);
    
    return SingleChildScrollView(
      controller: _scrollObserver.target,
      child: ScaleTransition(
        scale: _animObserver.target, 
        child: const FlutterLogo()
      ),
    );
  }
}

Built-in Observers

The library provides three main categories of built-in observers: Base, Widget, and Anim.

1. Base Observers (observer/base.dart)

General-purpose observers for data and async operations.

• ListenableObserver: Listens to any Listenable (e.g., ValueNotifier, ChangeNotifier) and rebuilds the widget when notified.
• FutureObserver<T>: Manages a Future, exposing the current state as an AsyncSnapshot.
• StreamObserver<T>: Manages a Stream subscription, creating an AsyncSnapshot and handling active/done states.

2. Widget Observers (observer/widget.dart)

Observers that simplify the creation, disposal, and management of common Flutter controllers.

• ScrollControllerObserver: Manages ScrollController.
• PageControllerObserver: Manages PageController.
• TabControllerObserver: Manages TabController. Requires TickerProvider.
• TextEditingControllerObserver: Manages TextEditingController.
• FocusNodeObserver: Manages FocusNode.

3. Anim Observers (observer/anim.dart)

Observers for animation-related classes.

• AnimControllerObserver: Manages AnimationController. Automatically syncs duration and reverseDuration from the widget configuration.
• AnimationObserver<T>: Listens to an Animation<T> object and rebuilds the widget when the value changes.

Custom Observer

You can easily create your own observers by extending LifecycleObserver<V>.

Example: A UserDataObserver that fetches data.

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:state_lifecycle_observer/state_lifecycle_observer.dart';

class Data {
  final String id;
  final String info;
  Data(this.id, this.info);
}

// LifecycleObserver<V> where V is ValueNotifier<Data?>
class UserDataObserver extends LifecycleObserver<ValueNotifier<Data?>> {
  // Mechanism to retrieve the latest param from the widget
  final String Function() getUserId;
  
  // Internal state to track changes
  late String _currentUserId;

  UserDataObserver(
    super.state, {
    required this.getUserId,
  });

  // 1. Create the target (called in constructor and when key changes)
  @override
  ValueNotifier<Data?> buildTarget() {
    _currentUserId = getUserId();
    final notifier = ValueNotifier<Data?>(null);
    _fetchData(_currentUserId, notifier); // Start fetch
    return notifier;
  }

  // 2. Handle widget updates (if key doesn't change)
  @override
  void onDidUpdateWidget() {
    super.onDidUpdateWidget();
    // Check if the dependency (userId) has changed without triggering a full rebuild (if key wasn't used)
    final newUserId = getUserId();
    if (newUserId != _currentUserId) {
      debugPrint('UserId changed from $_currentUserId to $newUserId');
      _currentUserId = newUserId;
      _fetchData(_currentUserId, target);
    }
  }

  @override
  void onBuild(BuildContext context) {
    debugPrint('Building with user: $_currentUserId');
  }

  // 3. Cleanup
  @override
  void onDisposeTarget(ValueNotifier<Data?> target) {
    target.dispose();
  }

  void _fetchData(String id, ValueNotifier<Data?> notifier) async {
    // Simulate network request
    await Future.delayed(const Duration(milliseconds: 500));
    // Simple check to avoid race conditions if observer was disposed/recreated
    if (_currentUserId == id) { 
      notifier.value = Data(id, 'Info for $id');
    }
  }
}

Using key to Recreate Targets

The key parameter functions similarly to React's useEffect dependencies or Flutter's Key. When the value returned by the key callback changes, the observer will:

1. Dispose the current target (calls onDisposeTarget).
2. Re-create the target (calls buildTarget).

This is useful when your Controller depends on a specific property (e.g. userId) and needs to be fully reset when that property changes.

_observer = MyObserver(
  this,
  // When 'userId' changes, the old target is disposed and a new one is built.
  key: () => widget.userId, 
);

Note: Using key is not strictly necessary to recreate the target. You can create a new Observer instance.

Comparison with flutter_hooks

Feature	state_lifecycle_observer	flutter_hooks
Paradigm	OOP (Classes)	Functional (Hooks)
Base Class	Standard StatefulWidget	HookWidget
Lifecycle	Explicit (buildTarget, onDispose)	Implicit (useEffect)
Learning Curve	Low (Standard Flutter)	Moderate (Rules of Hooks)
Magic	Low (Mixin + List)	High (Element logic)
Conditional Logic	Supported anywhere	only allowed in build