Creating a custom controller in Flutter

Question

I created a widget named InfiniteScroll which handles asynchronously loaded data and renders it with ListView.builder. However I am having trouble creating a controller for it (for example for clearing all the loaded data). I read through the implementation of existing controllers such as TextEditingController but I can't seem to wrap my head around it. Here's an example of what I'm trying to achieve:

// I have
InfiniteScroll(
  fetchMore: () async {}, // fetching more data
  builder: (data) {}, // building an item
)

// need
InfiniteScroll(
  controller: _infiniteScrollController,
  fetchMore: () async {}, // fetching more data
  builder: (data) {} // building an item
)
// later
_infiniteScrollController.clearItems();

How to create such a controller? I am using flutter_hooks for local state management if that matters.

Answer 1

I don't think the answer of @ValdaXD describes a good solution.

The way this is usually solved, also in native Flutter widgets like TextField or ScrollController is a controller class that extends ChangeNotifier.

The controller would handle the items and provide a public API to clear them:

class InfiniteScrollController extends ChangeNotifier {
  List<Widget> items = [];

  void clearItems() {
    items.clear();
    notifyListeners();
  }
}

The widget could then display the items via the injected controller:

class InfiniteScroll extends StatefulWidget {
  InfiniteScroll({
    required this.controller
  });

  final InfiniteScrollController controller;

  @override
  State<StatefulWidget> createState() {
    return _InfiniteScrollState();
  }
}

class _InfiniteScrollState extends State<InfiniteScroll> {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return ListView(
      children: widget.controller.items,
    );
  }
}

I have created a blog post with a different example but the same topic: a controller for a custom widget: https://www.flutterclutter.dev/flutter/tutorials/create-a-controller-for-a-custom-widget/2021/2149/

Answer 2

You could just use a GlobalKey. I dont really know how to make controllers, but this would be my solution. It is really similar to a GlobalKey, but I hope it works for you. But I found nothing on how to do Controllers soooo... yeah.

class InfiniteScroll extends StatefulWidget {
  InfiniteScrollController controller;
  InfiniteScroll({@required this.controller}) {}

  InfiniteScrollState createState() => InfiniteScrollState(controller);
}

class InfiniteScrollState extends State<InfiniteScroll> {
  InfiniteScrollController controller;

  InfiniteScrollState(this.controller) {
    this.controller.setParent(this);
  }

  Widget build(BuildContext context) {}
}


class InfiniteScrollController {
  InfiniteScrollState infiniteScroll;

  void setParent(InfiniteScrollState infiniteScroll) {
    this.infiniteScroll = infiniteScroll;
  }

  void clearItems() {
    infiniteScroll.setState(() {
      //clear Items
    });
  }

}

Answer 3

I just pass the functions that i want to expose to the controller.

typedef MyTypedef(int value);

class MyController {
  VoidCallback myFunction;
  VoidCallback mySecondFunction;
  MyTypedef functionThatReturns;

  void dispose() {
    //Remove any data that's will cause a memory leak/render errors in here
    myFunction = null;
    mySecondFunction = null;
    functionThatReturns = null;
  }
}

class MyWidget extends StatefulWidget {
  const MyWidget({this.controller});
  final MyController controller;
  @override
  _MyWidgetState createState() => _MyWidgetState();
}

class _MyWidgetState extends State<MyWidget> {
  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    MyController _controller = widget.controller;
    if (_controller != null) {
      _controller.myFunction = firstFunction;
      _controller.mySecondFunction = secondFunction;
      _controller.functionThatReturns = functionWithInt;
    }
  }

  void firstFunction() {
    print('Calling first function');
  }

  void secondFunction() {
    print('Calling second function');
  }

  void functionWithInt(int value) {
    print('Calling third function with value $value');
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Container();
  }
}

Then the usage is easy

//We create a variable somewhere
  ...
  MyController controller;
  ...

  //We initialize it
  ...
  controller = MyController();
  ...

  //We assign it
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MyWidget(controller: controller);
  }
}

//When we cant to call a function
...
controller.myFunction();
...

//When we want to dispose it
...
controller.dispose();
...

There is a little work to be done to avoid null exceptions , per example we could check if the controller references are null before calling the functions, and throw an error, but that's up to you to decide.