How do I call async property in Widget build method
DartFlutterDart Problem Overview
I'm new to Flutter and Dart, and I'm trying to build a Flutter app which displays the device information on the screen. For this purpose I'm trying to use this library: 'device_info' from here: https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/device_info#-readme-tab-
In the 'build' method of the MyApp class, I am trying to instantiate the object from 'device_info' package and call a property which happens to be an async property. Since the default build method is not asynchronous, how do I call this property in the build method? Following is my code:
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
DeviceInfoPlugin deviceInfoPlugin = DeviceInfoPlugin();
AndroidDeviceInfo androidDeviceInfo = await deviceInfoPlugin.androidInfo;
return MaterialApp(
title: 'My Device Info',
home: Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text('My Device Info'),
),
body: Center(
child: Text('Device model:' + 'Moto'),
),
),
);
}
}
Dart Solutions
Solution 1 - Dart
I would suggest you to use a FutureBuilder
:
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
class MyApp extends StatefulWidget {
@override
_MyAppState createState() => _MyAppState();
}
class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> {
// save in the state for caching!
DeviceInfoPlugin _deviceInfoPlugin;
@override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_deviceInfoPlugin = DeviceInfoPlugin();
}
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
title: 'My Device Info',
home: Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(
title: Text('My Device Info'),
),
body: FutureBuilder<AndroidDeviceInfo>(
future: _deviceInfoPlugin.androidInfo,
builder: (BuildContext context, AsyncSnapshot<AndroidDeviceInfo> snapshot) {
if (!snapshot.hasData) {
// while data is loading:
return Center(
child: CircularProgressIndicator(),
);
} else {
// data loaded:
final androidDeviceInfo = snapshot.data;
return Center(
child: Text('Android version: ${androidDeviceInfo.version}'),
);
}
},
),
),
);
}
}
In general, when using FutureBuilder
or Future
s, you have to keep in mind that the enclosing widget can be rebuilt at any time (e.g. because the device was rotated, or the keyboard is shown). That means the build
method is called again.
In this particular case it's not a problem because the plugin caches the value and returns it instantly, but in general you should NEVER create or get a Future
inside of the build
method. Instead, do it from initState
or a click event handler:
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
class FooWidget extends StatefulWidget {
@override
_FooWidgetState createState() => _FooWidgetState();
}
class _FooWidgetState extends State<FooWidget> {
Future<int> _bar;
@override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_bar = doSomeLongRunningCalculation();
}
void _retry() {
setState(() {
_bar = doSomeLongRunningCalculation();
});
}
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Column(
children: <Widget>[
FutureBuilder<int>(
future: _bar,
builder: (BuildContext context, AsyncSnapshot<int> snapshot) {
if (snapshot.hasData) {
return Text('The answer to everything is ${snapshot.data}');
} else {
return Text('Calculating answer...');
}
},
),
RaisedButton(
onPressed: _retry,
child: Text('Retry'),
)
],
);
}
}
Future<int> doSomeLongRunningCalculation() async {
await Future.delayed(Duration(seconds: 5)); // wait 5 sec
return 42;
}
Solution 2 - Dart
build()
expects a sync result, so using async
/await
is inappropriate in build()
.
Either use FutureBuilder where you return a placeholder Container()
while the async result is not yet available or move the async code to initState()
and update the state using setState
when the value becomes available to have the build
be executed again.
Solution 3 - Dart
You can achieve it by use of await/async (By @Günter Zöchbauer said not need to import lib as per latest version of dart.)
and call functions out of build method.
_getAndroidDeviceInfo() async{
AndroidDeviceInfo androidInfo = await deviceInfo.androidInfo;
print(androidInfo.device);
}
_get_iOS_DeviceInfo() async{
IosDeviceInfo iosDeviceInfo = await deviceInfo.iosInfo;
print(iosDeviceInfo.model);
}