Develop Reference

Refresh Data in ViewModel when Navigating back - Android(Kotlin)

I have the following setup.
I have a screen with a list of items (PlantsScreen). When clicking on an item from the list I will be navigated to another screen (AddEditPlantScreen). After editing and saving the item and navigating back to the listScreen, I want to show the updated list of items. But the list is not displaying the updated list but the list before the edit of the item.
In order to have a single source of truth, I am fetching the data from a node.js Back-End and then saving it to the local repository (Room). I think I need to refresh the state in the ViewModel to fetch the updated list from my repository.
I know I can use a Job to do this, but it throws me an error. Is this the correct approach when returning a Flow?
If yes, how can I achieve this.
If not, what alternative approach do I have?
plantsListViewModel.kt
private val _state = mutableStateOf<PlantsState>(PlantsState())
val state: State<PlantsState> = _state
init {
getPlants(true, "")
}
private fun getPlants(fetchFromBackend: Boolean, query: String) {
viewModelScope.launch {
plantRepository.getPlants(fetchFromBackend, query)
.collect { result ->
when (result) {
is Resource.Success -> {
result.data?.let { plants ->
_state.value = state.value.copy(
plants = plants,
)
}
}
}
}
}
}
Here is my repository where I fetch the items in the list from.
// plantsRepository.kt
override suspend fun getPlants(
fetchFromBackend: Boolean,
query: String
): Flow<Resource<List<Plant>>> {
return flow {
emit(Resource.Loading(true))
val localPlants = dao.searchPlants(query)
emit(
Resource.Success(
data = localPlants.map { it.toPlant() },
)
)
val isDbEmpty = localPlants.isEmpty() && query.isBlank()
val shouldLoadFromCache = !isDbEmpty && !fetchFromBackend
if (shouldLoadFromCache) {
emit(Resource.Loading(false))
return#flow
}
val response = plantApi.getPlants().plants
dao.clearPlants()
dao.insertPlants(
response.map { it.toPlantEntity() }
)
emit(Resource.Success(
data = dao.searchPlants("").map { it.toPlant() }
))
emit(Resource.Loading(false))
}
}
The full code for reference can be found here:
https://gitlab.com/fiehra/plants
Thank you!

You actually have two sources of truth: One is the room database, the other the _state object in the view model.
To reduce this to a single source of truth you need to move the collection of the flow to the compose function where the data is needed. You will do this using the extension function StateFlow.collectAsStateWithLifecycle() from the artifact androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-runtime-compose. This will automatically subscribe and unsubscribe the flow when your composable enters and leaves the composition.
Since you want the business logic to stay in the view model you have to apply it before the flow is collected. The idea is to only transform the flow in the view model:
class PlantsViewModel {
private var fetchFromBackend: Boolean by mutableStateOf(true)
private var query: String by mutableStateOf("")
#OptIn(ExperimentalCoroutinesApi::class)
val state: StateFlow<PlantsState> =
snapshotFlow { fetchFromBackend to query }
.flatMapLatest { plantRepository.getPlants(it.first, it.second) }
.mapLatest(PlantsState::of)
.stateIn(
scope = viewModelScope,
started = SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5_000),
initialValue = PlantsState.Loading,
)
// ...
}
If you want other values for fetchFromBackend and query you just need to update the variables; the flow will automatically recalculate the state object. It can be as simple as just calling something like this:
fun requestPlant(fetchFromBackend: Boolean, query: String) {
this.fetchFromBackend = fetchFromBackend
this.query = query
}
The logic to create a PlantsState from a result can then be done somewhere else in the view model. Replace your PlantsViewModel.getPlants() with this and place it at file level outside of the PlantsViewModel class:
private fun PlantsState.Companion.of(result: Resource<List<Plant>>): PlantsState = when (result) {
is Resource.Success -> {
result.data?.let { plants ->
PlantsState.Success(
plants = plants,
)
} ?: TODO("handle case where result.data is null")
}
is Resource.Error -> {
PlantsState.Error("an error occurred")
}
is Resource.Loading -> {
PlantsState.Loading
}
}
With the PlantsState class replaced by this:
sealed interface PlantsState {
object Loading : PlantsState
data class Success(
val plants: List<Plant> = emptyList(),
val plantOrder: PlantOrder = PlantOrder.Name(OrderType.Descending),
val isOrderSectionVisible: Boolean = false,
) : PlantsState
data class Error(
val error: String,
) : PlantsState
companion object
}
Then, wherever you need the state (in PlantsScreen f.e.), you can get a state object with
val state by viewModel.state.collectAsStateWithLifecycle()
Thanks to kotlin flows state will always contain the most current data from the room database, and thanks to the compose magic your composables will always update when anything in the state object updates, so that you really only have one single source of truth.
Additionally:
PlantRepository.getPlants() should not be marked as a suspend function because it just creates a flow and won't block; long running data retrieval will be done in the collector.
You will need to manually import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue and the androidx.compose.runtime.setValue for some of the delegates to work.

After #Leviathan was able to point me in the right direction i refactored my code by changing the return types of my repository functions, implementing use cases and returning a Flow<List<Plant>> instead of Flow<Resource<List<Plant>>> for simplicity purposes.
Further removed the suspend marker of the functions in the PlantDao.kt and PlantRepository.kt as pointed out by Leviathan.
// PlantRepositoryImplementation.kt
override fun getPlants(
fetchFromBackend: Boolean,
query: String
): Flow<List<Plant>> {
return flow {
if (fetchFromBackend) {
val response = plantApi.getPlants().plants
dao.clearPlants()
dao.insertPlants(
response.map { it.toPlantEntity() }
)
val localPlants = dao.searchPlants(query)
localPlants.collect { plants ->
emit(plants.map { it.toPlant() })
return#collect
}
} else {
val localPlants = dao.searchPlants(query)
localPlants.collect { plants ->
emit(plants.map { it.toPlant() })
return#collect
}
}
}
}
I started using a Job and GetPlants usecase in my viewModel like this:
// PlantsViewModel.kt
private fun getPlants(plantOrder: PlantOrder, fetchFromBackend: Boolean, query: String) {
getPlantsJob?.cancel()
getPlantsJob = plantUseCases.getPlants(plantOrder, fetchFromBackend, query)
.onEach { plants ->
_state.value = state.value.copy(
plants = plants,
plantOrder = plantOrder
)
}.launchIn(viewModelScope)
I also had to remove the suspend in the PlantDao.kt
// PlantDao.kt
fun searchPlants(query: String): Flow<List<PlantEntity>>
This is the code for my GetPlants usecase:
// GetPlantsUsecase.kt
class GetPlants
(
private val repository: PlantRepository,
) {
operator fun invoke(
plantOrder: PlantOrder = PlantOrder.Name(OrderType.Descending),
fetchFromBackend: Boolean,
query: String
): Flow<List<Plant>> {
return repository.getPlants(fetchFromBackend, query).map { plants ->
when (plantOrder.orderType) {
is OrderType.Ascending -> {
// logic for sorting
}
}
is OrderType.Descending -> {
// logic for sorting
}
}
}
}
}

State and MutableStateof dosnt observe data when it changes or force recomposition Like LiveData

I can't figure out how states work in jetpack compose, as I read, whenever the value changes in a State or mutablestate changes it's supposed to force recomposition and change the view, but that doesn't happen in my case
Here
I am posting data to server and I receive the response successfully in my log
#HiltViewModel
class LoginViewModel #Inject constructor(
private val loginUseCase: CheckPhoneUseCase
) : ViewModel() {
private val _state = mutableStateOf(ResponseState())
val state : State<ResponseState> = _state
fun checkPhone(phone: String) : Boolean{
val body = PhoneBodyModel(phone.trim())
loginUseCase.checkPhone(body).onEach { response ->
when (response) {
is Resource.Success -> {
_state.value = ResponseState(isSuccess = response.data?.status ?: false)
Log.v("LoginViewModel", "checkPhone: ${_state.value.isSuccess}")
}
is Resource.Error -> {
_state.value = ResponseState(isError = response.message ?: "UnExpected Error")
Log.v("LoginViewModel", "checkPhone: ${response.message}")
}
is Resource.Loading -> {
_state.value = ResponseState(isLoading = true)
}
}
}.launchIn(viewModelScope)
return _state.value.isSuccess
}
and in my Compose Screen
if (!phoneOrEmail.isEmpty()){
viewModel.checkPhone(phoneOrEmail)
Log.v("viewModel.state", viewModel.state.value.isSuccess.toString())
if (viewModel.state.value.isSuccess){
Log.v("viewModel.state", viewModel.state.value.isSuccess.toString())
navController.navigate(route = Screen.OTPScreen.withArgs(phoneOrEmail))
}
// Toast.makeText(context, "Phone number is not registered", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show()
}
UADProgressBare(isDisplayed = viewModel.state.value.isLoading,
modifier = Modifier.padding(24.dp))
and through logging, I can see that the data is received, yet in my Compose Screen the data doesn't change at all from its initial value and doesn't force recomposition, as I read and watched online, that State and MutablkeState suppose to force recomposition and receive the new value whenever it changes just like LiveData, yet it doesn't work as LiveData for me, I don't know what is my mistake here so I can force recomposition whenever the value changes.

Maybe you should use this way:
#Composable
fun ComposeScreen() {
//initiate your check phone or email
...
LaunchedEffect(Unit) {
snapshotFlow { viewModel.state.value }
.collect {
if (it.isSuccess) ... else ...
}
}
}
or
#Composable
fun ComposeScreen() {
//initiate your check phone or email
...
LaunchedEffect(viewModel.state.value) {
if (viewModel.state.value.isSuccess){ ... }
}

How to schedule an API request asynchronously for one composable screen from another composable screen? (Jetpack Compose)

I'm a junior Android developer and trying to build a Facebook-like social media app. My issue is that when I bookmark a post in Screen B and the action succeeds, (1) I want to launch an API request in Screen A while in Screen B and (2) update the bookmarked icon ONLY for that particular post.
For the second part of the issue, I tried these two solutions.
I relaunched a manual API request on navigating back to Screen A. This updates the whole list when there's only one small change, hence very inefficient.
I built another URL route to fetch that updated post only and launched it on navigating back to Screen A. But to insert the newly updated post at the old index, the list has to be mutable and I ain't sure this is a good practice.
Please help me on how to solve this issue or similar issues. I'm not sure if this should be done by passing NavArg to update locally and then some or by using web sockets. Thanks in advance.
data class ScreenAState(
val posts: List<Post> = emptyList(),
val isLoading: Boolean = false)
data class ScreenBState(
val post: PostDetail? = null,
val isBookmarked: Boolean? = null)
data class Post(
val title: String,
val isBookMarked: Boolean,
val imageUrl: String)
data class PostDetail(
val title: String,
val content: String,
val isBookMarked: Boolean,
val imageUrl: String)

I suggest you continue with using your logic that will update your list on return from screen B to screen A, but instead of using simple list, you could use:
https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/compose/runtime/snapshots/SnapshotStateList
This list is designed for what you need I think. Update just that one element.
In mean time, you can change that item from list to some loading dummy item, if you want to have loading like view while you wait for API call to finish.

The problem is how to handle data consistency, which is not directly related to jetpack compose. I suggest you solve this problem at the model level. Return flow instead of static data in the repository, and use collectAsState in the jetpack compose to monitor data changes.
It's hard to give an example, because it depends on the type of Model layer. If it's a database, androidx's room library supports returning flow; if it's a network, take a look at this.
https://gist.github.com/FishHawk/6e4706646401bea20242bdfad5d86a9e
Triggering a refresh is not a good option. It is better to maintain an ActionChannel in the repository for each list that is monitored. use the ActionChannel to modify the list locally to notify compose of the update.
For example, you can make a PagedList if the data layer is network. With onStart and onClose, channels can be added or removed from the repository, thus giving the repository the ability to update all the observed lists.
sealed interface RemoteListAction<out T> {
data class Mutate<T>(val transformer: (MutableList<T>) -> MutableList<T>) : RemoteListAction<T>
object Reload : RemoteListAction<Nothing>
object RequestNextPage : RemoteListAction<Nothing>
}
typealias RemoteListActionChannel<T> = Channel<RemoteListAction<T>>
suspend fun <T> RemoteListActionChannel<T>.mutate(transformer: (MutableList<T>) -> MutableList<T>) {
send(RemoteListAction.Mutate(transformer))
}
suspend fun <T> RemoteListActionChannel<T>.reload() {
send(RemoteListAction.Reload)
}
suspend fun <T> RemoteListActionChannel<T>.requestNextPage() {
send(RemoteListAction.RequestNextPage)
}
class RemoteList<T>(
private val actionChannel: RemoteListActionChannel<T>,
val value: Result<PagedList<T>>?,
) {
suspend fun mutate(transformer: (MutableList<T>) -> MutableList<T>) =
actionChannel.mutate(transformer)
suspend fun reload() = actionChannel.reload()
suspend fun requestNextPage() = actionChannel.requestNextPage()
}
data class PagedList<T>(
val list: List<T>,
val appendState: Result<Unit>?,
)
data class Page<Key : Any, T>(
val data: List<T>,
val nextKey: Key?,
)
fun <Key : Any, T> remotePagingList(
startKey: Key,
loader: suspend (Key) -> Result<Page<Key, T>>,
onStart: ((actionChannel: RemoteListActionChannel<T>) -> Unit)? = null,
onClose: ((actionChannel: RemoteListActionChannel<T>) -> Unit)? = null,
): Flow<RemoteList<T>> = callbackFlow {
val dispatcher = Dispatchers.IO.limitedParallelism(1)
val actionChannel = Channel<RemoteListAction<T>>()
var listState: Result<Unit>? = null
var appendState: Result<Unit>? = null
var value: MutableList<T> = mutableListOf()
var nextKey: Key? = startKey
onStart?.invoke(actionChannel)
suspend fun mySend() {
send(
RemoteList(
actionChannel = actionChannel,
value = listState?.map {
PagedList(
appendState = appendState,
list = value,
)
},
)
)
}
fun requestNextPage() = launch(dispatcher) {
nextKey?.let { key ->
appendState = null
mySend()
loader(key)
.onSuccess {
value.addAll(it.data)
nextKey = it.nextKey
listState = Result.success(Unit)
appendState = Result.success(Unit)
mySend()
}
.onFailure {
if (listState?.isSuccess != true)
listState = Result.failure(it)
appendState = Result.failure(it)
mySend()
}
}
}
var job = requestNextPage()
launch(dispatcher) {
actionChannel.receiveAsFlow().flowOn(dispatcher).collect { action ->
when (action) {
is RemoteListAction.Mutate -> {
value = action.transformer(value)
mySend()
}
is RemoteListAction.Reload -> {
job.cancel()
listState = null
appendState = null
value.clear()
nextKey = startKey
mySend()
job = requestNextPage()
}
is RemoteListAction.RequestNextPage -> {
if (!job.isActive) job = requestNextPage()
}
}
}
}
launch(dispatcher) {
Connectivity.instance?.interfaceName?.collect {
if (job.isActive) {
job.cancel()
job = requestNextPage()
}
}
}
awaitClose {
onClose?.invoke(actionChannel)
}
}
And in repository:
val postListActionChannels = mutableListOf<RemoteListActionChannel<Post>>()
suspend fun listPost() =
daoFlow.filterNotNull().flatMapLatest {
remotePagingList(
startKey = 0,
loader = { page ->
it.mapCatching { dao ->
/* dao function, simulate network operation, return List<Post> */
dao.listPost(page)
}.map { Page(it, if (it.isEmpty()) null else page + 1) }
},
onStart = { postListActionChannels.add(it) },
onClose = { postListActionChannels.remove(it) },
)
}
suspend fun markPost(title: String) =
oneshot {
/* dao function, simulate network operation, return Unit */
it.markPost(title)
}.onSuccess {
postListActionChannels.forEach { ch ->
ch.mutate { list ->
list.map {
if (it.title == title && !it.isBookMarked)
it.copy(isBookMarked = true)
else it
}.toMutableList()
}
}
}

Jetpack Compose: Room returns null for list of items

I am trying to get list of todos from database with livedata however, while debugging it always shows null for value. I have provided my files below.
My Dao:
#Query("SELECT * FROM todo_table WHERE IIF(:isCompleted IS NULL, 1, isCompleted = :isCompleted)")
fun getTodos(isCompleted: Boolean?): LiveData<List<Todo>>
My ViewModel:
private var _allTodoList = MutableLiveData<List<Todo>>()
var allTodoList: LiveData<List<Todo>> = _allTodoList
init {
viewModelScope.launch(Dispatchers.IO) {
val list = todoRepository.getTodos(null)
_allTodoList.postValue(list.value)
}
}
fun onFilterClick(todoType: Constants.TodoType) {
when (todoType) {
Constants.TodoType.ALL -> {
viewModelScope.launch(Dispatchers.IO) {
val list = todoRepository.getTodos(null)
_allTodoList.postValue(list.value)
}
}
Constants.TodoType.COMPLETED -> {
viewModelScope.launch(Dispatchers.IO) {
val list = todoRepository.getTodos(true)
_allTodoList.postValue(list.value)
}
}
Constants.TodoType.INCOMPLETE -> {
viewModelScope.launch(Dispatchers.IO) {
val list = todoRepository.getTodos(false)
_allTodoList.postValue(list.value)
}
}
}
}
My MainActivity:
val allTodoList = viewModel.allTodoList.observeAsState()
allTodoList.value?.run {//value is always null
if (!isNullOrEmpty()) {
...
} else {
...
}
}
While debugging I found that allTodoList.value is always null however, when I manually run same query in app inspection I the get the desired results.

You can simplify your code, see if it works.
ViewModel only needs this:
val allTodoList: LiveData<List<Todo>> = todoRepository.getTodos(null)
MainActivity:
val allTodoList by viewModel.allTodoList.observeAsState()
if (!allTodoList.isNullOrEmpty()) {
...
} else {
...
}

You are not observing the LiveData you get from Room.
YourDao.getTodos() and LiveData.getValue() are not suspend functions, so you get the current value, which is null because Room has not yet fetched the values from SQLite.
A possible solution would be to set the todo type as a live data itself and use a switchMap transformation in the ViewModel :
private val todoType = MutableLiveData<Constants.TodoType>(Constants.TodoType.ALL)
val allTodoList: LiveData<List<Todo>> = androidx.lifecycle.Transformations.switchMap(todoType) { newType ->
val typeAsBoolean = when(newType) {
Constants.TodoType.ALL -> null
Constants.TodoType.COMPLETED -> true
Constants.TodoType.INCOMPLETE -> false
else -> throw IllegalArgumentException("Not a possible value")
}
// create the new wrapped LiveData
// the transformation takes care of subscribing to it
// (and unsubscribing to the old one)
todoRepository.getTodos(typeAsBoolean)
}
fun onFilterClick(todoType: Constants.TodoType) {
// triggers the transformation
todoType.setValue(todoType)
}
This is in fact the exact use case demonstrated in the reference doc

How to observe data inside viewmodel?

I have connect my android application to firebase and am using it to retrieve Authentication details and data from firestone. I am using an MVVM architecture and live data for this. The problem is that I need to retrieve email address first and then used this data to query the firestone which contain documents with ID = emailID. You can see my viewmodel. The value for the emailID is null when every I run this. How can I accomplish this while following the MVVP style of coding ?
#Edit: I need to understand how can check if the live data has been initialised with a value in the case where one livedata value depends on the other.
class ProfileViewModel(): ViewModel() {
var random =""
private var _name = MutableLiveData<String>()
val userName
get()=_name
private var _post = MutableLiveData<String>()
val userPost
get()=_post
private var _imgUrl = MutableLiveData<Uri>()
val userImgUrl
get()=_imgUrl
private var _emailId = MutableLiveData<String>()
val userEmailId
get()=_emailId
init{
getUserDataFromProfile()
getUserPostFromFirestone()
}
private fun getUserPostFromFirestone() {
val mDatabaseInstance: FirebaseFirestore = FirebaseFirestore.getInstance()
// _emailId.observe(getApplication(), Observer {
//
// } )
if(_emailId.value!=null){
mDatabaseInstance.collection("users").document(_emailId.value)
.get()
.addOnCompleteListener { task ->
if (task.isSuccessful) {
_post.value = task.result?.data?.get("post").toString()
} else {
// Log.w("firestone", "Error getting documents.", task.exception)
_post.value = "Unable to Retrieve"
}
}
}
}
private fun getUserDataFromProfile() {
val mAuth = FirebaseAuth.getInstance()
val currentUser = mAuth.currentUser
random = currentUser?.displayName!!
_name.value = currentUser?.displayName
_post.value = "Unknown"
_imgUrl.value = currentUser?.photoUrl
_emailId.value = currentUser?.email
}
}

If you write a wrapper over the Firebase call and expose it as a LiveData (or, in this case, I'll pretend it's wrapped in a suspendCoroutineCancellable), in which case whenever you want to chain stuff, you either need MediatorLiveData to combine multiple LiveDatas into a single stream (see this library I wrote for this specific purpose) or just switchMap.
private val auth = FirebaseAuth.getInstance()
val imgUrl: LiveData<Uri> = MutableLiveData<Uri>(auth.currentUser?.photoUrl)
val emailId: LiveData<String> = MutableLiveData<String>(auth.currentUser?.email)
val post = emailId.switchMap { emailId ->
liveData {
emit(getUserByEmailId(emailId))
}
}

you can set observer to LiveData and remove it when you don't need it:
class ProfileViewModel : ViewModel() {
private val _email = MutableLiveData<String>()
private val emailObserver = Observer<String> { email ->
//email is here
}
init {
_email.observeForever(emailObserver)
}
override fun onCleared() {
_email.removeObserver(emailObserver)
super.onCleared()
}
}

Try using coroutines for the sequential execution of the code. so once you get the output of one and then the second one starts executing. If this isnt working Please let me know i can try help you.
init{
viewModelScope.launch{
getUserDataFromProfile()
getUserPostFromFirestone()
}
}