Seamless App Experience: Mastering Network Connectivity
Imagine launching your favorite app, only to be greeted by an endless loading screen. Frustrating, right? This scenario highlights the importance of handling network connectivity in your application. As developers, it’s crucial to ensure a seamless user experience, even when dealing with unstable internet connections.
The Power of Connection Monitoring
By monitoring the user’s internet connection, you can trigger informative messages and take proactive measures to load necessary data when the connection is restored. This approach prevents a shaky connection from being the downfall of your app.
Building a Connectivity Handler: A Step-by-Step Guide
Let’s create a sample app that demonstrates the importance of connection monitoring. We’ll use the Superhero API to fetch data and display it to the user.
Setting Up the Project
First, create a new project and install the required dependencies, including http, stacked, and logger. Set up the data models, register dependencies and routes, and create the services folder.
Creating the Services
Next, create three services: ApiService, SuperheroService, and ConnectivityService. The ApiService handles outbound connections, the SuperheroService makes API calls and parses the response, and the ConnectivityService monitors the internet connection.
Checking Internet Connection Availability
In the ConnectivityService, create a method to check for internet availability using the InternetAddress.lookup() function. This method returns a boolean value indicating the connection status.
Setting Up Snackbars
Create a custom snackbar with two types: success and error. Configure the snackbar UI and set up the locator and snackbarUI in the main block.
Monitoring Internet Connectivity Using Streams
Use a stream to monitor the internet connection and update the view accordingly. Create a stream that calls the checkInternetConnectivity method and yields the result continually. Hook the stream to the view model and create a boolean variable to give the state of the connection.
Building the User Interface
Finally, build the UI, which includes an app bar that changes color and text based on the connection status and a body that displays the data from the Superhero API.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you’ve successfully learned how to set up a connectivity service, link it to the view model, and communicate the view state to your users. With LogRocket’s modern error tracking, you can take your app to the next level.