Bloc vs Provider: Managing State in Flutter Apps

 

Developers use various approaches in programming to obtain desired results. But how well and effectively will heavily relies on the competency level and approach planning done by a developer. This is similar to Flutter mobile app development as Flutter has various state management approaches or models like Bloc, provider, MobX, RedUX, etc. as it helps to manage the application state. For a developer it is key to understand these solutions as they have different approaches for different use cases. In this blog post we focus on some key differences between Bloc and Provider state management solutions.

What is Bloc?

It stands for Business Logic Component, a powerful state management library that follows the unidirectional data flow and reactive programming paradigms. It uses events to trigger state changes and handles asynchronous operations, error handling, and side-effect management. Bloc is used most commonly for managing complex business logic and state in large-scale Flutter applications.

What is a Provider?

It is a dependency injection and a state management solution that avails of the benefits of an in-built Flutter widget named InheritedWidget. through which objects can be provided and accessed globally within a widget tree. It also allows for sharing data, services, and dependencies without passing them through constructor arguments. Provider comes with ChangeNotifier, which makes state management simpler. It is used most commonly for managing UI-related state and dependencies in small and medium-scale Flutter applications.

Comparison between Bloc and Provider:

Developers can make Flutter mobile app development easier by understanding the key differences between state management solutions. By choosing the right solution at the right time, developers can effectively utilize the benefits of each approach for efficient state management in their apps.

Asynchronous Operations: Provider requires separate implementations to handle asynchronous operations as it does not have built-in support, whereas Bloc provides built-in support for performing asynchronous operations such as handling API calls, making it more convenient for managing asynchronous tasks.

Error-handling: In a bloc-state management solution, error handling is better and more effective through its in-built support feature. Likewise in a provider-state management solution, error handling is more cumbersome as it has to be implemented separately. This can impact the code quality, as code should always be error-free and easy to write.

Boilerplate Code: Boilerplate code heavily relies on the approach of a state management solution. In the Provider solution, leveraging the built-in Dart features of Flutter makes state management easier and requires less boilerplate code. On the other hand, Bloc state management solution may require more boilerplate code for setting up events, states, transitions, error handling, and side effects, due to its more complex architecture and approach. 

Flexibility: Flexibility is key in programming, and the Bloc solution offers more flexibility than Provider. Bloc allows for managing complex business logic, handling asynchronous operations, and integrating with other architectural patterns. Provider focuses on simple UI-related state management and dependencies.

Community: Despite their differences, both state management solutions have active, large communities that make developers' lives easier as they offer professional help or guidance whenever required. Yet the Flutter team officially recommends Provider as the solution for simple to immediate state management needs. 

Ecosystem: Provider has a larger ecosystem when compared to Bloc’s ecosystem. The provider has various packages and extensions, making it easier to find additional tools and resources for development. Bloc ecosystem has various libraries and tools that make state management patterns effective, such as flutter_bloc, bloc_test, etc. that make testing easier with additional tools.

Learning Curve: Bloc may have a steeper and more difficult learning curve due to its complex architecture and reactive programming paradigm, while Provider may be easier to grasp for developers familiar with traditional dependency injection concepts. The greater the difficulty in the learning curve, the more it affects the quality of flutter mobile app development projects as developers focus on learning rather than writing error-free code.

Triggering state changes: Bloc uses events to trigger state changes. The provider takes advantage of the in-built ChangeNotifier class, which notifies the listeners whenever the state changes. In comparison between the two, the Provider is ideal for managing state in Flutter as it is easier than the Bloc solution.

In summary, Bloc and Provider are both popular state management solutions in Flutter, each with its own strengths and use cases. Flutter mobile app development becomes easy for any developer if they are able to pick the best solution. The choice between Bloc and Provider depends on the specific requirements and complexity of your Flutter application. It is always important to seek professional guidance and help if required in case you find difficulty choosing between these two popular Flutter state management solutions that help in achieving desired results.