How to Manage State in Flutter with BLoC Pattern?

State management is an essential part of building any app, and it becomes especially important as your app grows in complexity. In Flutter, there are a number of approaches that you can take to manage state, including using global variables, Inherited Widgets, and more recently, the Provider package. One approach that has gained popularity in the Flutter community is the BLoC (Business Logic Component) pattern. The BLoC pattern is a reactive architecture that separates business logic from the user interface, making it easier to manage state and build modular, testable code. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the BLoC pattern and how it can be used to efficiently manage the state in a Flutter app.

The BLoC pattern works by separating business logic from the user interface, allowing for more modular and testable code. At the core of the pattern is the BLoC itself, which is a standalone Dart class that contains all of the business logic for a particular feature of the app. The BLoC class communicates with the rest of the app through streams, which are used to emit events and receive updates. To use the BLoC pattern in a Flutter app, you’ll need to

1. Create a BLoC class: The first step in implementing the BLoC pattern is to create a standalone Dart class that contains all of the business logic for a particular feature of the app. This class should be responsible for managing the state of the app and handling any user interactions or updates. 
2. Define streams: The BLoC class should define streams to emit events and receive updates. These streams can be used to communicate with the rest of the app and update the user interface.
3. Connect the BLoC to the user interface: To connect the BLoC to the user interface, use the StreamBuilder widget to listen to the streams defined in the BLoC class. The StreamBuilder will rebuild the user interface whenever a new event is emitted.
4. Handle user actions: The BLoC class should handle any user actions by updating its internal state and emitting events through the streams. This will allow the user interface to be updated in real-time.
5. Test the BLoC: Because the BLoC is a standalone class, it can be tested in isolation from the rest of the app. This makes it easier to ensure that the business logic is correct and that the BLoC is managing the state correctly. 
6. Keep the BLoC as simple as possible: To efficiently manage the state in Flutter with the BLoC pattern, it is important to keep the BLoC class as simple as possible. Avoid adding unnecessary logic or functionality to the BLoC class and keep the focus on managing state and handling user interactions
7. Update the state of the BLoC: The BLoC class should handle any updates to its internal state in a consistent and predictable manner. This can be done by using a state management library such as Provider, which will make it easier to update the state of the BLoC and keep the user interface in sync. 

Here’s an example of a simple BLoC class that manages a counter:

To use this BLoC in the UI, you can use a StreamBuilder widget to listen to the outCounter stream and rebuild the UI whenever the counter value changes.

There are many different ways that you can use the BLoC pattern to manage the state in a Flutter app. For example, you could use it to manage form input, handle authentication, or as the basis for more complex reactive architecture. In the next section, we’ll take a look at some advanced techniques for using the BLoC pattern in your Flutter apps. Creating a BLoC class for each feature of the app that needs to manage state, and then creating the necessary streams and sinks to communicate between the BLoC and the UI.  

Once you’re comfortable with the basics of the BLoC pattern, there are a number of advanced techniques that you can use to take your Flutter app to the next level.  One helpful tool for working with the BLoC pattern is the flutter_bloc library. This library provides a number of utility classes and functions that make it easier to implement the BLoC pattern in your app, including the Bloc base class and the BlocProvider widget. Using the flutter_bloc library can help you avoid some of the boilerplate code that is often associated with the BLoC pattern. 

Pros of BLoC Pattern

There are many other benefits to using the BLoC pattern, 

• Separation of concerns: The BLoC pattern promotes the separation of concerns by separating the business logic from the user interface. This allows for more modular and testable code, making it easier to maintain and update the app. 
• Reusability: The BLoC class is a standalone class that can be reused across different parts of the app. This makes it easy to share business logic across different features and screens, reducing the amount of duplicate code. 
• Improved testability: Because the BLoC is a standalone class, it can be tested in isolation from the rest of the app. This makes it easier to ensure that the business logic is correct and that the BLoC is managing the state correctly.
• Real-time updates: The use of streams and reactive programming in the BLoC pattern makes it easy to track and manage state changes in real time. This allows for more responsive and dynamic user interfaces.  
• Centralized state management: The BLoC pattern allows for centralized state management, making it easier to track and update the state of the app. This makes it easier to manage and maintain the app’s state and ensures that the user interface is always in sync with the business logic. 
• Better scalability: The BLoC pattern makes it easy to scale and update the app as it grows. Because the business logic is separated from the user interface, it is easy to add new features and functionality without affecting the rest of the app.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve seen how the BLoC pattern can be used to efficiently manage the state in a Flutter app. By separating business logic from the user interface and using streams to communicate between the two, the BLoC pattern can help you build modular, testable code that is easier to maintain and extend.