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GitHub Search

advanced

In the following tutorial, we’re going to build a GitHub Search app in Flutter and AngularDart to demonstrate how we can share the data and business logic layers between the two projects.

demo

demo

Key Topics

Common GitHub Search Library

The Common GitHub Search library will contain models, the data provider, the repository, as well as the bloc that will be shared between AngularDart and Flutter.

Setup

We’ll start off by creating a new directory for our application.

Terminal window
mkdir -p github_search/common_github_search

We need to create a pubspec.yaml with the required dependencies.

common_github_search/pubspec.yaml
name: common_github_search
description: Shared Code between AngularDart and Flutter
version: 1.0.0+1
publish_to: none
environment:
sdk: ">=3.0.0 <4.0.0"
dependencies:
bloc: ^8.1.0
equatable: ^2.0.3
http: ^0.13.3
stream_transform: ^2.0.0

Lastly, we need to install our dependencies.

Terminal window
dart pub get

That’s it for the project setup! Now we can get to work on building out the common_github_search package.

Github Client

The GithubClient which will be providing raw data from the GitHub API.

Let’s create github_client.dart.

common_github_search/lib/src/github_client.dart
import 'dart:async';
import 'dart:convert';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:http/http.dart' as http;
class GithubClient {
GithubClient({
http.Client? httpClient,
this.baseUrl = 'https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=',
}) : httpClient = httpClient ?? http.Client();
final String baseUrl;
final http.Client httpClient;
Future<SearchResult> search(String term) async {
final response = await httpClient.get(Uri.parse('$baseUrl$term'));
final results = json.decode(response.body) as Map<String, dynamic>;
if (response.statusCode == 200) {
return SearchResult.fromJson(results);
} else {
throw SearchResultError.fromJson(results);
}
}
}

Next we need to define our SearchResult and SearchResultError models.

Search Result Model

Create search_result.dart, which represents a list of SearchResultItems based on the user’s query:

lib/src/models/search_result.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
class SearchResult {
const SearchResult({required this.items});
factory SearchResult.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
final items = (json['items'] as List<dynamic>)
.map(
(dynamic item) =>
SearchResultItem.fromJson(item as Map<String, dynamic>),
)
.toList();
return SearchResult(items: items);
}
final List<SearchResultItem> items;
}

Search Result Item Model

Next, we’ll create search_result_item.dart.

lib/src/models/search_result_item.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
class SearchResultItem {
const SearchResultItem({
required this.fullName,
required this.htmlUrl,
required this.owner,
});
factory SearchResultItem.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
return SearchResultItem(
fullName: json['full_name'] as String,
htmlUrl: json['html_url'] as String,
owner: GithubUser.fromJson(json['owner'] as Map<String, dynamic>),
);
}
final String fullName;
final String htmlUrl;
final GithubUser owner;
}

GitHub User Model

Next, we’ll create github_user.dart.

lib/src/models/github_user.dart
class GithubUser {
const GithubUser({
required this.login,
required this.avatarUrl,
});
factory GithubUser.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
return GithubUser(
login: json['login'] as String,
avatarUrl: json['avatar_url'] as String,
);
}
final String login;
final String avatarUrl;
}

At this point, we have finished implementing SearchResult and its dependencies. Now we’ll move onto SearchResultError.

Search Result Error Model

Create search_result_error.dart.

lib/src/models/search_result_error.dart
class SearchResultError implements Exception {
SearchResultError({required this.message});
factory SearchResultError.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
return SearchResultError(
message: json['message'] as String,
);
}
final String message;
}

Our GithubClient is finished so next we’ll move onto the GithubCache, which will be responsible for memoizing as a performance optimization.

GitHub Cache

Our GithubCache will be responsible for remembering all past queries so that we can avoid making unnecessary network requests to the GitHub API. This will also help improve our application’s performance.

Create github_cache.dart.

lib/src/github_cache.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
class GithubCache {
final _cache = <String, SearchResult>{};
SearchResult? get(String term) => _cache[term];
void set(String term, SearchResult result) => _cache[term] = result;
bool contains(String term) => _cache.containsKey(term);
void remove(String term) => _cache.remove(term);
}

Now we’re ready to create our GithubRepository!

GitHub Repository

The Github Repository is responsible for creating an abstraction between the data layer (GithubClient) and the Business Logic Layer (Bloc). This is also where we’re going to put our GithubCache to use.

Create github_repository.dart.

lib/src/github_repository.dart
import 'dart:async';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
class GithubRepository {
const GithubRepository(this.cache, this.client);
final GithubCache cache;
final GithubClient client;
Future<SearchResult> search(String term) async {
final cachedResult = cache.get(term);
if (cachedResult != null) {
return cachedResult;
}
final result = await client.search(term);
cache.set(term, result);
return result;
}
}

At this point, we’ve completed the data provider layer and the repository layer so we’re ready to move on to the business logic layer.

GitHub Search Event

Our Bloc will be notified when a user has typed the name of a repository which we will represent as a TextChanged GithubSearchEvent.

Create github_search_event.dart.

lib/src/github_search_bloc/github_search_event.dart
import 'package:equatable/equatable.dart';
sealed class GithubSearchEvent extends Equatable {
const GithubSearchEvent();
}
final class TextChanged extends GithubSearchEvent {
const TextChanged({required this.text});
final String text;
@override
List<Object> get props => [text];
@override
String toString() => 'TextChanged { text: $text }';
}

Github Search State

Our presentation layer will need to have several pieces of information in order to properly lay itself out:

  • SearchStateEmpty- will tell the presentation layer that no input has been given by the user.

  • SearchStateLoading- will tell the presentation layer it has to display some sort of loading indicator.

  • SearchStateSuccess- will tell the presentation layer that it has data to present.

    • items- will be the List<SearchResultItem> which will be displayed.
  • SearchStateError- will tell the presentation layer that an error has occurred while fetching repositories.

    • error- will be the exact error that occurred.

We can now create github_search_state.dart and implement it like so.

lib/src/github_search_bloc/github_search_state.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:equatable/equatable.dart';
sealed class GithubSearchState extends Equatable {
const GithubSearchState();
@override
List<Object> get props => [];
}
final class SearchStateEmpty extends GithubSearchState {}
final class SearchStateLoading extends GithubSearchState {}
final class SearchStateSuccess extends GithubSearchState {
const SearchStateSuccess(this.items);
final List<SearchResultItem> items;
@override
List<Object> get props => [items];
@override
String toString() => 'SearchStateSuccess { items: ${items.length} }';
}
final class SearchStateError extends GithubSearchState {
const SearchStateError(this.error);
final String error;
@override
List<Object> get props => [error];
}

Now that we have our Events and States implemented, we can create our GithubSearchBloc.

GitHub Search Bloc

Create github_search_bloc.dart:

lib/src/github_search_bloc/github_search_bloc.dart
import 'package:bloc/bloc.dart';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:stream_transform/stream_transform.dart';
const _duration = Duration(milliseconds: 300);
EventTransformer<Event> debounce<Event>(Duration duration) {
return (events, mapper) => events.debounce(duration).switchMap(mapper);
}
class GithubSearchBloc extends Bloc<GithubSearchEvent, GithubSearchState> {
GithubSearchBloc({required this.githubRepository})
: super(SearchStateEmpty()) {
on<TextChanged>(_onTextChanged, transformer: debounce(_duration));
}
final GithubRepository githubRepository;
Future<void> _onTextChanged(
TextChanged event,
Emitter<GithubSearchState> emit,
) async {
final searchTerm = event.text;
if (searchTerm.isEmpty) return emit(SearchStateEmpty());
emit(SearchStateLoading());
try {
final results = await githubRepository.search(searchTerm);
emit(SearchStateSuccess(results.items));
} catch (error) {
emit(
error is SearchResultError
? SearchStateError(error.message)
: const SearchStateError('something went wrong'),
);
}
}
}

Awesome! We’re all done with our common_github_search package. The finished product should look like this.

Next, we’ll work on the Flutter implementation.

Flutter Github Search will be a Flutter application which reuses the models, data providers, repositories, and blocs from common_github_search to implement Github Search.

Setup

We need to start by creating a new Flutter project in our github_search directory at the same level as common_github_search.

Terminal window
flutter create flutter_github_search

Next, we need to update our pubspec.yaml to include all the necessary dependencies.

flutter_github_search/pubspec.yaml
name: flutter_github_search
description: A new Flutter project.
version: 1.0.0+1
publish_to: none
environment:
sdk: ">=3.0.0 <4.0.0"
dependencies:
bloc: ^8.1.0
common_github_search:
path: ../common_github_search
flutter:
sdk: flutter
flutter_bloc: ^8.1.1
url_launcher: ^6.0.0
flutter:
uses-material-design: true

Now, we need to install the dependencies.

Terminal window
flutter packages get

That’s it for project setup. Since the common_github_search package contains our data layer as well as our business logic layer, all we need to build is the presentation layer.

Search Form

We’re going to need to create a form with a _SearchBar and _SearchBody widget.

  • _SearchBar will be responsible for taking user input.
  • _SearchBody will be responsible for displaying search results, loading indicators, and errors.

Let’s create search_form.dart.

Our SearchForm will be a StatelessWidget which renders the _SearchBar and _SearchBody widgets.

_SearchBar is also going to be a StatefulWidget because it will need to maintain its own TextEditingController so that we can keep track of what a user has entered as input.

_SearchBody is a StatelessWidget which will be responsible for displaying search results, errors, and loading indicators. It will be the consumer of the GithubSearchBloc.

If our state is SearchStateSuccess, we render _SearchResults which we will implement next.

_SearchResults is a StatelessWidget which takes a List<SearchResultItem> and displays them as a list of _SearchResultItems.

_SearchResultItem is a StatelessWidget and is responsible for rendering the information for a single search result. It is also responsible for handling user interaction and navigating to the repository url on a user tap.

flutter_github_search/lib/search_form.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter_bloc/flutter_bloc.dart';
import 'package:url_launcher/url_launcher.dart';
class SearchForm extends StatelessWidget {
const SearchForm({super.key});
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Column(
children: <Widget>[
_SearchBar(),
_SearchBody(),
],
);
}
}
class _SearchBar extends StatefulWidget {
@override
State<_SearchBar> createState() => _SearchBarState();
}
class _SearchBarState extends State<_SearchBar> {
final _textController = TextEditingController();
late GithubSearchBloc _githubSearchBloc;
@override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_githubSearchBloc = context.read<GithubSearchBloc>();
}
@override
void dispose() {
_textController.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return TextField(
controller: _textController,
autocorrect: false,
onChanged: (text) {
_githubSearchBloc.add(
TextChanged(text: text),
);
},
decoration: InputDecoration(
prefixIcon: const Icon(Icons.search),
suffixIcon: GestureDetector(
onTap: _onClearTapped,
child: const Icon(Icons.clear),
),
border: InputBorder.none,
hintText: 'Enter a search term',
),
);
}
void _onClearTapped() {
_textController.text = '';
_githubSearchBloc.add(const TextChanged(text: ''));
}
}
class _SearchBody extends StatelessWidget {
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return BlocBuilder<GithubSearchBloc, GithubSearchState>(
builder: (context, state) {
return switch (state) {
SearchStateEmpty() => const Text('Please enter a term to begin'),
SearchStateLoading() => const CircularProgressIndicator.adaptive(),
SearchStateError() => Text(state.error),
SearchStateSuccess() => state.items.isEmpty
? const Text('No Results')
: Expanded(child: _SearchResults(items: state.items)),
};
},
);
}
}
class _SearchResults extends StatelessWidget {
const _SearchResults({required this.items});
final List<SearchResultItem> items;
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return ListView.builder(
itemCount: items.length,
itemBuilder: (BuildContext context, int index) {
return _SearchResultItem(item: items[index]);
},
);
}
}
class _SearchResultItem extends StatelessWidget {
const _SearchResultItem({required this.item});
final SearchResultItem item;
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return ListTile(
leading: CircleAvatar(
child: Image.network(item.owner.avatarUrl),
),
title: Text(item.fullName),
onTap: () => launchUrl(Uri.parse(item.htmlUrl)),
);
}
}

Putting it all together

Now all that’s left to do is implement our main app in main.dart.

flutter_github_search/lib/main.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter_bloc/flutter_bloc.dart';
import 'package:flutter_github_search/search_form.dart';
void main() {
final githubRepository = GithubRepository(
GithubCache(),
GithubClient(),
);
runApp(App(githubRepository: githubRepository));
}
class App extends StatelessWidget {
const App({required this.githubRepository, super.key});
final GithubRepository githubRepository;
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
title: 'Github Search',
home: Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Github Search')),
body: BlocProvider(
create: (_) => GithubSearchBloc(githubRepository: githubRepository),
child: const SearchForm(),
),
),
);
}
}

That’s all there is to it! We’ve now successfully implemented a GitHub search app in Flutter using the bloc and flutter_bloc packages and we’ve successfully separated our presentation layer from our business logic.

The full source can be found here.

Finally, we’re going to build our AngularDart GitHub Search app.

AngularDart GitHub Search will be an AngularDart application which reuses the models, data providers, repositories, and blocs from common_github_search to implement Github Search.

Setup

We need to start by creating a new AngularDart project in our github_search directory at the same level as common_github_search.

Terminal window
stagehand web-angular

We can then go ahead and replace the contents of pubspec.yaml with:

angular_github_search/pubspec.yaml
name: angular_github_search
description: A web app that uses AngularDart Components
environment:
sdk: ">=3.0.0 <4.0.0"
dependencies:
angular_bloc: ^10.0.0-dev.2
bloc: ^8.1.0
common_github_search:
path: ../common_github_search
ngdart: ^8.0.0-dev.4
dev_dependencies:
build_daemon: ^4.0.0
build_runner: ^2.0.0
build_web_compilers: ^4.0.0

Search Form

Just like in our Flutter app, we’re going to need to create a SearchForm with a SearchBar and SearchBody component.

Our SearchForm component will implement OnInit and OnDestroy because it will need to create and close a GithubSearchBloc.

  • SearchBar will be responsible for taking user input.
  • SearchBody will be responsible for displaying search results, loading indicators, and errors.

Let’s create search_form_component.dart.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_form_component.dart
import 'package:angular_bloc/angular_bloc.dart';
import 'package:angular_github_search/src/github_search.dart';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:ngdart/angular.dart';
@Component(
selector: 'search-form',
templateUrl: 'search_form_component.html',
directives: [
SearchBarComponent,
SearchBodyComponent,
],
pipes: [BlocPipe],
)
class SearchFormComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
@Input()
late GithubRepository githubRepository;
late GithubSearchBloc githubSearchBloc;
@override
void ngOnInit() {
githubSearchBloc = GithubSearchBloc(
githubRepository: githubRepository,
);
}
@override
void ngOnDestroy() {
githubSearchBloc.close();
}
}

Our template (search_form_component.html) will look like:

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_form_component.html
<div>
<h1>Github Search</h1>
<search-bar [githubSearchBloc]="githubSearchBloc"></search-bar>
<search-body [state]="$pipe.bloc(githubSearchBloc)"></search-body>
</div>

Next, we’ll implement the SearchBar component.

SearchBar is a component which will be responsible for taking in user input and notifying the GithubSearchBloc of text changes.

Create search_bar_component.dart.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_bar/search_bar_component.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:ngdart/angular.dart';
@Component(
selector: 'search-bar',
templateUrl: 'search_bar_component.html',
)
class SearchBarComponent {
@Input()
late GithubSearchBloc githubSearchBloc;
void onTextChanged(String text) {
githubSearchBloc.add(TextChanged(text: text));
}
}

Next, we can create search_bar_component.html.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_bar/search_bar_component.html
<label for="term" class="clip">Enter a search term</label>
<input
id="term"
placeholder="Enter a search term"
class="input-reset outline-transparent glow o-50 bg-near-black near-white w-100 pv2 border-box b--white-50 br-0 bl-0 bt-0 bb-ridge mb3"
autofocus
(keyup)="onTextChanged($event.target.value)"
/>

We’re done with SearchBar, now onto SearchBody.

Search Body

SearchBody is a component which will be responsible for displaying search results, errors, and loading indicators. It will be the consumer of the GithubSearchBloc.

Create search_body_component.dart.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_body/search_body_component.dart
import 'package:angular_github_search/src/github_search.dart';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:ngdart/angular.dart';
@Component(
selector: 'search-body',
templateUrl: 'search_body_component.html',
directives: [
coreDirectives,
SearchResultsComponent,
],
)
class SearchBodyComponent {
@Input()
late GithubSearchState state;
bool get isEmpty => state is SearchStateEmpty;
bool get isLoading => state is SearchStateLoading;
bool get isSuccess => state is SearchStateSuccess;
bool get isError => state is SearchStateError;
List<SearchResultItem> get items =>
isSuccess ? (state as SearchStateSuccess).items : [];
String get error => isError ? (state as SearchStateError).error : '';
}

Create search_body_component.html.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_body/search_body_component.html
<div *ngIf="state != null" class="mw10">
<div *ngIf="isEmpty" class="tc">
<span>🔍</span>
<p>Please enter a term to begin</p>
</div>
<div *ngIf="isLoading">
<div class="sk-chase center">
<div class="sk-chase-dot"></div>
<div class="sk-chase-dot"></div>
<div class="sk-chase-dot"></div>
<div class="sk-chase-dot"></div>
<div class="sk-chase-dot"></div>
<div class="sk-chase-dot"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div *ngIf="isError" class="tc">
<span>‼️</span>
<p>{{ error }}</p>
</div>
<div *ngIf="isSuccess">
<div *ngIf="items.length == 0" class="tc">
<span>⚠️</span>
<p>No Results</p>
</div>
<search-results [items]="items"></search-results>
</div>
</div>

If our state isSuccess, we render SearchResults. We will implement it next.

Search Results

SearchResults is a component which takes a List<SearchResultItem> and displays them as a list of SearchResultItems.

Create search_results_component.dart.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_body/search_results/search_results_component.dart
import 'package:angular_github_search/src/github_search.dart';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:ngdart/angular.dart';
@Component(
selector: 'search-results',
templateUrl: 'search_results_component.html',
directives: [coreDirectives, SearchResultItemComponent],
)
class SearchResultsComponent {
@Input()
late List<SearchResultItem> items;
}

Next up we’ll create search_results_component.html.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_body/search_results/search_results_component.html
<ul class="list pa0 ma0">
<li *ngFor="let item of items" class="pa2 cf">
<search-result-item [item]="item"></search-result-item>
</li>
</ul>

It’s time to implement SearchResultItem.

Search Result Item

SearchResultItem is a component that is responsible for rendering the information for a single search result. It is also responsible for handling user interaction and navigating to the repository url on a user tap.

Create search_result_item_component.dart.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_body/search_results/search_result_item/search_result_item_component.dart
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:ngdart/angular.dart';
@Component(
selector: 'search-result-item',
templateUrl: 'search_result_item_component.html',
)
class SearchResultItemComponent {
@Input()
late SearchResultItem item;
}

and the corresponding template in search_result_item_component.html.

angular_github_search/lib/src/search_form/search_body/search_results/search_result_item/search_result_item_component.html
<div class="fl w-10 h-auto">
<img class="br-100" src="{{ item.owner.avatarUrl }}" />
</div>
<div class="fl w-90 ph3">
<h1 class="f5 ma0">{{ item.fullName }}</h1>
<p>
<a href="{{ item.htmlUrl }}" class="light-blue" target="_blank">{{
item.htmlUrl
}}</a>
</p>
</div>

Putting it all together

We have all of our components and now it’s time to put them all together in our app_component.dart.

angular_github_search/lib/app_component.dart
import 'package:angular_github_search/src/github_search.dart';
import 'package:common_github_search/common_github_search.dart';
import 'package:ngdart/angular.dart';
@Component(
selector: 'my-app',
template: '<search-form [githubRepository]="githubRepository"></search-form>',
directives: [SearchFormComponent],
)
class AppComponent {
final githubRepository = GithubRepository(
GithubCache(),
GithubClient(),
);
}

That’s all there is to it! We’ve now successfully implemented a GitHub search app in AngularDart using the bloc and angular_bloc packages and we’ve successfully separated our presentation layer from our business logic.

The full source can be found here.

Summary

In this tutorial we created a Flutter and AngularDart app while sharing all of the models, data providers, and blocs between the two.

The only thing we actually had to write twice was the presentation layer (UI) which is awesome in terms of efficiency and development speed. In addition, it’s fairly common for web apps and mobile apps to have different user experiences and styles and this approach really demonstrates how easy it is to build two apps that look totally different but share the same data and business logic layers.

The full source can be found here.