Ever confused by that mysterious syntax in Dart constructors? Colons, named parameters, asserts, factories…
Read this post and you will become an expert!
When we want an instance of a certain class we call a constructor, right?
var robot = new Robot();
In Dart 2 we can leave out the new:
var robot = Robot();
A constructor is used to ensure instances are created in a coherent state. This is the definition in a class:
class Robot {
Robot();
}
This constructor has no arguments so we can leave it out and write:
class Robot {
}
The default constructor is implicitly defined.
Most times we need to configure our instances. For example, pass in the height of a robot:
var r = Robot(5);
r is now a 5-feet tall Robot.
To write that constructor we include the height field after the colon :
class Robot {
double height;
Robot(height) : this.height = height;
}
or even
class Robot {
double height;
Robot(data) : this.height = data.physics.raw['heightInFt'];
}
This is called an initializer. It accepts a comma-separated list of expressions that initialize fields with arguments.
Fortunately, Dart gives us a shortcut. If the field name and type are the same as the argument in the constructor, we can do:
class Robot {
double height;
Robot(this.height);
}
Imagine that the height field is expressed in feet and we want clients to supply the height in meters. Dart also allows us to initialize fields with computations from static methods (as they don’t depend on an instance of the class):
class Robot {
static mToFt(m) => m * 3.281;
double height; // in ft
Robot(height) : this.height = mToFt(height);
}
Sometimes we must call super constructors when initializing:
class Machine {
String name;
Machine(this.name);
}
class Robot extends Machine {
static mToFt(m) => m * 3.281;
double height;
Robot(height, name) : this.height = mToFt(height), super(name);
}
Notice that super(...) must always be the last call in the initializer.
And if we needed to add more complex guards (than types) against a malformed robot, we can use assert:
class Robot {
final double height;
Robot(height) : this.height = height, assert(height > 4.2);
}
Back to our earlier robot definition:
class Robot {
double height;
Robot(this.height);
}
void main() {
var r = Robot(5);
print(r.height); // 5
}
Let’s make it taller:
void main() {
var r = Robot(5);
r.height = 6;
print(r.height); // 6
}
But robots don’t grow, their height is constant! Let’s prevent anyone from modifying the height by making the field private.
In Dart, there is no private keyword. Instead, we use a convention: field names starting with _ are private (library-private, actually).
class Robot {
double _height;
Robot(this._height);
}
Great! But now there is no way to access r.height. We can make the height property read-only by adding a getter:
class Robot {
double _height;
Robot(this._height);
get height {
return this._height;
}
}
Getters are functions that take no arguments and conform to the uniform access principle.
We can simplify our getter by using two shortcuts: single expression syntax (fat arrow) and implicit this:
class Robot {
double _height;
Robot(this._height);
get height => _height;
}
Actually, we can think of public fields as private fields with getters and setters. That is:
class Robot {
double height;
Robot(this.height);
}
is equivalent to:
class Robot {
double _height;
Robot(this._height);
get height => _height;
set height(value) => _height = value;
}
Keep in mind initializers only assign values to fields and it is therefore not possible to use a setter in an initializer:
class Robot {
double _height;
Robot(this.height); // ERROR: 'height' isn't a field in the enclosing class
get height => _height;
set height(value) => _height = value;
}
If a setter needs to be called, we’ll have to do that in a constructor body:
class Robot {
double _height;
Robot(h) {
height = h;
}
get height => _height;
set height(value) => _height = value;
}
We can do all sorts of things in constructor bodies, but we can’t return a value!
class Robot {
double height;
Robot(this.height) {
return this; // ERROR: Constructors can't return values
}
}
Final fields are fields that can only be assigned once.
final r = Robot(5);
r = Robot(7); /* ERROR */
Inside our class, we won’t be able to use the setter:
class Robot {
final double _height;
Robot(this._height);
get height => _height;
set height(value) => _height = value; // ERROR
}
Just like with var, we can use final before any type definition:
var r;
var Robot r;
final r;
final Robot r;
The following won’t work because height, being final, must be initialized. And initialization happens before the constructor body is run:
class Robot {
final double height;
Robot(double height) {
this.height = height; // ERROR: The final variable 'height' must be initialized
}
}
Let’s fix it:
class Robot {
final double height;
Robot(this.height);
}
If most robots are 5-feet tall then we can avoid specifying the height each time. We can make an argument optional and provide a default value:
class Robot {
final double height;
Robot([this.height = 5]);
}
So we can just call:
void main() {
var r = Robot();
print(r.height); // 5
var r2d2 = Robot(3.576);
print(r2d2.height); // 3.576
}
Our robots clearly have more attributes than a height. Let’s add some more!
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final String name;
Robot(this.height, this.weight, this.name);
}
void main() {
final r = Robot(5, 170, "Walter");
r.name = "Steve"; // ERROR
}
As all fields are final, our robots are immutable! Once they are initialized, their attributes can’t be changed.
Now let’s imagine that robots respond to many different names:
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
Robot(this.height, this.weight, this.names);
}
void main() {
final r = Robot(5, 170, ["Walter"]);
print(r.names..add("Steve")); // [Walter, Steve]
}
Dang, using a List made our robot mutable again!
We can solve this with a const constructor:
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
const Robot(this.height, this.weight, this.names);
}
void main() {
final r = const Robot(5, 170, ["Walter"]);
print(r.names..add("Steve")); // ERROR: Unsupported operation: add
}
const can only be used with expressions that can be computed at compile time. Take the following example:
import 'dart:math';
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
const Robot(this.height, this.weight, this.names);
}
void main() {
final r = const Robot(5, 170, ["Walter", Random().nextDouble().toString()]); // ERROR: Invalid constant value
}
const instances are canonicalized which means that equal instances point to the same object in memory space when running.
For example this is a “cheap” operation:
void main() {
[for(var i = 0; i < 20000; i += 1) Robot(5, 170, ["Walter"])];
}
And yes, using const constructors can improve performance in Flutter applications.
If we wanted the weight argument to be optional we’d have to declare it at the end:
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
const Robot(this.height, this.names, [this.weight = 170]);
}
void main() {
final r = Robot(5, ["Walter"]);
print(r.weight); // 170
}
Having to construct a robot like Robot(5, ["Walter"]) is not very explicit.
Dart has named arguments! Naturally, they can be provided in any order and are all optional by default:
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
Robot({ this.height, this.weight, this.names });
}
void main() {
final r = Robot(height: 5, names: ["Walter"]);
print(r.height); // 5
}
But we can annotate a field with @required:
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
Robot({ this.height, @required this.weight, this.names });
}
(or use assert(weight != null) in the initializer for a runtime check!)
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
Robot({ this.height = 7, this.weight = 100, this.names = const [] });
}
void main() {
print(Robot().height); // 7
print(Robot().weight); // 100
print(Robot().names); // []
}
It’s important to note that these default values must be constant!
Alternatively, we can use the ?? (“if-null”) operator in the assignment to provide any constant or static computation:
class Robot {
final double height;
final double weight;
final List<String> names;
Robot({ height, weight, this.names = const [] }) : height = height ?? 7, weight = weight ?? int.parse("100");
}
void main() {
print(Robot().height); // 7
print(Robot().weight); // 100
}
How about making the attributes private?
class Robot {
final double _height;
final double _weight;
final List<String> _names;
Robot({ this._height, this._weight, this._names }); // ERROR: Named optional parameters can't start with an underscore
}
It fails! Unlike with positional arguments, we need to specify the mappings in the initializer:
class Robot {
final double _height;
final double _weight;
final List<String> _names;
Robot({ height, weight, names }) : _height = height, _weight = weight, _names = names;
get height => _height;
get weight => _weight;
get names => _names;
}
void main() {
print(Robot(height: 5).height); // 5
}
Both positional and named argument styles can be used together:
class Robot {
final double _height;
final double _weight;
final List<String> _names;
Robot(height, { weight, names }) :
_height = height,
_weight = weight,
_names = names;
get height => _height;
get weight => _weight;
}
void main() {
var r = Robot(7, weight: 120);
print(r.height); // 7
print(r.weight); // 120
}
Not only can arguments be named. We can give names to any number of constructors:
class Robot {
final double height;
Robot(this.height);
Robot.fromPlanet(String planet) : height = (planet == 'geonosis') ? 2 : 7;
Robot.copy(Robot other) : this(other.height);
}
void main() {
print(Robot.copy(Robot(7)).height); // 7
print(new Robot.fromPlanet('geonosis').height); // 2
print(new Robot.fromPlanet('earth').height); // 7
}
What happened in copy? We used this to call the default constructor, effectively “redirecting” the instantiation.
(new is optional but I sometimes like to use it, since it clearly states the intent.)
Invoking named super constructors works as expected:
class Machine {
String name;
Machine();
Machine.named(this.name);
}
class Robot extends Machine {
final double height;
Robot(this.height);
Robot.named({ height, name }) : this.height = height, super.named(name);
}
void main() {
print(Robot.named(height: 7, name: "Walter").name); // Walter
}
Note that named constructors require an unnamed constructor to be defined!
But what if we didn’t want to expose a public constructor? Only named?
We can make a constructor private by prefixing it with an underscore:
class Robot {
Robot._();
}
Applying this knowledge to our previous example:
class Machine {
String name;
Machine._();
Machine.named(this.name);
}
class Robot extends Machine {
final double height;
Robot._(this.height, name) : super.named(name);
Robot.named({ height, name }) : this._(height, name);
}
void main() {
print(Robot.named(height: 7, name: "Walter").name); // Walter
}
The named constructor is “redirecting” to the private default constructor (which in turn delegates part of the creation to its Machine ancestor).
Consumers of this API only see Robot.named() as a way to get robot instances.
We said constructors were not allowed to return. Guess what?
Factory constructors can!
class Robot {
final double height;
Robot._(this.height);
factory Robot() {
return Robot._(7);
}
}
void main() {
print(Robot().height); // 7
}
Factory constructors are syntactic sugar for the “factory pattern”, usually implemented with static functions.
They appear like a constructor from the outside (useful for example to avoid breaking API contracts), but internally they can delegate instance creation invoking a “normal” constructor. This explains why factory constructors do not have initializers.
Since factory constructors can return other instances (so long as they satisfy the interface of the current class), we can do very useful things like:
They work with both normal and named constructors!
Here’s our robot warehouse, that only supplies one robot per height:
class Robot {
final double height;
static final _cache = <double, Robot>{};
Robot._(this.height);
factory Robot(height) {
return _cache[height] ??= Robot._(height);
}
}
void main() {
final r1 = Robot(7);
final r2 = Robot(7);
final r3 = Robot(9);
print(r1.height); // 7
print(r2.height); // 7
print(identical(r1, r2)); // true
print(r3.height); // 9
print(identical(r2, r3)); // false
}
Finally, to demonstrate how a factory would instantiate subclasses, let’s create different robot brands that calculate prices as a function of height:
abstract class Robot {
factory Robot(String brand) {
if (brand == 'fanuc') return Fanuc(2);
if (brand == 'yaskawa') return Yaskawa(9);
if (brand == 'abb') return ABB(7);
throw "no brand found";
}
double get price;
}
class Fanuc implements Robot {
final double height;
Fanuc(this.height);
double get price => height * 2922.21;
}
class Yaskawa implements Robot {
final double height;
Yaskawa(this.height);
double get price => height * 1315 + 8992;
}
class ABB implements Robot {
final double height;
ABB(this.height);
double get price => height * 2900 - 7000;
}
void main() {
try {
print(Robot('fanuc').price); // 5844.42
print(Robot('abb').price); // 13300
print(Robot('flutter').price);
} catch (err) {
print(err); // no brand found
}
}
Singletons are classes that only ever create one instance. We think of this as a specific case of caching!
Let’s implement the singleton pattern in Dart:
class Robot {
static final Robot _instance = new Robot._(7);
final double height;
factory Robot() {
return _instance;
}
Robot._(this.height);
}
void main() {
var r1 = Robot();
var r2 = Robot();
print(identical(r1, r2)); // true
print(r1 == r2); // true
}
The factory constructor Robot(height) simply always returns the one and only instance that was created when loading the Robot class. (So in this case, I prefer not to use new before Robot.)