SalamiTech / bloc_chat_app_demo

A simple chat app demo using bloc architecture

Flutter Demo Chat Application

This chat application demonstrates a real-time messaging app built with Flutter, showcasing advanced state management with the BLoC pattern, reactive programming with streams and BehaviorSubject, and local persistence using SQLite.

Project Structure

flutter_chat_app/
|-- android/
|-- ios/
|-- lib/
    |-- bloc/
        |-- chat_bloc.dart        # Business logic for chat operations.
        |-- chat_event.dart       # Defines events triggered in the app.
        |-- chat_state.dart       # Represents the state of the chat UI.
    |-- models/
        |-- chat_message.dart     # Chat message data model.
    |-- screens/
        |-- chat_screen.dart      # Main screen displaying chat messages.
    |-- services/
        |-- database_service.dart # Service for SQLite database operations.
    |-- main.dart                 # Entry point of the application.
|-- pubspec.yaml                  # Manages the assets and dependencies.

Technologies and Packages Used

• Flutter: UI software development kit for building natively compiled applications.
• flutter_bloc: Library for implementing the BLoC (Business Logic Component) pattern.
• rxdart: Adds additional capabilities to Dart Streams and StreamControllers.
• sqflite: Flutter plugin for SQLite, a database engine.
• path_provider: A Flutter plugin for finding commonly used locations on the filesystem.

Setup and Installation

1. Ensure you have Flutter installed on your machine (see Flutter's official documentation for guidance).
2. Clone this repository to your local machine.
3. Navigate to the project root and run flutter pub get to install the required dependencies.
4. Launch an emulator or connect a physical device.
5. Run flutter run to build and start the application.

Application Overview

The chat application illustrates how users can send and receive messages in real-time, with a simple and intuitive interface. Messages are persisted locally using SQLite, ensuring that chat history is retained across sessions.

Key Features

• Real-Time Messaging: Users can send and receive messages instantly.
• Local Persistence: Messages are stored in a local SQLite database, allowing users to access their chat history offline.
• State Management: Utilizes the BLoC pattern for clean and scalable state management.
• Reactive Programming: Employs streams and BehaviorSubject for real-time UI updates based on state changes.

Implementation Details

• BLoC (Business Logic Component): Manages the business logic of the chat application, separating it from the UI. This pattern ensures a clean separation of concerns and scalable codebase.
• Database Service: Handles all interactions with the local SQLite database, including initializing the database, inserting new messages, and retrieving chat history.
• Chat Screen: Displays the UI, including a list of messages and an input field for composing new messages. Uses BlocBuilder to reactively rebuild the messages list whenever the chat state changes.

Screenshot (Screens)