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Update data over the internet

Contents

Updating data over the internet is necessary for most apps. The http package has got that covered!

This recipe uses the following steps:

  1. Add the http package.
  2. Update data over the internet using the http package.
  3. Convert the response into a custom Dart object.
  4. Get the data from the internet.
  5. Update the existing title from user input.
  6. Update and display the response on screen.

1. Add the http package

#

To add the http package as a dependency, run flutter pub add:

flutter pub add http

Import the http package.

dart
import 'package:http/http.dart' as http;

If you are deploying to Android, edit your AndroidManifest.xml file to add the Internet permission.

xml
<!-- Required to fetch data from the internet. -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

Likewise, if you are deploying to macOS, edit your macos/Runner/DebugProfile.entitlements and macos/Runner/Release.entitlements files to include the network client entitlement.

xml
<!-- Required to fetch data from the internet. -->
<key>com.apple.security.network.client</key>
<true/>

2. Updating data over the internet using the http package

#

This recipe covers how to update an album title to the JSONPlaceholder using the http.put() method.

dart
Future<http.Response> updateAlbum(String title) {
  return http.put(
    Uri.parse('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/albums/1'),
    headers: <String, String>{
      'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=UTF-8',
    },
    body: jsonEncode(<String, String>{
      'title': title,
    }),
  );
}

The http.put() method returns a Future that contains a Response.

  • Future is a core Dart class for working with async operations. A Future object represents a potential value or error that will be available at some time in the future.
  • The http.Response class contains the data received from a successful http call.
  • The updateAlbum() method takes an argument, title, which is sent to the server to update the Album.

3. Convert the http.Response to a custom Dart object

#

While it's easy to make a network request, working with a raw Future<http.Response> isn't very convenient. To make your life easier, convert the http.Response into a Dart object.

Create an Album class

#

First, create an Album class that contains the data from the network request. It includes a factory constructor that creates an Album from JSON.

Converting JSON with pattern matching is only one option. For more information, see the full article on JSON and serialization.

dart
class Album {
  final int id;
  final String title;

  const Album({required this.id, required this.title});

  factory Album.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
    return switch (json) {
      {
        'id': int id,
        'title': String title,
      } =>
        Album(
          id: id,
          title: title,
        ),
      _ => throw const FormatException('Failed to load album.'),
    };
  }
}

Convert the http.Response to an Album

#

Now, use the following steps to update the updateAlbum() function to return a Future<Album>:

  1. Convert the response body into a JSON Map with the dart:convert package.
  2. If the server returns an UPDATED response with a status code of 200, then convert the JSON Map into an Album using the fromJson() factory method.
  3. If the server doesn't return an UPDATED response with a status code of 200, then throw an exception. (Even in the case of a "404 Not Found" server response, throw an exception. Do not return null. This is important when examining the data in snapshot, as shown below.)
dart
Future<Album> updateAlbum(String title) async {
  final response = await http.put(
    Uri.parse('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/albums/1'),
    headers: <String, String>{
      'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=UTF-8',
    },
    body: jsonEncode(<String, String>{
      'title': title,
    }),
  );

  if (response.statusCode == 200) {
    // If the server did return a 200 OK response,
    // then parse the JSON.
    return Album.fromJson(jsonDecode(response.body) as Map<String, dynamic>);
  } else {
    // If the server did not return a 200 OK response,
    // then throw an exception.
    throw Exception('Failed to update album.');
  }
}

Hooray! Now you've got a function that updates the title of an album.

Get the data from the internet

#

Get the data from internet before you can update it. For a complete example, see the Fetch data recipe.

dart
Future<Album> fetchAlbum() async {
  final response = await http.get(
    Uri.parse('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/albums/1'),
  );

  if (response.statusCode == 200) {
    // If the server did return a 200 OK response,
    // then parse the JSON.
    return Album.fromJson(jsonDecode(response.body) as Map<String, dynamic>);
  } else {
    // If the server did not return a 200 OK response,
    // then throw an exception.
    throw Exception('Failed to load album');
  }
}

Ideally, you will use this method to set _futureAlbum during initState to fetch the data from the internet.

4. Update the existing title from user input

#

Create a TextField to enter a title and a ElevatedButton to update the data on server. Also define a TextEditingController to read the user input from a TextField.

When the ElevatedButton is pressed, the _futureAlbum is set to the value returned by updateAlbum() method.

dart
Column(
  mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
  children: <Widget>[
    Padding(
      padding: const EdgeInsets.all(8),
      child: TextField(
        controller: _controller,
        decoration: const InputDecoration(hintText: 'Enter Title'),
      ),
    ),
    ElevatedButton(
      onPressed: () {
        setState(() {
          _futureAlbum = updateAlbum(_controller.text);
        });
      },
      child: const Text('Update Data'),
    ),
  ],
);

On pressing the Update Data button, a network request sends the data in the TextField to the server as a PUT request. The _futureAlbum variable is used in the next step.

5. Display the response on screen

#

To display the data on screen, use the FutureBuilder widget. The FutureBuilder widget comes with Flutter and makes it easy to work with async data sources. You must provide two parameters:

  1. The Future you want to work with. In this case, the future returned from the updateAlbum() function.
  2. A builder function that tells Flutter what to render, depending on the state of the Future: loading, success, or error.

Note that snapshot.hasData only returns true when the snapshot contains a non-null data value. This is why the updateAlbum function should throw an exception even in the case of a "404 Not Found" server response. If updateAlbum returns null then CircularProgressIndicator will display indefinitely.

dart
FutureBuilder<Album>(
  future: _futureAlbum,
  builder: (context, snapshot) {
    if (snapshot.hasData) {
      return Text(snapshot.data!.title);
    } else if (snapshot.hasError) {
      return Text('${snapshot.error}');
    }

    return const CircularProgressIndicator();
  },
);

Complete example

#
dart
import 'dart:async';
import 'dart:convert';

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:http/http.dart' as http;

Future<Album> fetchAlbum() async {
  final response = await http.get(
    Uri.parse('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/albums/1'),
  );

  if (response.statusCode == 200) {
    // If the server did return a 200 OK response,
    // then parse the JSON.
    return Album.fromJson(jsonDecode(response.body) as Map<String, dynamic>);
  } else {
    // If the server did not return a 200 OK response,
    // then throw an exception.
    throw Exception('Failed to load album');
  }
}

Future<Album> updateAlbum(String title) async {
  final response = await http.put(
    Uri.parse('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/albums/1'),
    headers: <String, String>{
      'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=UTF-8',
    },
    body: jsonEncode(<String, String>{
      'title': title,
    }),
  );

  if (response.statusCode == 200) {
    // If the server did return a 200 OK response,
    // then parse the JSON.
    return Album.fromJson(jsonDecode(response.body) as Map<String, dynamic>);
  } else {
    // If the server did not return a 200 OK response,
    // then throw an exception.
    throw Exception('Failed to update album.');
  }
}

class Album {
  final int id;
  final String title;

  const Album({required this.id, required this.title});

  factory Album.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
    return switch (json) {
      {
        'id': int id,
        'title': String title,
      } =>
        Album(
          id: id,
          title: title,
        ),
      _ => throw const FormatException('Failed to load album.'),
    };
  }
}

void main() {
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatefulWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  State<MyApp> createState() {
    return _MyAppState();
  }
}

class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> {
  final TextEditingController _controller = TextEditingController();
  late Future<Album> _futureAlbum;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _futureAlbum = fetchAlbum();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Update Data Example',
      theme: ThemeData(
        colorScheme: ColorScheme.fromSeed(seedColor: Colors.deepPurple),
      ),
      home: Scaffold(
        appBar: AppBar(
          title: const Text('Update Data Example'),
        ),
        body: Container(
          alignment: Alignment.center,
          padding: const EdgeInsets.all(8),
          child: FutureBuilder<Album>(
            future: _futureAlbum,
            builder: (context, snapshot) {
              if (snapshot.connectionState == ConnectionState.done) {
                if (snapshot.hasData) {
                  return Column(
                    mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
                    children: <Widget>[
                      Text(snapshot.data!.title),
                      TextField(
                        controller: _controller,
                        decoration: const InputDecoration(
                          hintText: 'Enter Title',
                        ),
                      ),
                      ElevatedButton(
                        onPressed: () {
                          setState(() {
                            _futureAlbum = updateAlbum(_controller.text);
                          });
                        },
                        child: const Text('Update Data'),
                      ),
                    ],
                  );
                } else if (snapshot.hasError) {
                  return Text('${snapshot.error}');
                }
              }

              return const CircularProgressIndicator();
            },
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Unless stated otherwise, the documentation on this site reflects the latest stable version of Flutter. Page last updated on 2024-10-15. View source or report an issue.