Writing custom platform-specific code
This guide describes how to write custom platform-specific code. Some platform-specific functionality is available through existing packages; see using packages.
Flutter uses a flexible system that allows you to call platform-specific APIs in a language that works directly with those APIs:
- Kotlin or Java on Android
- Swift or Objective-C on iOS
- C++ on Windows
- Objective-C on macOS
- C on Linux
Flutter’s builtin platform-specific API support doesn’t rely on code generation, but rather on a flexible message passing style. Alternatively, you can use the Pigeon package for sending structured typesafe messages with code generation:
-
The Flutter portion of the app sends messages to its host, the non-Dart portion of the app, over a platform channel.
-
The host listens on the platform channel, and receives the message. It then calls into any number of platform-specific APIs—using the native programming language—and sends a response back to the client, the Flutter portion of the app.
Architectural overview: platform channels
Messages are passed between the client (UI) and host (platform) using platform channels as illustrated in this diagram:
Messages and responses are passed asynchronously, to ensure the user interface remains responsive.
On the client side, MethodChannel
enables sending
messages that correspond to method calls. On the platform side,
MethodChannel
on Android (MethodChannelAndroid
) and
FlutterMethodChannel
on iOS (MethodChanneliOS
)
enable receiving method calls and sending back a
result. These classes allow you to develop a platform plugin
with very little ‘boilerplate’ code.
Platform channel data types support and codecs
The standard platform channels use a standard message codec that supports
efficient binary serialization of simple JSON-like values, such as booleans,
numbers, Strings, byte buffers, and Lists and Maps of these
(see StandardMessageCodec
for details).
The serialization and deserialization of these values to and from
messages happens automatically when you send and receive values.
The following table shows how Dart values are received on the platform side and vice versa:
Dart | Java |
---|---|
null | null |
bool | java.lang.Boolean |
int | java.lang.Integer |
int, if 32 bits not enough | java.lang.Long |
double | java.lang.Double |
String | java.lang.String |
Uint8List | byte[] |
Int32List | int[] |
Int64List | long[] |
Float32List | float[] |
Float64List | double[] |
List | java.util.ArrayList |
Map | java.util.HashMap |
Dart | Kotlin |
---|---|
null | null |
bool | Boolean |
int | Int |
int, if 32 bits not enough | Long |
double | Double |
String | String |
Uint8List | ByteArray |
Int32List | IntArray |
Int64List | LongArray |
Float32List | FloatArray |
Float64List | DoubleArray |
List | List |
Map | HashMap |
Dart | Objective-C |
---|---|
null | nil (NSNull when nested) |
bool | NSNumber numberWithBool: |
int | NSNumber numberWithInt: |
int, if 32 bits not enough | NSNumber numberWithLong: |
double | NSNumber numberWithDouble: |
String | NSString |
Uint8List | FlutterStandardTypedData typedDataWithBytes: |
Int32List | FlutterStandardTypedData typedDataWithInt32: |
Int64List | FlutterStandardTypedData typedDataWithInt64: |
Float32List | FlutterStandardTypedData typedDataWithFloat32: |
Float64List | FlutterStandardTypedData typedDataWithFloat64: |
List | NSArray |
Map | NSDictionary |
Dart | Swift |
---|---|
null | nil |
bool | NSNumber(value: Bool) |
int | NSNumber(value: Int32) |
int, if 32 bits not enough | NSNumber(value: Int) |
double | NSNumber(value: Double) |
String | String |
Uint8List | FlutterStandardTypedData(bytes: Data) |
Int32List | FlutterStandardTypedData(int32: Data) |
Int64List | FlutterStandardTypedData(int64: Data) |
Float32List | FlutterStandardTypedData(float32: Data) |
Float64List | FlutterStandardTypedData(float64: Data) |
List | Array |
Map | Dictionary |
Dart | C++ |
---|---|
null | EncodableValue() |
bool | EncodableValue(bool) |
int | EncodableValue(int32_t) |
int, if 32 bits not enough | EncodableValue(int64_t) |
double | EncodableValue(double) |
String | EncodableValue(std::string) |
Uint8List | EncodableValue(std::vector |
Int32List | EncodableValue(std::vector |
Int64List | EncodableValue(std::vector |
Float32List | EncodableValue(std::vector |
Float64List | EncodableValue(std::vector |
List | EncodableValue(std::vector |
Map | EncodableValue(std::map<EncodableValue, EncodableValue>) |
Dart | C (GObject) |
---|---|
null | FlValue() |
bool | FlValue(bool) |
int | FlValue(int64_t) |
double | FlValue(double) |
String | FlValue(gchar*) |
Uint8List | FlValue(uint8_t*) |
Int32List | FlValue(int32_t*) |
Int64List | FlValue(int64_t*) |
Float32List | FlValue(float*) |
Float64List | FlValue(double*) |
List | FlValue(FlValue) |
Map | FlValue(FlValue, FlValue) |
Example: Calling platform-specific code using platform channels
The following code demonstrates how to call
a platform-specific API to retrieve and display
the current battery level. It uses
the Android BatteryManager
API,
the iOS device.batteryLevel
API,
the Windows GetSystemPowerStatus
API,
and the Linux UPower
API with a single
platform message, getBatteryLevel()
.
The example adds the platform-specific code inside the main app itself. If you want to reuse the platform-specific code for multiple apps, the project creation step is slightly different (see developing packages), but the platform channel code is still written in the same way.
Step 1: Create a new app project
Start by creating a new app:
- In a terminal run:
flutter create batterylevel
By default, our template supports writing Android code using Kotlin,
or iOS code using Swift. To use Java or Objective-C,
use the -i
and/or -a
flags:
- In a terminal run:
flutter create -i objc -a java batterylevel
Step 2: Create the Flutter platform client
The app’s State
class holds the current app state.
Extend that to hold the current battery state.
First, construct the channel. Use a MethodChannel
with a single
platform method that returns the battery level.
The client and host sides of a channel are connected through
a channel name passed in the channel constructor.
All channel names used in a single app must
be unique; prefix the channel name with a unique ‘domain
prefix’, for example: samples.flutter.dev/battery
.
import 'dart:async';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
static const platform = MethodChannel('samples.flutter.dev/battery');
// Get battery level.
Next, invoke a method on the method channel,
specifying the concrete method to call using
the String
identifier getBatteryLevel
.
The call might fail—for example,
if the platform doesn’t support the
platform API (such as when running in a simulator),
so wrap the invokeMethod
call in a try-catch statement.
Use the returned result to update the user interface state in _batteryLevel
inside setState
.
// Get battery level.
String _batteryLevel = 'Unknown battery level.';
Future<void> _getBatteryLevel() async {
String batteryLevel;
try {
final int result = await platform.invokeMethod('getBatteryLevel');
batteryLevel = 'Battery level at $result % .';
} on PlatformException catch (e) {
batteryLevel = "Failed to get battery level: '${e.message}'.";
}
setState(() {
_batteryLevel = batteryLevel;
});
}
Finally, replace the build
method from the template to
contain a small user interface that displays the battery
state in a string, and a button for refreshing the value.
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Material(
child: Center(
child: Column(
mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.spaceEvenly,
children: [
ElevatedButton(
onPressed: _getBatteryLevel,
child: const Text('Get Battery Level'),
),
Text(_batteryLevel),
],
),
),
);
}
Step 3: Add an Android platform-specific implementation
Start by opening the Android host portion of your Flutter app in Android Studio:
-
Start Android Studio
-
Select the menu item File > Open…
-
Navigate to the directory holding your Flutter app, and select the android folder inside it. Click OK.
-
Open the file
MainActivity.kt
located in the kotlin folder in the Project view.
Inside the configureFlutterEngine()
method, create a MethodChannel
and call
setMethodCallHandler()
. Make sure to use the same channel name as
was used on the Flutter client side.
import androidx.annotation.NonNull
import io.flutter.embedding.android.FlutterActivity
import io.flutter.embedding.engine.FlutterEngine
import io.flutter.plugin.common.MethodChannel
class MainActivity: FlutterActivity() {
private val CHANNEL = "samples.flutter.dev/battery"
override fun configureFlutterEngine(@NonNull flutterEngine: FlutterEngine) {
super.configureFlutterEngine(flutterEngine)
MethodChannel(flutterEngine.dartExecutor.binaryMessenger, CHANNEL).setMethodCallHandler {
call, result ->
// This method is invoked on the main thread.
// TODO
}
}
}
Add the Android Kotlin code that uses the Android battery APIs to retrieve the battery level. This code is exactly the same as you would write in a native Android app.
First, add the needed imports at the top of the file:
import android.content.Context
import android.content.ContextWrapper
import android.content.Intent
import android.content.IntentFilter
import android.os.BatteryManager
import android.os.Build.VERSION
import android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES
Next, add the following method in the MainActivity
class,
below the configureFlutterEngine()
method:
private fun getBatteryLevel(): Int {
val batteryLevel: Int
if (VERSION.SDK_INT >= VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
val batteryManager = getSystemService(Context.BATTERY_SERVICE) as BatteryManager
batteryLevel = batteryManager.getIntProperty(BatteryManager.BATTERY_PROPERTY_CAPACITY)
} else {
val intent = ContextWrapper(applicationContext).registerReceiver(null, IntentFilter(Intent.ACTION_BATTERY_CHANGED))
batteryLevel = intent!!.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_LEVEL, -1) * 100 / intent.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_SCALE, -1)
}
return batteryLevel
}
Finally, complete the setMethodCallHandler()
method added earlier.
You need to handle a single platform method, getBatteryLevel()
,
so test for that in the call
argument.
The implementation of this platform method calls the
Android code written in the previous step, and returns a response for both
the success and error cases using the result
argument.
If an unknown method is called, report that instead.
Remove the following code:
MethodChannel(flutterEngine.dartExecutor.binaryMessenger, CHANNEL).setMethodCallHandler {
call, result ->
// This method is invoked on the main thread.
// TODO
}
And replace with the following:
MethodChannel(flutterEngine.dartExecutor.binaryMessenger, CHANNEL).setMethodCallHandler {
// This method is invoked on the main thread.
call, result ->
if (call.method == "getBatteryLevel") {
val batteryLevel = getBatteryLevel()
if (batteryLevel != -1) {
result.success(batteryLevel)
} else {
result.error("UNAVAILABLE", "Battery level not available.", null)
}
} else {
result.notImplemented()
}
}
Start by opening the Android host portion of your Flutter app in Android Studio:
-
Start Android Studio
-
Select the menu item File > Open…
-
Navigate to the directory holding your Flutter app, and select the android folder inside it. Click OK.
-
Open the
MainActivity.java
file located in the java folder in the Project view.
Next, create a MethodChannel
and set a MethodCallHandler
inside the configureFlutterEngine()
method.
Make sure to use the same channel name as was used on the
Flutter client side.
import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import io.flutter.embedding.android.FlutterActivity;
import io.flutter.embedding.engine.FlutterEngine;
import io.flutter.plugin.common.MethodChannel;
public class MainActivity extends FlutterActivity {
private static final String CHANNEL = "samples.flutter.dev/battery";
@Override
public void configureFlutterEngine(@NonNull FlutterEngine flutterEngine) {
super.configureFlutterEngine(flutterEngine);
new MethodChannel(flutterEngine.getDartExecutor().getBinaryMessenger(), CHANNEL)
.setMethodCallHandler(
(call, result) -> {
// This method is invoked on the main thread.
// TODO
}
);
}
}
Add the Android Java code that uses the Android battery APIs to retrieve the battery level. This code is exactly the same as you would write in a native Android app.
First, add the needed imports at the top of the file:
import android.content.ContextWrapper;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.IntentFilter;
import android.os.BatteryManager;
import android.os.Build.VERSION;
import android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES;
import android.os.Bundle;
Then add the following as a new method in the activity class,
below the configureFlutterEngine()
method:
private int getBatteryLevel() {
int batteryLevel = -1;
if (VERSION.SDK_INT >= VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
BatteryManager batteryManager = (BatteryManager) getSystemService(BATTERY_SERVICE);
batteryLevel = batteryManager.getIntProperty(BatteryManager.BATTERY_PROPERTY_CAPACITY);
} else {
Intent intent = new ContextWrapper(getApplicationContext()).
registerReceiver(null, new IntentFilter(Intent.ACTION_BATTERY_CHANGED));
batteryLevel = (intent.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_LEVEL, -1) * 100) /
intent.getIntExtra(BatteryManager.EXTRA_SCALE, -1);
}
return batteryLevel;
}
Finally, complete the setMethodCallHandler()
method added earlier.
You need to handle a single platform method, getBatteryLevel()
,
so test for that in the call
argument. The implementation of
this platform method calls the Android code written
in the previous step, and returns a response for both
the success and error cases using the result
argument.
If an unknown method is called, report that instead.
Remove the following code:
(call, result) -> {
// This method is invoked on the main thread.
// TODO
}
And replace with the following:
(call, result) -> {
// This method is invoked on the main thread.
if (call.method.equals("getBatteryLevel")) {
int batteryLevel = getBatteryLevel();
if (batteryLevel != -1) {
result.success(batteryLevel);
} else {
result.error("UNAVAILABLE", "Battery level not available.", null);
}
} else {
result.notImplemented();
}
}
You should now be able to run the app on Android. If using the Android Emulator, set the battery level in the Extended Controls panel accessible from the … button in the toolbar.
Step 4: Add an iOS platform-specific implementation
Start by opening the iOS host portion of your Flutter app in Xcode:
-
Start Xcode.
-
Select the menu item File > Open….
-
Navigate to the directory holding your Flutter app, and select the ios folder inside it. Click OK.
Add support for Swift in the standard template setup that uses Objective-C:
-
Expand Runner > Runner in the Project navigator.
-
Open the file
AppDelegate.swift
located under Runner > Runner in the Project navigator.
Override the application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:
function and create
a FlutterMethodChannel
tied to the channel name
samples.flutter.dev/battery
:
@UIApplicationMain
@objc class AppDelegate: FlutterAppDelegate {
override func application(
_ application: UIApplication,
didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
let controller : FlutterViewController = window?.rootViewController as! FlutterViewController
let batteryChannel = FlutterMethodChannel(name: "samples.flutter.dev/battery",
binaryMessenger: controller.binaryMessenger)
batteryChannel.setMethodCallHandler({
(call: FlutterMethodCall, result: @escaping FlutterResult) -> Void in
// This method is invoked on the UI thread.
// Handle battery messages.
})
GeneratedPluginRegistrant.register(with: self)
return super.application(application, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: launchOptions)
}
}
Next, add the iOS Swift code that uses the iOS battery APIs to retrieve the battery level. This code is exactly the same as you would write in a native iOS app.
Add the following as a new method at the bottom of AppDelegate.swift
:
private func receiveBatteryLevel(result: FlutterResult) {
let device = UIDevice.current
device.isBatteryMonitoringEnabled = true
if device.batteryState == UIDevice.BatteryState.unknown {
result(FlutterError(code: "UNAVAILABLE",
message: "Battery level not available.",
details: nil))
} else {
result(Int(device.batteryLevel * 100))
}
}
Finally, complete the setMethodCallHandler()
method added earlier.
You need to handle a single platform method, getBatteryLevel()
,
so test for that in the call
argument.
The implementation of this platform method calls
the iOS code written in the previous step. If an unknown method
is called, report that instead.
batteryChannel.setMethodCallHandler({
[weak self] (call: FlutterMethodCall, result: FlutterResult) -> Void in
// This method is invoked on the UI thread.
guard call.method == "getBatteryLevel" else {
result(FlutterMethodNotImplemented)
return
}
self?.receiveBatteryLevel(result: result)
})
Start by opening the iOS host portion of the Flutter app in Xcode:
-
Start Xcode.
-
Select the menu item File > Open….
-
Navigate to the directory holding your Flutter app, and select the ios folder inside it. Click OK.
-
Make sure the Xcode projects builds without errors.
-
Open the file
AppDelegate.m
, located under Runner > Runner in the Project navigator.
Create a FlutterMethodChannel
and add a handler inside the application
didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:
method.
Make sure to use the same channel name
as was used on the Flutter client side.
#import <Flutter/Flutter.h>
#import "GeneratedPluginRegistrant.h"
@implementation AppDelegate
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication*)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary*)launchOptions {
FlutterViewController* controller = (FlutterViewController*)self.window.rootViewController;
FlutterMethodChannel* batteryChannel = [FlutterMethodChannel
methodChannelWithName:@"samples.flutter.dev/battery"
binaryMessenger:controller.binaryMessenger];
[batteryChannel setMethodCallHandler:^(FlutterMethodCall* call, FlutterResult result) {
// This method is invoked on the UI thread.
// TODO
}];
[GeneratedPluginRegistrant registerWithRegistry:self];
return [super application:application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:launchOptions];
}
Next, add the iOS ObjectiveC code that uses the iOS battery APIs to retrieve the battery level. This code is exactly the same as you would write in a native iOS app.
Add the following method in the AppDelegate
class, just before @end
:
- (int)getBatteryLevel {
UIDevice* device = UIDevice.currentDevice;
device.batteryMonitoringEnabled = YES;
if (device.batteryState == UIDeviceBatteryStateUnknown) {
return -1;
} else {
return (int)(device.batteryLevel * 100);
}
}
Finally, complete the setMethodCallHandler()
method added earlier.
You need to handle a single platform method, getBatteryLevel()
,
so test for that in the call
argument. The implementation of
this platform method calls the iOS code written in the previous step,
and returns a response for both the success and error cases using
the result
argument. If an unknown method is called, report that instead.
__weak typeof(self) weakSelf = self;
[batteryChannel setMethodCallHandler:^(FlutterMethodCall* call, FlutterResult result) {
// This method is invoked on the UI thread.
if ([@"getBatteryLevel" isEqualToString:call.method]) {
int batteryLevel = [weakSelf getBatteryLevel];
if (batteryLevel == -1) {
result([FlutterError errorWithCode:@"UNAVAILABLE"
message:@"Battery level not available."
details:nil]);
} else {
result(@(batteryLevel));
}
} else {
result(FlutterMethodNotImplemented);
}
}];
You should now be able to run the app on iOS. If using the iOS Simulator, note that it doesn’t support battery APIs, and the app displays ‘Battery level not available’.
Step 5: Add a Windows platform-specific implementation
Start by opening the Windows host portion of your Flutter app in Visual Studio:
-
Run
flutter build windows
in your project directory once to generate the Visual Studio solution file. -
Start Visual Studio.
-
Select Open a project or solution.
-
Navigate to the directory holding your Flutter app, then into the build folder, then the windows folder, then select the
batterylevel.sln
file. Click Open.
Add the C++ implementation of the platform channel method:
-
Expand batterylevel > Source Files in the Solution Explorer.
-
Open the file
flutter_window.cpp
.
First, add the necessary includes to the top of the file, just
after #include "flutter_window.h"
:
#include <flutter/event_channel.h>
#include <flutter/event_sink.h>
#include <flutter/event_stream_handler_functions.h>
#include <flutter/method_channel.h>
#include <flutter/standard_method_codec.h>
#include <windows.h>
#include <memory>
Edit the FlutterWindow::OnCreate
method and create
a flutter::MethodChannel
tied to the channel name
samples.flutter.dev/battery
:
bool FlutterWindow::OnCreate() {
// ...
RegisterPlugins(flutter_controller_->engine());
flutter::MethodChannel<> channel(
flutter_controller_->engine()->messenger(), "samples.flutter.dev/battery",
&flutter::StandardMethodCodec::GetInstance());
channel.SetMethodCallHandler(
[](const flutter::MethodCall<>& call,
std::unique_ptr<flutter::MethodResult<>> result) {
// TODO
});
SetChildContent(flutter_controller_->view()->GetNativeWindow());
return true;
}
Next, add the C++ code that uses the Windows battery APIs to retrieve the battery level. This code is exactly the same as you would write in a native Windows application.
Add the following as a new function at the top of
flutter_window.cpp
just after the #include
section:
static int GetBatteryLevel() {
SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS status;
if (GetSystemPowerStatus(&status) == 0 || status.BatteryLifePercent == 255) {
return -1;
}
return status.BatteryLifePercent;
}
Finally, complete the setMethodCallHandler()
method added earlier.
You need to handle a single platform method, getBatteryLevel()
,
so test for that in the call
argument.
The implementation of this platform method calls
the Windows code written in the previous step. If an unknown method
is called, report that instead.
Remove the following code:
channel.SetMethodCallHandler(
[](const flutter::MethodCall<>& call,
std::unique_ptr<flutter::MethodResult<>> result) {
// TODO
});
And replace with the following:
channel.SetMethodCallHandler(
[](const flutter::MethodCall<>& call,
std::unique_ptr<flutter::MethodResult<>> result) {
if (call.method_name() == "getBatteryLevel") {
int battery_level = GetBatteryLevel();
if (battery_level != -1) {
result->Success(battery_level);
} else {
result->Error("UNAVAILABLE", "Battery level not available.");
}
} else {
result->NotImplemented();
}
});
You should now be able to run the application on Windows. If your device doesn’t have a battery, it displays ‘Battery level not available’.
Step 6: Add a Linux platform-specific implementation
For this example you need to install the upower
developer headers.
This is likely available from your distribution, for example with:
sudo apt install libupower-glib-dev
Start by opening the Linux host portion of your Flutter app in the editor of your choice. The instructions below are for Visual Studio Code with the “C/C++” and “CMake” extensions installed, but can be adjusted for other IDEs.
-
Launch Visual Studio Code.
-
Open the linux directory inside your project.
-
Choose Yes in the prompt asking:
Would you like to configure project "linux"?
. This enables C++ autocomplete. -
Open the file
my_application.cc
.
First, add the necessary includes to the top of the file, just
after #include <flutter_linux/flutter_linux.h
:
#include <math.h>
#include <upower.h>
Add an FlMethodChannel
to the _MyApplication
struct:
struct _MyApplication {
GtkApplication parent_instance;
char** dart_entrypoint_arguments;
FlMethodChannel* battery_channel;
};
Make sure to clean it up in my_application_dispose
:
static void my_application_dispose(GObject* object) {
MyApplication* self = MY_APPLICATION(object);
g_clear_pointer(&self->dart_entrypoint_arguments, g_strfreev);
g_clear_object(&self->battery_channel);
G_OBJECT_CLASS(my_application_parent_class)->dispose(object);
}
Edit the my_application_activate
method and initialize
battery_channel
using the channel name
samples.flutter.dev/battery
, just after the call to
fl_register_plugins
:
static void my_application_activate(GApplication* application) {
// ...
fl_register_plugins(FL_PLUGIN_REGISTRY(self->view));
g_autoptr(FlStandardMethodCodec) codec = fl_standard_method_codec_new();
self->battery_channel = fl_method_channel_new(
fl_engine_get_binary_messenger(fl_view_get_engine(view)),
"samples.flutter.dev/battery", FL_METHOD_CODEC(codec));
fl_method_channel_set_method_call_handler(
self->battery_channel, battery_method_call_handler, self, nullptr);
gtk_widget_grab_focus(GTK_WIDGET(self->view));
}
Next, add the C code that uses the Linux battery APIs to retrieve the battery level. This code is exactly the same as you would write in a native Linux application.
Add the following as a new function at the top of
my_application.cc
just after the G_DEFINE_TYPE
line:
static FlMethodResponse* get_battery_level() {
// Find the first available battery and report that.
g_autoptr(UpClient) up_client = up_client_new();
g_autoptr(GPtrArray) devices = up_client_get_devices2(up_client);
if (devices->len == 0) {
return FL_METHOD_RESPONSE(fl_method_error_response_new(
"UNAVAILABLE", "Device does not have a battery.", nullptr));
}
UpDevice* device = (UpDevice*)(g_ptr_array_index(devices, 0));
double percentage = 0;
g_object_get(device, "percentage", &percentage, nullptr);
g_autoptr(FlValue) result =
fl_value_new_int(static_cast<int64_t>(round(percentage)));
return FL_METHOD_RESPONSE(fl_method_success_response_new(result));
}
Finally, add the battery_method_call_handler
function referenced
in the earlier call to fl_method_channel_set_method_call_handler
.
You need to handle a single platform method, getBatteryLevel
,
so test for that in the method_call
argument.
The implementation of this function calls
the Linux code written in the previous step. If an unknown method
is called, report that instead.
Add the following code after the get_battery_level
function:
static void battery_method_call_handler(FlMethodChannel* channel,
FlMethodCall* method_call,
gpointer user_data) {
g_autoptr(FlMethodResponse) response = nullptr;
if (strcmp(fl_method_call_get_name(method_call), "getBatteryLevel") == 0) {
response = get_battery_level();
} else {
response = FL_METHOD_RESPONSE(fl_method_not_implemented_response_new());
}
g_autoptr(GError) error = nullptr;
if (!fl_method_call_respond(method_call, response, &error)) {
g_warning("Failed to send response: %s", error->message);
}
}
You should now be able to run the application on Linux. If your device doesn’t have a battery, it displays ‘Battery level not available’.
Typesafe platform channels using Pigeon
The previous example uses MethodChannel
to communicate between the host and client,
which isn’t typesafe. Calling and receiving
messages depends on the host and client declaring
the same arguments and datatypes in order for messages to work.
You can use the Pigeon package as
an alternative to MethodChannel
to generate code that sends messages in a
structured, typesafe manner.
With Pigeon, the messaging protocol is defined
in a subset of Dart that then generates messaging
code for Android or iOS. You can find a more complete
example and more information on the pigeon
page on pub.dev.
Using Pigeon eliminates the need to match strings between host and client for the names and datatypes of messages. It supports: nested classes, grouping messages into APIs, generation of asynchronous wrapper code and sending messages in either direction. The generated code is readable and guarantees there are no conflicts between multiple clients of different versions. Supported languages are Objective-C, Java, Kotlin, and Swift (with Objective-C interop).
Pigeon example
Pigeon file:
import 'package:pigeon/pigeon.dart';
class SearchRequest {
String query = '';
}
class SearchReply {
String result = '';
}
@HostApi()
abstract class Api {
Future search(SearchRequest request);
}
Dart usage:
import 'generated_pigeon.dart';
Future<void> onClick() async {
SearchRequest request = SearchRequest()..query = 'test';
Api api = SomeApi();
SearchReply reply = await api.search(request);
print('reply: ${reply.result}');
}
Separate platform-specific code from UI code
If you expect to use your platform-specific code in multiple Flutter apps, you might consider separating the code into a platform plugin located in a directory outside your main application. See developing packages for details.
Publish platform-specific code as a package
To share your platform-specific code with other developers in the Flutter ecosystem, see publishing packages.
Custom channels and codecs
Besides the above mentioned MethodChannel
,
you can also use the more basic
BasicMessageChannel
, which supports basic,
asynchronous message passing using a custom message codec.
You can also use the specialized BinaryCodec
,
StringCodec
, and JSONMessageCodec
classes, or create your own codec.
You might also check out an example of a custom codec
in the cloud_firestore
plugin,
which is able to serialize and deserialize many more
types than the default types.
Channels and platform threading
When invoking channels on the platform side destined for Flutter,
invoke them on the platform’s main thread.
When invoking channels in Flutter destined for the platform side,
either invoke them from any Isolate
that is the root
Isolate
, or that is registered as a background Isolate
.
The handlers for the platform side can execute on the platform’s main thread
or they can execute on a background thread if using a Task Queue.
You can invoke the platform side handlers asynchronously
and on any thread when the Task Queue API is available;
otherwise, they must be invoked on the platform thread.
Using plugins and channels from background isolates
Plugins and channels can be used by any Isolate
, but that Isolate
has to be
a root Isolate
(the one created by Flutter) or registered as a background
Isolate
for a root Isolate
.
The following example shows how to register a background Isolate
in order to
use a plugin from a background Isolate
.
import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
import 'package:shared_preferences/shared_preferences.dart';
void _isolateMain(RootIsolateToken rootIsolateToken) async {
BackgroundIsolateBinaryMessenger.ensureInitialized(rootIsolateToken);
SharedPreferences sharedPreferences = await SharedPreferences.getInstance();
print(sharedPreferences.getBool('isDebug'));
}
void main() {
RootIsolateToken rootIsolateToken = RootIsolateToken.instance!;
Isolate.spawn(_isolateMain, rootIsolateToken);
}
Executing channel handlers on background threads
In order for a channel’s platform side handler to execute on a background thread, you must use the Task Queue API. Currently this feature is only supported on iOS and Android.
In Java:
@Override
public void onAttachedToEngine(@NonNull FlutterPluginBinding binding) {
BinaryMessenger messenger = binding.getBinaryMessenger();
BinaryMessenger.TaskQueue taskQueue =
messenger.makeBackgroundTaskQueue();
channel =
new MethodChannel(
messenger,
"com.example.foo",
StandardMethodCodec.INSTANCE,
taskQueue);
channel.setMethodCallHandler(this);
}
In Kotlin:
override fun onAttachedToEngine(@NonNull flutterPluginBinding: FlutterPlugin.FlutterPluginBinding) {
val taskQueue =
flutterPluginBinding.binaryMessenger.makeBackgroundTaskQueue()
channel = MethodChannel(flutterPluginBinding.binaryMessenger,
"com.example.foo",
StandardMethodCodec.INSTANCE,
taskQueue)
channel.setMethodCallHandler(this)
}
In Swift:
public static func register(with registrar: FlutterPluginRegistrar) {
let taskQueue = registrar.messenger.makeBackgroundTaskQueue()
let channel = FlutterMethodChannel(name: "com.example.foo",
binaryMessenger: registrar.messenger(),
codec: FlutterStandardMethodCodec.sharedInstance,
taskQueue: taskQueue)
let instance = MyPlugin()
registrar.addMethodCallDelegate(instance, channel: channel)
}
In Objective-C:
+ (void)registerWithRegistrar:(NSObject<FlutterPluginRegistrar>*)registrar {
NSObject<FlutterTaskQueue>* taskQueue =
[[registrar messenger] makeBackgroundTaskQueue];
FlutterMethodChannel* channel =
[FlutterMethodChannel methodChannelWithName:@"com.example.foo"
binaryMessenger:[registrar messenger]
codec:[FlutterStandardMethodCodec sharedInstance]
taskQueue:taskQueue];
MyPlugin* instance = [[MyPlugin alloc] init];
[registrar addMethodCallDelegate:instance channel:channel];
}
Jumping to the UI thread in Android
To comply with channels’ UI thread requirement,
you might need to jump from a background thread
to Android’s UI thread to execute a channel method.
In Android, you can accomplish this by post()
ing a
Runnable
to Android’s UI thread Looper
,
which causes the Runnable
to execute on the
main thread at the next opportunity.
In Java:
new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).post(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
// Call the desired channel message here.
}
});
In Kotlin:
Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).post {
// Call the desired channel message here.
}
Jumping to the main thread in iOS
To comply with channel’s main thread requirement, you might need to jump from a background thread to iOS’s main thread to execute a channel method. You can accomplish this in iOS by executing a block on the main dispatch queue:
In Objective-C:
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
// Call the desired channel message here.
});
In Swift:
DispatchQueue.main.async {
// Call the desired channel message here.
}