Android Data Binding With MVVM: Using StateFlow and ViewModel

A guide to building MVVM architecture-based apps with Data Binding

Photo by NASA on Unsplash.

This is the third part of a series in which you’ll learn about Data Binding basics and how to use Data Binding with architecture components like LiveData and ViewModel. Today, you’ll learn how to use Kotlin coroutines and StateFlow to update the UI via Data Binding from a ViewModel.

• “Android Data Binding with MVVM Architecture (Part 1)”: Basics > Two Way Binding > Code Optimization
• “Android Data Binding with MVVM Architecture (Part 2)”: Data binding with LiveData and ViewModel
• “Android Data Binding with MVVM Architecture (Part 3)”: You’re here.

Introduction

StateFlow

The Flow API in coroutines is a better way to handle a stream of data. StateFlow attempts to bring the powerful features of Flow to manage a state in your Android application.

As explained on GitHub, StateFlow comes in two variants: StateFlow and MutabaleStateFlow.

“The StateFlow<T> interface is a read-only view that gives access to the current value and implements a Flow<T> to collect updates to the values.

The…