Kotlin Flow API ~ Android cheat sheet
RxJava
Type Supertype Description
An asynchronous data
stream that sequentially
Flow - • Various intermediate & ter-
emits values and completes
normally or with an excep-
tion (Unicast broadcaster).
A Flow shared between mul-
tiple collectors (aka sub-
SharedFlow Flow
scribers), so that only one
flow is effectively run (Multi-
cast broadcaster).
A mutable SharedFlow that
MutableSharedFlow SharedFlow & provides functions to emit
values to the flow.
FlowCollector
A specialized and limited
version of SharedFlow that
StateFlow
SharedFlow requires an initial value and
emits a read only single
data value to its subscribers.
MutableStateFlow StateFlow & A mutable StateFlow that
provides a setter for value.
MutableSharedFlow
Creates a Flow and allows
values to be emitted from a
callbackFlow - different CoroutineContext.
Uses a hot SendChannel
(function, returns Flow) internally.
Features
• Flow starts separately for
each collector
minal operators
• Automatic backpressure
management
• All subscribes receive all
emited values
• n most recent values are
saved in replay cache
• New subscribers get the
replay cache & new values
• emit() function to update
value
• tryEmit() function for
non-suspending updates
• Always has an initial value
• Fixed replaysize of 1
• No buffering
• Read access to current
value without collecting
• Read/write access to cur-
rent value without collecting
• Setting the same value as
before does nothing (dis-
tinct until changed built in)
• Conceptually very similar
to a blocking queue
• Default capacity of 64 ele-
ments
• Buffer can be configured
Implementation
• General go to type
• Can be converted to
SharedFlow / StateFlow
with .shareIn and .stateIn
operators.
• Can be configured with
sharing strategy from the
SharingStarted interface.
• Eagerly, Lazily and While-
Subscribed
Same as SharedFlow
• Can be configured with
sharing strategy from the
SharingStarted interface.
• Eagerly, Lazily and While-
Subscribed
Same
Sameas
asStateFlow
StateFlow
• Useful when you need to
run computations
Cold (emitsinlazy)
differ-
ent CoroutineContexts
• Can convert cluncky call-
back API’s to nicer Flows
Code example Android usecase
equivalent
General data type for multi
shot asynchronous data
Example A Flowable
streams like the many call-
Example B backs inside the View.java
(Observable with BPM)
class or remote server data.
Useful for broadcasting ex-
pensive events to subscrib-
Example A
PublishSubject ers that can come and go.
Example B Like sharing remote gps
(Starts with no value) data between multipe activi-
ties
See SharedFlow
See SharedFlow PublishSubject Same as SharedFlow
(Starts with no value)
Similar to LiveData but with
far more operators and not
Example A limited to mainthread. Rec-
BehaviorSubject
ommended for KMM proj-
Example B
(Always emits something) ects. Does require manual
lifecycle management.
MutablaLiveData equivalent,
See
SeeStateFlow BehaviorSubject
StateFlow same up- and downsides
from StateFlow apply
(Always emits something)
Converting multi shot An-
Example A droid (Java) callback API’s
- to a Flow like the onLoca-
Example B
tionResult() and the onTex-
tChanged() listeners.
Version 1.1 ~ March 2021
by Remy Benza