How to use get_it package in flutter
Published: 2023-01-31 13:52:49

The get_it package is a service locator for Dart and Flutter applications. It allows you to register and retrieve objects (services) throughout your app, making it easy to manage dependencies and decouple different parts of your code.

Here's an example of how to use get_it in a Flutter app:
First, add the get_it package to your pubspec.yaml file:

```dart
dependencies:
  get_it: ^7.2.0
```

Next, import get_it in the file where you'll be using it:

Create a new file called locator.dart. In this you can register all your dependencies and we can call `setupLocator` inside the main.dart.

```dart
import 'package:get_it/get_it.dart';
final locator = GetIt.I;
void setupLocator() {
  locator.registerSingleton<UserService>(() => UserService());
}
```

Reason why i named it as `locator` is because it provides a centralized location (or "locator") for managing service locators and dependency injection in a Flutter application.

In main.dart call `setupLocator`. This will register the services with get_it.

```dart
void main() {
  setupLocator();
  runApp(MyApp());
}
```

To register a service, use the registerSingleton() or registerLazySingleton() method on the GetIt instance. For example, to register a UserService:

Import locator.dart file and you can access the get_it instance to register the services.


```dart
locator.registerSingleton<UserService>(()=>UserService());
```

To retrieve a service, use the get() method on the GetIt instance. For example, to get the UserService:

```dart
UserService userService = locator<UserService>();
```

Note: In case of Lazy Singleton, the service will not be instantiated until it is requested for the first time, which is useful for services that are expensive to construct.

That's a basic example of how to use get_it in a Flutter app. You can also use the package to register and retrieve factory functions, non-singleton objects, and more. For more advanced usage, refer to the package's documentation.

**What are singletons?**

A singleton is a design pattern that ensures that a class has only one instance, while providing a global access point to that instance. This means that any time the singleton class is called, the same instance of the class is returned.

The singleton pattern is often used when a single instance of a class needs to coordinate actions across the system. For example, a logging service, or a configuration manager, would be good candidates for the singleton pattern.

In Dart and Flutter, you can implement a singleton by making the constructor private, and exposing a static instance getter method. However, the get_it package provides a more convenient way to implement singletons by registering and retrieving singletons via its API.

**What are factory instances?**

A factory instance is a way to create an object in a consistent way, without specifying the exact type of the object that will be created. This is done by defining a factory method, which is a function that creates and returns an object, typically based on some input.

A factory method is different from a constructor in that it doesn't have to create a new instance of the class every time it's called. Instead, it can return the same instance multiple times, or return a new instance based on some logic.

In Dart and Flutter, you can create factory instances by defining a static factory method on a class or by using get_it package's registerFactory method.

Here's an example of how to create factory instance using get_it package:

```dart
getIt.registerFactory<MyService>(() => MyService());
```

With this factory, every time you call getIt.get<MyService>() it will call the factory function and return a new instance of MyService.

Factory instances can be useful in cases where you want to return a new instance of a class based on some condition, or where you want to return a different implementation of an interface depending on the context.