Unity Dependencies Learning Project

This Unity project is a learning exercise focused on understanding dependencies in Unity and their proper management. The goal is to explore various approaches to referencing and using components like Inventory in Unity projects, highlighting their pros and cons.

---

Features

• Tile Collection System:

  • Collect different types of tiles (Tile_1 and Tile_2).
  • Destroy tiles upon collection and update the inventory dynamically.

• Inventory Management:

  • Tracks and displays the count of different tile types in real-time.
  • Uses Unity's serialization system to auto-initialize the inventory list.

• UI Update Mechanisms:

  • Two UI systems to explore dependency management:
    • Without Dependency Injection (direct references using FindObjectOfType).
    • With Dependency Injection (references passed through script).

---

Purpose

The primary purpose of this project is to demonstrate:

1. Serialization in Unity:

   • How Unity automatically initializes public fields in MonoBehaviours.

2. Dependency Management:

   • Comparing hardcoded dependencies vs. dependency injection approaches.
   • Highlighting how dependency management impacts maintainability and scalability.

3. Real-Time Updates:

   • Updating UI elements dynamically based on gameplay events like tile collection.

---

Scripts

1. GameManager.cs

Manages the addition of tiles to the player's inventory. Handles destroying collected tiles and updating the inventory.

public class GameManager : MonoBehaviour { ... }

• Adds tiles to the inventory (Tile_1 or Tile_2).
• Logs actions for debugging purposes.

2. Inventory.cs

Handles the player's inventory. Tracks all collected items and calculates counts for specific item types.

public class Inventory : MonoBehaviour { ... }

• Uses a List<string> to store collected items.
• Dynamically calculates item counts using the GetCount method.

3. UIHandlerExpnsive.cs

Updates the inventory UI without dependency injection by repeatedly finding the Inventory object.

public class UIHandlerExpnsive : MonoBehaviour { ... }

• Uses FindObjectOfType<Inventory> in the Update method.
• Demonstrates a less efficient approach to dependency management.

4. UIHandlerWithDependency.cs

Updates the inventory UI using dependency injection to retrieve the Inventory reference once.

public class UIHandlerWithDependency : MonoBehaviour { ... }

• Retrieves the Inventory reference in the Start method.
• Demonstrates a more efficient and maintainable approach to dependency management.

Learning Notes

Unity Serialization

Unity auto-initializes public fields in MonoBehaviours. This project demonstrates that you can rely on Unity's serialization system for initializing List<string> fields in the Editor, but it's good practice to explicitly initialize fields when needed.

---

Dependency Management Approaches

Without Dependency Injection:

• Simple to implement.
• Can lead to performance overhead due to repetitive searches (FindObjectOfType).
• Harder to scale and maintain.

With Dependency Injection:

• Efficient and scalable.
• Reduces coupling between components.
• Improves maintainability and code clarity.