The setup part of this repository can be found here

Flutter-background-tasks

In mobile application development, background tasks are vital in ensuring a seamless and interactive user experience. While users interact with the foreground of an app, background tasks quietly operate in the background, handling critical processes without interrupting the app's primary functionality.

Types of tasks in a Mobile Application:

Foreground refers to the state of an application when it is actively being used and visible on the screen. Background describes the state of an application when it is still open but not actively visible, typically because the user has switched to another app or pressed the "home" button. Terminated refers to the state of an application when it is no longer running, either because the user has locked the device or explicitly closed the app using the app switcher.

Why do we need background services?

Background services are crucial for providing a better user experience in mobile applications. They ensure uninterrupted functionality by allowing apps to continue essential tasks and processes in the background, even when not actively used.

Some of the use cases of background tasks to enhance user experience are:

Real-time Updates: Apps can receive and process data in the background through background tasks, eliminating the need for users to refresh the app manually and ensuring that they stay up to date. Multitasking: Users can perform other activities while the app works in the background, thanks to background tasks. This enhances their multitasking capabilities. Content Updates: The app's content is continuously updated through background tasks, allowing users to access new information effortlessly without requiring manual action. Resource Management: Efficient management of system resources is made possible by background tasks, which balance priorities based on user interactions and app requirements.

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Implementation Explanation

lib/services/background_services.dart

• The FlutterBackgroundService class is utilized for managing background services.
• The class is implemented as a singleton, meaning that only one instance of the BackgroundServices class can exist. This is achieved by using a private static variable _instance and a private unnamed constructor BackgroundServices._().
• The getInstance() method is used to retrieve the singleton instance of the BackgroundServices class. It initializes the instance if it hasn't been created yet.
• The _onBackgroundService() method is the entry point for the background service execution. It is annotated with @pragma('vm:entry-point') to mark it as the starting point for the Dart VM when running in the background.
• Whenever the createTask event is triggered, the payload is processed. After the delay of 10 seconds, the payload is saved to shared preferences. Finally, the background service is stopped.

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lib/main.dart

• In line 66, the method await prefs.reload() is called so that whenever the shared preferences data may be modified externally by another process(background process), it is properly synchronized.