Multiple Screens for Different Camera Settings

This is a test of using multiple Blocs in a RICOH THETA application. This simple app will show multiple screens with one Bloc attached to each screen.

Multiple Blocs

return MultiBlocProvider(
      providers: [
          BlocProvider<ImageSettingsBloc>(
            create: (context) => ImageSettingsBloc()),
        BlocProvider<CameraUseBloc>(create: (context) => CameraUseBloc()),
        BlocProvider<VideoSettingsBloc>(
            create: (context) => VideoSettingsBloc())
      ],
      child: MaterialApp())

In this application, each screen has its own Bloc to make the State more manageable. In the main.dart file, I used the MultiBlocProvider instead of the BlocProvider to list out all the Blocs. This enables me to use multiple Blocs throughout the application.

return BlocBuilder<VideoSettingsBloc, VideoSettingsState>(
      builder: (context, state) {
        return Scaffold(),
        })

For example, in the Video Settings Screen, the Scaffold is wrapped with a BlocBuilder that uses the VideoSettingsBloc. Each screen has its own specific Bloc.

With the use of Bloc, it's fairly straightforward to create multiple buttons on a screen.

Ternary Operator

To switch the recording button into a square, I utilized the ternary operator from Dart. The ternary operator first checks if isRecording is false and sets the button to a circular button. Else, when isRecording is true, the button is set to a square button.

  graph TD;
      A[!isRecording] -- true -->B[Circular Button];
      A[!isRecording] -- false -->C[Square Button];
     

!state.isRecording
                ? IconButton(
                    //circular shape
                    onPressed: () {
                      context.read<CameraUseBloc>().add(StartCaptureEvent());
                    },
                    iconSize: 200,
                    )
                : IconButton(
                    //square shape
                    onPressed: () {
                      context.read<CameraUseBloc>().add(StopCaptureEvent());
                    },)

In the CameraUseBloc, I set the variable isRecording to true when StartCaptureEvent is called and false when StopCaptureEvent is called. By changing the state of isRecording, the button will change its shape.

Chopper

Chopper is a Flutter package that generates http requests and helps organize the code.

How to Use

1. Download Chopper package and create a new file (ex: theta_service.dart)
2. Import the Chopper package into this file and use the @ChopperApi annotation above the class declaration. The @ChopperApi has the parameter baseUrl which is the url for the THETA camera.

@ChopperApi(baseUrl: 'http://192.168.1.1/osc')
abstract class ThetaService extends ChopperService {}

3. Use the @Post request and pass in the path and headers. The path and headers are from the THETA API. Also, define the method command. This method will be used to pass in the name of the camera commands.

  @Post(
      path: '/commands/execute',
      headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json;charset=utf-8'})
  Future<Response> command(@Body() Map<String, dynamic> body);

4. Lastly, run flutter pub run build_runner build.

Inside of a Bloc file, we have to define chopper and create the ChopperClient.

var chopper = ChopperClient(
        services: [ThetaService.create()], converter: const JsonConverter());
    final thetaService = chopper.getService<ThetaService>();

Now, we are ready to use Chopper inside of the Bloc! Here is an example of using Chopper to run a command for image stitching. The code inside of the Bloc is condensed using Chopper. All we have to run is the command method which cuts down on the repetition. Chopper runs the POST request for us.

 on<ImageStitchingAutoEvent>((event, emit) async {
      var response = await thetaService.command({
        'name': 'camera.setOptions',
        'parameters': {
          'options': {'_imageStitching': 'auto'}
        }
      });
      emit(ImageSettingsState(response: response.body));
    });