Flyer Chat Architecture 🏗️

Flyer Chat is built with two core packages:

• flutter_chat_ui: The main package you’ll use for the chat interface. It’s kept simple with few dependencies for better performance.
• flutter_chat_core: Contains shared models and helper functions used by all Flyer Chat packages.

We also offer extra packages for common message types, like flyer_chat_text_message, flyer_chat_image_message and others. These start with flyer_chat to highlight that they are opinionated solutions.

Feel free to use our packages or create your own custom widgets for message types! 🎨

flutter_chat_core Details

This package is the foundation and includes:

1. Message Model: Defines different message types (text, image, file, system, etc.) and their specific details. ✉️
2. User Model: Identifies users and message authors. 👤
3. Customization Options:
   • ChatTheme: Customize colors, fonts, and shapes to match your app’s look. 🖌️
   • Builders: Use your own custom widgets for parts of the chat, like message bubbles, composer, message widgets, etc. 🛠️

ChatController Explained

The ChatController is key for managing messages:

• It lets you add, update, or remove messages in the chat. 🔄
• It allows both users and internal package code to update messages. For instance, an image message can determine its size and use the controller to save this, preventing layout jumps later.
• By default, you get an InMemoryChatController, which forgets messages when the app restarts.

Persistence with Custom Controllers

While InMemoryChatController is convenient for quick starts, creating your own ChatController implementation (e.g., using Sembast or Hive as shown in the example) is crucial for saving messages permanently across app restarts.

cross_cache for Image Caching

We provide a cross_cache package specifically designed for caching images across all platforms, including web. 🖼️

• Main Use: This package is primarily used internally by flyer_chat_image_message to handle image caching efficiently.
• Flexibility: If you prefer a different caching solution or want more control, you can create your own custom image message widget. Doing so means the cross_cache package won’t be used by your implementation.

For more details, check out the cross_cache README.