Flutter - Create a countdown widget

Question

I am trying to build a countdown widget. Currently, I got the structure to work. I only struggle with the countdown itself. I tried this approach using the countdown plugin:

class _Countdown extends State<Countdown> {

  int val = 3;

  void countdown(){
    CountDown cd = new CountDown(new Duration(seconds: 4));

    cd.stream.listen((Duration d) {
      setState((){
        val = d.inSeconds;
      });
    });

  }

  @override
  build(BuildContext context){
    countdown();
    return new Scaffold(
      body: new Container(
        child: new Center(
          child: new Text(val.toString(), style: new TextStyle(fontSize: 150.0)),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

However, the value changes very weirdly and not smooth at all. It start twitching. Any other approach or fixes?

Answer 1

It sounds like you are trying to show an animated text widget that changes over time. I would use an AnimatedWidget with a StepTween to ensure that the countdown only shows integer values.

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(new MaterialApp(
    home: new MyApp(),
  ));
}

class Countdown extends AnimatedWidget {
  Countdown({ Key key, this.animation }) : super(key: key, listenable: animation);
  Animation<int> animation;

  @override
  build(BuildContext context){
    return new Text(
      animation.value.toString(),
      style: new TextStyle(fontSize: 150.0),
    );
  }
}

class MyApp extends StatefulWidget {
  State createState() => new _MyAppState();
}

class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> with TickerProviderStateMixin {
  AnimationController _controller;

  static const int kStartValue = 4;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _controller = new AnimationController(
      vsync: this,
      duration: new Duration(seconds: kStartValue),
    );
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return new Scaffold(
      floatingActionButton: new FloatingActionButton(
        child: new Icon(Icons.play_arrow),
        onPressed: () => _controller.forward(from: 0.0),
      ),
      body: new Container(
        child: new Center(
          child: new Countdown(
            animation: new StepTween(
              begin: kStartValue,
              end: 0,
            ).animate(_controller),
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}