Coroutines + Retrofit - Example

In this tuorial we want to learn Kotlin Coroutines usage with Retrofit in Android Development. We will be looking at various standalone open source examples.

What is a Coroutine?

It is a concurrency design pattern that you can use on Android to simplify code that executes asynchronously. Coroutines were added to Kotlin in version 1.3 and are based on established concepts from other languages.

On Android, coroutines help to manage long-running tasks that might otherwise block the main thread and cause your app to become unresponsive.

What is Retrofit

Retrofit is a type-safe HTTP client for Android and the JVM. It is the most popular third library of such role.

Example 1: Kotlin Android Retrofit + Coroutines - API Call

This example involves making HTTP calls via retrofit to a dogs API. This is done asynchronously using Coroutines.

Here is the demo of the project created:

Step 1: Create Project

Start by creating an empty Android Studio Kotlin project.

Step 2: Dependencies

Go to your app/build.gradle under the dependencies and add coroutines as dependencies, as follows:

    implementation 'org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-core:1.3.5'
    implementation 'org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-android:1.3.5'

Then we need Retrofit as well as gson-converter:

    implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.8.0'
    implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.1.0'

Then we can use Coil as the imageloader:

    implementation 'io.coil-kt:coil:0.9.5'

Sync.

Step 3: Design Layouts

Only one layout is needed:

activity_main.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/iv_dog_image"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:layout_weight="1"/>

    <Button
        android:id="@+id/btn_get_image"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_margin="48dp"
        android:text="@string/get_random_dog_image"
        android:layout_gravity="center" />

</LinearLayout>

Step 4: Create Model class

Create a Dog model class. The class will represent a single Dog:

import androidx.annotation.Keep

@Keep
class DogImageModel {
    var message: String? = null
}

Step 5: Create the API Client

We will be making a HTTP GET request to the supplied URL path.

ApiClient.kt

import retrofit2.Response
import retrofit2.http.GET

interface ApiClient {
    @GET("/api/breeds/image/random")
    suspend fun getRandomDogImage(): Response<DogImageModel>
}

Step 6: Create API Adapter

An object class that will help us instantiate and configure Retrofit:

ApiAdapter.kt

import okhttp3.OkHttpClient
import retrofit2.Retrofit
import retrofit2.converter.gson.GsonConverterFactory

object ApiAdapter {
    // Interface to be used as Retrofit service.
    // We're using Dog.ceo public API.
    val apiClient: ApiClient = Retrofit.Builder()
        .baseUrl("https://dog.ceo")
        .client(OkHttpClient())
        .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
        .build()
        .create(ApiClient::class.java)
}

Step 7: Download and Render the Image

In the MainActivity you can download and render the image when the button is clicked:

MainActivity.kt

import android.os.Bundle
import android.widget.Toast
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import coil.api.load
import kotlinx.android.synthetic.main.activity_main.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
import kotlinx.coroutines.MainScope
import kotlinx.coroutines.launch

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity(), CoroutineScope by MainScope() {

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

        btn_get_image.setOnClickListener {
            // Use launch and pass Dispatchers.Main to tell that
            // the result of this Coroutine is expected on the main thread.
            launch(Dispatchers.Main) {
                // Try catch block to handle exceptions when calling the API.
                try {
                    val response = ApiAdapter.apiClient.getRandomDogImage()
                    // Check if response was successful
                    if (response.isSuccessful && response.body() != null) {
                        // Retrieve data.
                        val data = response.body()!!
                        data.message?.let {
                            // Load URL into the ImageView using Coil.
                            iv_dog_image.load(it)
                        }
                    } else {
                        // Show API error.
                        // This is when the server responded with an error.
                        Toast.makeText(
                                this@MainActivity,
                                "Error Occurred: ${response.message()}",
                                Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show()
                    }
                } catch (e: Exception) {
                    // Show API error. This is the error raised by the client.
                    // The API probably wasn't called in this case, so better check before assuming.
                    Toast.makeText(this@MainActivity,
                            "Error Occurred: ${e.message}",
                            Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show()
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Step 8: Add Permission

Because we are downloading an image from online, we need to request internet permission access. Do that in the AndroidManifest.xml:

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

Step 9: Run

Copy the code or download it in the link below, build and run.

Reference

Here are the reference links:

Number	Link
1.	Download Example
2.	Follow code author