Flow observer

FlowObserver.kt

class FlowObserver<T> (
    lifecycleOwner: LifecycleOwner,
    private val flow: Flow<T>,
    private val collector: suspend (T) -> Unit
) {

    private var job: Job? = null

    init {
        lifecycleOwner.lifecycle.addObserver(LifecycleEventObserver {
                source: LifecycleOwner, event: Lifecycle.Event ->
            when (event) {
                Lifecycle.Event.ON_START -> {
                    job = source.lifecycleScope.launch {
                        flow.collect { collector(it) }
                    }
                }
                Lifecycle.Event.ON_STOP -> {
                    job?.cancel()
                    job = null
                }
                else -> { }
            }
        })
    }
}


inline fun <reified T> Flow<T>.observeOnLifecycle(
    lifecycleOwner: LifecycleOwner,
    noinline collector: suspend (T) -> Unit
) = FlowObserver(lifecycleOwner, this, collector)

inline fun <reified T> Flow<T>.observeInLifecycle(
    lifecycleOwner: LifecycleOwner
) = FlowObserver(lifecycleOwner, this, {})

Hi, I can not import source.lifecycleScope. Which library do I need for it?

Probably one one the dependencies described in here: https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/coroutines

What is this flow observer used for please?

The extension function makes it pretty clear. It's used to observe a flow within the scope of a lifecycle.