[iOS & Flutter] Ultimate Comparison of ViewModel Between iOS & Flutter

The View Model in Flutter and the View Model in iOS are similar in terms of their purpose to act as an intermediary between the View (the UI) and the Model (the data) in a Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architecture.

However, there are some differences in the way they handle the separation of concerns and the creation of the UI.

Widgets:

In Flutter, the View Model works in tandem with the widget system to create the UI. The View Model provides data to the widgets, which then use that data to render the UI.

For example, if you have a list of items that you want to display, the View Model would provide the data for the items, and the widget would use that data to render each item in the list.

This allows for a clear separation between the View Model, which handles the business logic, and the widgets, which handle the rendering of the UI.

In iOS, the View Model works with storyboards or layout code to create the UI, which can result in a less modular and less flexible system.

For example, if you wanted to display a list of items in an iOS app, you would need to create a storyboard or write layout code that specifies how each item should be displayed, which can result in a tightly-coupled system that is harder to maintain.

Declarative Programming:

In Flutter, the UI is created using a declarative programming model, which means that you describe what the UI should look like, rather than how it should be constructed.

The View Model provides data to the widgets, which then use that data to render the UI.

For example, if you have a list of items, you would write a widget that takes the data for each item and displays it in a specific way.

This makes it easier to reason about your code and make changes to the UI without introducing bugs or breaking existing functionality.

In iOS, the UI is often created using imperative programming, which involves a step-by-step process of constructing the UI and specifying how it should behave.

For example, if you wanted to display a list of items in an iOS app, you would write code that creates a table view, sets its data source, and specifies how each item should be displayed. This can result in a more complex system that is harder to maintain and less flexible.

In conclusion, both the View Model in Flutter and the View Model in iOS serve a similar purpose of separating the business logic from the UI.

However, Flutter's use of widgets and declarative programming makes it a more flexible and scalable platform for building modern, dynamic UIs.