To-do List: No Blank Tasks

Part of the Projects section of Coddy's Flutter journey. Lesson 5 of 36.

Tap add with nothing typed and your list gets an empty row. Type only spaces and you get a row that looks empty too. Real apps refuse both and say why.

trim() returns the text without spaces at the start and the end. If nothing is left, there is no task: show a SnackBar and return before anything is added.

final title = _controller.text.trim();
if (title.isEmpty) {
  ScaffoldMessenger.of(context).showSnackBar(
    const SnackBar(content: Text('Type a task first')),
  );
  return;
}

Use title for the new task too, so " Call mom " is saved as "Call mom".

An early return like this is called a guard. It keeps the bad case at the top, and the rest of the function only deals with good input.

Challenge

Medium

Refuse blank tasks in _addTask:

read the field with trim()
when nothing is left, show a SnackBar saying Type a task first and add nothing
otherwise add the trimmed title

Try it yourself

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false,
      theme: ThemeData(
        colorScheme: ColorScheme.fromSeed(seedColor: Colors.teal),
      ),
      home: const TodoScreen(),
    );
  }
}

class Task {
  Task(this.title);

  final String title;
  bool done = false;
}

class TodoScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  const TodoScreen({super.key});

  @override
  State<TodoScreen> createState() => _TodoScreenState();
}

class _TodoScreenState extends State<TodoScreen> {
  final List<Task> _tasks = [Task('Buy milk'), Task('Walk the dog'), Task('Read a book')];
  final _controller = TextEditingController();

  int get _left => _tasks.where((task) => !task.done).length;

  void _addTask() {
    setState(() {
      _tasks.add(Task(_controller.text));
    });
    _controller.clear();
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    _controller.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('My Tasks')),
      body: Column(
        children: [
          Padding(
            padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(16, 16, 16, 8),
            child: Row(
              children: [
                Expanded(
                  child: TextField(
                    controller: _controller,
                    decoration: const InputDecoration(
                      labelText: 'New task',
                      border: OutlineInputBorder(),
                    ),
                  ),
                ),
                const SizedBox(width: 8),
                IconButton.filled(
                  onPressed: _addTask,
                  icon: const Icon(Icons.add),
                ),
              ],
            ),
          ),
          Padding(
            padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(horizontal: 16, vertical: 8),
            child: Row(
              children: [
                Text(
                  _left == 1 ? '1 task left' : '$_left tasks left',
                  style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.titleSmall,
                ),
              ],
            ),
          ),
          Expanded(
            child: ListView.builder(
              itemCount: _tasks.length,
              itemBuilder: (context, index) {
                final task = _tasks[index];
                return ListTile(
                  leading: Checkbox(
                    value: task.done,
                    onChanged: (value) {
                      setState(() {
                        task.done = value!;
                      });
                    },
                  ),
                  title: Text(
                    task.title,
                    style: task.done
                        ? const TextStyle(
                            decoration: TextDecoration.lineThrough,
                            color: Colors.grey,
                          )
                        : null,
                  ),
                );
              },
            ),
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}