kotlin-coroutines-expert
Expert patterns for Kotlin Coroutines and Flow, covering structured concurrency, error handling, and testing.
What this skill does
# Kotlin Coroutines Expert
## Overview
A guide to mastering asynchronous programming with Kotlin Coroutines. Covers advanced topics like structured concurrency, `Flow` transformations, exception handling, and testing strategies.
## When to Use This Skill
- Use when implementing asynchronous operations in Kotlin.
- Use when designing reactive data streams with `Flow`.
- Use when debugging coroutine cancellations or exceptions.
- Use when writing unit tests for suspending functions or Flows.
## Step-by-Step Guide
### 1. Structured Concurrency
Always launch coroutines within a defined `CoroutineScope`. Use `coroutineScope` or `supervisorScope` to group concurrent tasks.
```kotlin
suspend fun loadDashboardData(): DashboardData = coroutineScope {
val userDeferred = async { userRepo.getUser() }
val settingsDeferred = async { settingsRepo.getSettings() }
DashboardData(
user = userDeferred.await(),
settings = settingsDeferred.await()
)
}
```
### 2. Exception Handling
Use `CoroutineExceptionHandler` for top-level scopes, but rely on `try-catch` within suspending functions for granular control.
```kotlin
val handler = CoroutineExceptionHandler { _, exception ->
println("Caught $exception")
}
viewModelScope.launch(handler) {
try {
riskyOperation()
} catch (e: IOException) {
// Handle network error specifically
}
}
```
### 3. Reactive Streams with Flow
Use `StateFlow` for state that needs to be retained, and `SharedFlow` for events.
```kotlin
// Cold Flow (Lazy)
val searchResults: Flow<List<Item>> = searchQuery
.debounce(300)
.flatMapLatest { query -> searchRepo.search(query) }
.flowOn(Dispatchers.IO)
// Hot Flow (State)
val uiState: StateFlow<UiState> = _uiState.asStateFlow()
```
## Examples
### Example 1: Parallel Execution with Error Handling
```kotlin
suspend fun fetchDataWithErrorHandling() = supervisorScope {
val task1 = async {
try { api.fetchA() } catch (e: Exception) { null }
}
val task2 = async { api.fetchB() }
// If task2 fails, task1 is NOT cancelled because of supervisorScope
val result1 = task1.await()
val result2 = task2.await() // May throw
}
```
## Best Practices
- ✅ **Do:** Use `Dispatchers.IO` for blocking I/O operations.
- ✅ **Do:** Cancel scopes when they are no longer needed (e.g., `ViewModel.onCleared`).
- ✅ **Do:** Use `TestScope` and `runTest` for unit testing coroutines.
- ❌ **Don't:** Use `GlobalScope`. It breaks structured concurrency and can lead to leaks.
- ❌ **Don't:** Catch `CancellationException` unless you rethrow it.
## Troubleshooting
**Problem:** Coroutine test hangs or fails unpredictably.
**Solution:** Ensure you are using `runTest` and injecting `TestDispatcher` into your classes so you can control virtual time.
## Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
- Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
- Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.
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