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I am currently working on a Flutter project where I am trying to create a data class for a User that involves an Image property. In TypeScript, I have a union type Image that can be either a boolean or an array of { quality: string; link: string } objects. Here is the TypeScript example:

type Image = boolean | {
  quality: string;
  link: string
 }[];

type User = {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  image: Image;
};

const user1: User = {
  id: "1",
  name: "John Doe",
  image: false,
};

const user2: User = {
  id: "1",
  name: "John Doe",
  image: [
    {
      quality: "small",
      link: "https://example.com/image1",
    },
    {
      quality: "medium",
      link: "https://example.com/image2",
    },
    {
      quality: "large",
      link: "https://example.com/image3",
    },
  ],
};

Now, I want to create a similar data class for User in Dart to facilitate JSON serialization and deserialization using json_serializable.

How can I represent this union type in Dart while keeping in mind that I want to use json_serializable to generate the serialization/deserialization code for my data class? I want to have a more precise type definition for the Image property to handle both boolean and array cases appropriately.

Any help, code samples, or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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  • You can build your own Abstract Data Type hierarchies, but you cannot create union types in Dart (yet?). Commented Jul 30, 2023 at 8:24
  • @RandalSchwartz Sorry about that, sir. I'm new to Dart, and I'm having a hard time working with data classes. I can't manage to create union types and make them work for JSON serialization. It would be great if you could give any insight into the same. Commented Jul 30, 2023 at 11:56

1 Answer 1

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To represent the union type Image in Dart and facilitate JSON serialization and deserialization using json_serializable, you can use Dart's Union package.

o use the Union package, you need to define your union type Image as a class that extends Union2 (since it has two possible types: boolean or an array of objects). Then, you can use the @JsonUnion annotation from json_serializable to handle serialization and deserialization correctly.

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2 Comments

Regarding the package to use, I couldn't find any built-in "Union" package in Dart, so I assume you are referring to an external package. Could you please clarify the name and source of the "Union" package you mentioned in your answer? Furthermore, after doing some research, I couldn't find an annotation like "@JsonUnion" in the json_annotations package either. It's possible that I might have misunderstood your suggestion, or there might be a different approach to handle union types in Dart with JSON serialization.
Also, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with a working code example or a more detailed step-by-step guide to help me understand how to define the "Image" union type as a class that extends Union2, and the correct way to handle JSON serialization and deserialization in Dart.

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