Isolates in Dart#

About#

Isolates are Dart’s mechanism for concurrent programming. They allow you to run code in parallel, making use of multiple CPU cores without sharing memory. Each isolate has its own memory and event loop, enabling isolated, concurrent operations.

Information#

What is an Isolate?#

• Definition: An isolate is a unit of concurrency in Dart that runs independently with its own memory space and event loop. It does not share memory with other isolates, which avoids issues like race conditions and makes it easier to reason about concurrent code.

• Communication: Isolates communicate with each other through ports and messages. They use a message-passing system to send data between isolates safely.

Creating an Isolate#

• Spawn an Isolate: Use the Isolate.spawn function to create a new isolate. You provide a function to run in the new isolate and an optional initial message.

  Example:

  import 'dart:async';
  import 'dart:isolate';
  
  void isolateEntry(SendPort sendPort) {
    sendPort.send('Hello from the isolate!');
  }
  
  void main() async {
    final receivePort = ReceivePort();
    await Isolate.spawn(isolateEntry, receivePort.sendPort);
  
    receivePort.listen((message) {
      print(message); // Outputs: Hello from the isolate!
    });
  }
  

Overall#

Isolates in Dart provide a powerful way to achieve concurrent execution without shared memory, avoiding common pitfalls of parallel programming such as race conditions. They communicate via ports and messages, making it easy to build efficient, responsive applications. By using isolates, you can offload heavy computations and maintain smooth performance in Dart applications.