The Differences Between Dependency Injection and Service Locators

In this podcast episode, we have the pleasure to host Fred Porciúncula, a Google Developer Expert (GDE) known for his work with Kotlin Inject and his invaluable contributions to the Android development community. Fred offers his expertise on Dependency Injection (DI), Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP), and how they intersect.

We kick off the conversation by discussing Dependency Injection (DI), its importance, and the options available to developers, including Dagger, Hilt, Anvil, Koin, and Kotlin-Inject. Fred explains the use and impact of DI in the Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) world, considering Dagger’s current lack of KMP support and debating whether one should use separate DI tools for Android apps and KMP components.

Delving further into Kotlin-Inject, we explore its features, usage, and how it differentiates itself from other DI solutions. Topics discussed include its unique handling of Scopes, its support of constructor injection, and its utility in building dependency graphs. Furthermore, we examine the timeless debate of Dependency Injection versus Service Locator.

Toward the end of the episode, Fred presents his thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of exclusively using Kotlin-Inject throughout an application. We also tackle the concept of “Vanilla Injection” - refraining from using DI libraries at all.

For further learning, we recommend resources like Fred's insightful article on transitioning from Dagger/Hilt to Kotlin-Inject, a Dagger issue discussing KSP support, and a Kotlin-Inject discussion on Anvil-like features. Links to these resources, among others, are provided below. Don’t miss out on this engaging and informative episode with Fred Porciúncula!

Links

• Kotlin Inject Library
• Fred's Kotlin Inject Article
• Testing with Kotlin Inject
• Kotlin Inject Scope Issue
• Pulling code out of the platform class
• DI vs Service Locators
• Dagger KSP Support
• Kotlin Inject Anvil Like Features
• Making Your Android Application Work on iOS (Touchlab mentioning interfaces over expect)
• Moko Resources
• Klima Engineering

Find Fred Online Here

• Twitter - @tfcporciuncula
• androiddev.social/@fred
• Klima Engineering Blog

Donn's Git Course

Need to learn Git? Donn has the course for you. In this FREE course you'll learn everything you need to know in order to start working with Git everyday. Watch it here.

AndroidJobs.IO

• Job postings are FREE on AndroidJobs.IO 🎉
• Sign up to get notified of new jobs on a weekly basis as well.
• AndroidJobs.IO

Software Freelancing

• Donn's Freelance Faction Community
• Freelance Tactics Book
• Donn's Freelancing Content on YouTube

Contact

@fragmentedcast on Twitter or our YouTube channel

Donn

• @donnfelker
• donnfelker
• Donn's YouTube
• Donn's Website

Kaushik

• kau.sh (has links to all my networks)
• twitter.kau.sh
• mastodon.kau.sh
• youtube.kau.sh (on YouTube)

Disclaimer: Many of the links we share to products are affiliate links. They help support the production of Fragmented. Thank you for your support.