MVP Vs MVVM: Differences In Android Architecture in 2021

For the development of mobile applications, a majority of app developers used to favor the MVC structure as it was the most straightforward architecture to use. But now times have changed; the simplicity of the process is no more the priority in software development.

Today, in this article, our primary focus will be specifically on the Android Architecture and on finding out the main difference between Minimum Viable Product (MVP) vs. Model–View–ViewModel (MVVM). For Android, the two architectures that are highly recommended to use are MVP and MVVM instead of the Clean Architecture and MVC.

As an Android developer, what would be some of the initial questions that will come to your mind regarding application development? One or more of them surely would be regarding Android architecture, like:

What is the Most Suitable Architecture for My Project To Opt?

When choosing an architecture, the app developer has to make sure that the architecture makes them more scalable and easier to maintain effectively. The developers primarily use architectures like MVP vs. MVVM as an approach to organizing the android apps into more logical components.

The MVVM and MVP are no doubt the most adopted architectures for android application development whereas the MVC (Model View Controller) is the one that was a great option in the past few years.

Let's get to the bottom of this by an in-depth comparison of MVP vs. MVVM architectures and then finding out which one is the best architecture to move ahead with your Android development.

MVP Model Overview

The term MVP stands for Model View Presenter, and the MVP pattern is the successor of the MVC (Model View Controller) model. In simple words, the MVP is the much-awaited update with a better user interface and was redesigned for smoother code modification.

The MVP pattern is further divided into three different layers, which are: Model, Presenter, and View.

1. Model

The first layer is the Model that contains the data; we can say that the model is the only gateway to the business logic as they merely store the data. These models are treated as objects because they also consist of properties including details like Name, Type, Date and many more.

The model layer stores the JavaBeans data from several sources like the cache, android file system, database, etc.

2. Presenter

The second layer is that of the Presenter, which is also known as the middle-man between the two other layers. So, the part coupling between the Model layer and the View layer is the Presenter layer. The responsibility of the presenter layer is to pass the data from one layer to another by analyzing it and providing interaction between the layers.

The division of the Presenter layer is responsible for allowing the substitution of the coding parts, connecting layers as interfaces, and also the proper testing.

3. View

The third and the last layer is the View layer whose responsibility is to provide the visual display of the mobile apps in sync with the data and information that is provided as input by the user. The critical function of the view layer is first to detect the input, if any and then proceed with visualization based on actions like swipe, tap, touch, etc.

The view layer is to take care of the UI component which further controls the viewing properties and is responsible for displaying the data on the screen.

Pros of MVP Pattern

• MVP has better testing possibilities because here the complete business logic is separated from the UI segment and that's why the data is more straightforward to imitate.
• The view layer in this architecture is comparatively light as it has few clear lines of code just to support visualization.
• Unlike other architecture, the developer can easily change the framework because in MVP all the ties are described in the form of interfaces.

Cons of MVP Pattern

• The size of the code in Model View Presenter (MVP) is excessive which further makes it a little bit complex.
• In the MVP architecture, a large number of interfaces are used for interaction between the three layers.
• Because each interface only covers a small fraction of the interactions, this leads to a large variety of methods to implement.

MVVM Model Overview

MVVM architecture model is also known as the Model-View-View Model pattern which first came into the light when the library of Data Binding was introduced. The MVVM pattern was quickly adopted for various environments including JavaScript, Silverlight, etc.

The MVVM allows the android app developers to use the concept of Data Binding with a reduced code that also provides a significant advantage in data connection.

1. Model

The model layer of MVVM is similar to the model layer of the MVP architecture as this layer also consists of data that acts as a gateway to the business logic. The model is also known to comprise data along with the tools of data processing. Some even refer to this layer as the brain of the application.

The model layer is not tied directly to the view layer which also makes the models reusable in various other contexts.

2. View

The view layer which is responsible for the function of data visualization in the MVVM architecture ties to multiple variables as well as actions in a flexible way. This layer also transmits the values into the ViewModel, and this contributes to changing the UI view.

As we already know that the view layer is known to handle the User Interface (UI) component which means it takes control of view properties and performs actions like showing message deliver (Error & Successful), initiating activities and much more.

3. ViewModel

The final layer is that of the ViewModel (MVVM) which wraps up the model layer and prepares for the observable data; it also consists of all the information that is required to display the view. Also, multiple views can effectively share a single view model which helps in using the same functionality for an entirely different layout.

The ViewModel also offers many hooks for the view layer to pass on the events to the model layer, i.e., the transition of ViewModel automatically turns the View.

Pros of MVVM Pattern

• The MVVM model allows the facility to review the complete setup at the compilation stage, so a lot of extra effort is reduced.
• The MVVM architecture model allows the developer to use the official library of Google for a strong generation of components and other elements.
• This code in the MVVM pattern is simplified as well as has similar code.
• In this android architecture model, the user is allowed to write custom XML attributes by using Binding adapters for this purpose.

Cons of MVVM Pattern

• In the MVVM Model, to write a test for an app is quite a difficult task comparatively.
• Also in a few cases, the code can be seen in the form of XML which can confuse the developer and make the process of debugging difficult.
• When using an Android environment, the user has only two options to work with View either they have to use the Data Binding or else use any other View method.

Reasons to Pick MVVM in the MVP vs. MVVM Comparison

Below is the comparison between the MVP and the MVVM architectures based on the features like:

• Logic: In the MVVM model, the code class of ViewModel is the application, and its View is the interface between the user and the app for the interaction purpose. Whereas in the case of MVVM, the View is the app and the Presenter is handling the flow of the application.
• Data Input: The process in MVP initiated from the View and not with the Presenter, but in the case of MVVM, it begins with View and not from the ViewModel.
• Maintainability: It is easy to add new features in the ViewModel if the app developer has some prior experience with the particular library.
• Code Metrics: The Model View Presenter creates more code and Java classes than the ViewModel architecture.

We favor MVVM over the MVP model because in the MVVM pattern the separation is possible between the View layer and the ViewModel that means a separation can exist between the User Interface (UI) and the logical code respectively.

The app developers can also write their UI tests by using Expresso which is highly preferred. But the best part about MVVM that makes it a more attractive option than MVP is that it provides the ease of maintenance to the user by allowing them to make changes to codebase efficiently.

So, that was our shot in comparison of two of the most popular android app development architectures, i.e., MVP vs. MVVM models. Hopefully, you liked the insights on the main difference between the MVP vs. MVVM android architecture model.

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