Here are the reasons why you need to choose MVVM over MVP
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Below is the comparison between the MVP and the MVVM architectures based on the features like:
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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Aparna is a growth specialist with handsful knowledge in business development. She values marketing as key a driver for sales, keeping up with the latest in the Mobile App industry. Her getting things done attitude makes her a magnet for the trickiest of tasks. In free times, which are few and far between, you can catch up with her at a game of Fussball.
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