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Feature Introduction

The interactive barrage feature is an important real-time communication tool that supports various interactive methods. Users can input emoji and text messages in the barrage, enhancing the entertainment value of the messages and making the interaction experience more enjoyable and lively. Through this feature, the audience can engage in richer communication with anchors and other viewers during live broadcasts, enhancing the overall sense of participation and fun. The interactive barrage feature has been implemented in TUILiveKit through Chat.
iOS
Flutter
Android
The barrage component provides 2 view components:
BarrageInputView: A view for sending barrage messages, which can pull up the input interface when clicked.
BarrageStreamView: A view for receiving barrage messages, which will display barrage messages on this view.
The effect is shown below:



The barrage component mainly provides 2 Widget components, a Widget for sending barrage messages (BarrageSendWidget) and a Widget for displaying barrage messages (BarrageDisplayWidget):
BarrageSendWidget: A widget for sending barrage messages, which can pull up the input interface when clicked.
BarrageDisplayWidget: After receiving barrage messages, it will display them on this widget.
The effect is shown below:
BarrageSendWidget
BarrageDisplayWidget
Effect of integrating barrage component in LiveKit









The barrage component provides 2 view components:
BarrageInputView: A view for sending barrage messages, which can pull up the input interface when clicked.
BarrageStreamView: A view for receiving barrage messages, which will display barrage messages on this view.
The effect is shown below:



Note:
1. Supports system keyboard and emoji keyboard switching.
2. To respect the copyright of emoji designs, TUILiveKit project does not include large emoji elements. Before official commercial launch, please replace them with other emoji packs that you have designed or own the copyright for. The default yellow face emoji pack shown below is copyrighted by Tencent Cloud and can be licensed for a fee. To obtain authorization, please Submit a Ticket to contact us.




Quick Connection

Note:
If you have already integrated the LiveKit component, the barrage component is integrated by default in LiveKit, and you can directly experience the barrage feature in LiveKit.

Adding the Barrage Component to the Project

iOS
Flutter
Android
1. Download the Barrage component from GitHub to your local machine, and copy the Barrage (TUILiveKit/Sources/Component/Barrage) directory to your project.
2. Copy the dependency component Common (TUILiveKit/Sources/Common) to your project.
3. Copy resource files TUIBarrage.xcassets (TUILiveKit/Resources/TUIBarrage.xcassets) to your project.
4. Copy the language file Localized (TUILiveKit/Resources/Localized) to your project.
The directory is shown below:



5. Add the following dependency to your Podfile:
pod 'RTCCommon'
pod 'TUICore'
pod 'SnapKit'
pod 'RTCRoomEngine'
See the figure below:



6. Run pod install
1. Download the barrage component from GitHub to your local machine, and copy the barrage (TUILiveKit/Flutter/barrage) directory to your project directory. For example, to integrate the barrage component into livekit, the directory structure is as shown below:



2. Under the dependencies node in the pubspec.yaml file of your project, add the local dependency of barrage.
dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter
  flutter_localizations:
    sdk: flutter
  intl: ^0.19.0
  # Add local dependency of barrage
  barrage:
    path: ../barrage
1. Download TUILiveKit from GitHub to your local machine.
2. Copy the Android/tuilivekit/component/barrage directory to your project.
3. Copy the Android/tuilivekit/component/common directory to your project.
4. And add the configuration to the settings.gradle file in your project:
include ':common'
include ':barrage'
5. Add the dependency configuration to the build.gradle file of the project you need to import:
api project(':common')
api project(':barrage')

Access the send barrage messages component.

iOS
Flutter
Android
Create BarrageInputView at the position where you need to send barrage messages, which can pull up the input interface when clicked:
let barrageInputView = BarrageInputView(roomId: roomId)
addSubView(barrageInputView)
Construct the BarrageSendController and BarrageSendWidget objects where you need to access and send barrage messages, and add the constructed BarrageSendWidget object to your Widget tree. Sample code is as follows:
BarrageSendController _sendController = BarrageSendController(
                roomId: "liveRoomId",             /// liveRoomId   Replace with your live room ID
                ownerId:  "liveOwnerId",          /// liveOwnerId  Replace with your live room anchor ID 
                selfUserId: "selfUserId",         /// selfUserId   Replace with your current logged-in user ID
                selfName: "selfUserName";         /// selfUserName Replace with your current logged-in user nickname
BarrageSendWidget(controller: _sendController);
Create BarrageInputView at the position where you need to send barrage messages, which can pull up the input interface when clicked:
BarrageInputView barrageInputView = new BarrageInputView(mContext);
barrageInputView.init(roomId);
mBarrageInputContainer.addView(barrageInputView);

Access the display barrage messages component.

iOS
Flutter
Android
Use BarrageStreamView to display barrage messages where needed:
let barrageDisplayView = BarrageStreamView(roomId: roomId)
addSubView(barrageDisplayView)
After obtaining the anchor information, set ownerId to differentiate the display effects between the anchor and the audience.
barrageDisplayView.setOwnerId(ownerId)
Construct the BarrageDisplayController and BarrageDisplayWidget objects where you need to access and display barrage messages, and add the constructed BarrageDisplayWidget object to your Widget tree. Sample code is as follows:
BarrageDisplayController _displayController = BarrageDisplayController(
                roomId: "liveRoomId",             /// liveRoomId   Replace with your live room ID
                ownerId:  "liveOwnerId",          /// liveOwnerId  Replace with your live room anchor ID 
                selfUserId: "selfUserId",         /// selfUserId   Replace with your current logged-in user ID
                selfName: "selfUserName";         /// selfUserName Replace with your current logged-in user nickname
BarrageDisplayWidget(controller: _displayController);
Use BarrageStreamView to display barrage messages where needed:
BarrageStreamView barrageStreamView = new BarrageStreamView(mContext);
// ownerId represents the ID of the host, which is used to differentiate the display effects between the anchor and the audience.
barrageStreamView.init(roomId, ownerId);
mLayoutBarrageContainer.addView(barrageStreamView);

Insert local barrage messages.

iOS
Flutter
Android
The barrage display component BarrageStreamView provides the insertBarrages API method for (batch) insertion of custom messages (such as gift messages, live room announcements). Custom messages with custom styles can achieve different display effects.
Sample code:
// Example 1: Insert a gift message in the barrage area
let barrage = TUIBarrage()
barrage.content = "gift"
barrage.user.userId = sender.userId
barrage.user.userName = sender.userName
barrage.user.avatarUrl = sender.avatarUrl
barrage.user.level = sender.level

barrage.extInfo["TYPE"] = AnyCodable("GIFTMESSAGE")
barrage.extInfo["gift_name"] = AnyCodable(gift.giftName)
barrage.extInfo["gift_count"] = AnyCodable(giftCount)
barrage.extInfo["gift_icon_url"] = AnyCodable(gift.imageUrl)
barrage.extInfo["gift_receiver_username"] = AnyCodable(receiver.userName)

barrageDisplayView.insertBarrages([barrage])

// Example 2: Echo the message after sending a barrage
// Implement the delegate of BarrageInputView, BarrageInputViewDelegate
extension MyViewController: BarrageInputViewDelegate {
    func barrageInputViewOnSendBarrage(_ barrage: TUIBarrage) {
        barrageDisplayView.insertBarrages([barrage])
    }
}
Note:
TUIBarrage's extInfo is a Map used to store custom data.
When you need to insert local barrage messages, you can call the insertMessage method of BarrageDisplayWidget to insert local messages. For example, after LiveKit detects an audience member entering the room, you can insert a barrage message indicating the audience member's entry. The sample code is as follows:
BarrageUser barrageUser = BarrageUser();
barrageUser.userId = "enterRoomUserId";            /// UserId information displayed on the barrage.
barrageUser.userName = "enterRoomUserName";        /// Nickname information displayed on the barrage
barrageUser.avatarUrl = "enterRoomUserAvatar";     /// Avatar information displayed on the barrage
barrageUser.level = "66";                          /// Level information displayed on the barrage

Barrage barrage = Barrage();
barrage.user = barrageUser;
barrage.content = "enter the room";                /// Text content displayed on the barrage
_displayController.insertMessage(barrage);

The barrage display component BarrageStreamView provides the insertBarrages API method for (batch) insertion of custom messages (such as gift messages, live room announcements). Custom messages with custom styles can achieve different display effects.
Sample code:
// Insert a gift message in the barrage area
Barrage barrage = new Barrage();
barrage.content = "gift";
barrage.user.userId = sender.userId;
barrage.user.userName = sender.userName;
barrage.user.avatarUrl = sender.avatarUrl;
barrage.user.level = sender.level;
barrage.extInfo.put(Constants.GIFT_VIEW_TYPE, GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1);
barrage.extInfo.put(GIFT_NAME, barrage.giftName);
barrage.extInfo.put(GIFT_COUNT, giftCount);
barrage.extInfo.put(GIFT_ICON_URL, barrage.imageUrl);
barrage.extInfo.put(GIFT_RECEIVER_USERNAME, receiver.userName);

mBarrageStreamView.insertBarrages(barrage);
Note:
Barrage's extInfo is a Map used to store custom data.

Custom barrage message

iOS
Flutter
Android
There are two default styles for barrage messages: normal barrage message style and custom message style.
If you need more message styles (such as gift send echo), you can implement the delegate method of BarrageStreamView, BarrageStreamViewDelegate:
class MyViewController: BarrageStreamViewDelegate {
    func barrageDisplayView(_ barrageDisplayView: BarrageStreamView, createCustomCell barrage: TUIBarrage) -> UIView? {
        // Whether to use custom UI, return nil if not needed
        guard let type = barrage.extInfo["TYPE"], type.value as? String == "GIFTMESSAGE" else {
            return nil
        }
        // Return custom message style UI (gift display)
        return CustomBarrageCell(barrage: barrage)
    }
}
When you need to display a custom barrage item for specific barrage messages, you can use the `setCustomBarrageBuilder` method of `BarrageDisplayWidget`. For example, the following code shows a custom barrage displaying red text:
/// 1. Define a custom barrage item builder
class GiftBarrageItemBuilder extends CustomBarrageBuilder {
  @override
  Widget buildWidget(BuildContext context, Barrage barrage) { /// Customize the Widget when `shouldCustomizeBarrageItem` returns true
    return const Text(
      barrage.content,
      style: TextStyle(fontSize: 18, fontWeight: FontWeight.w700, color: Colors.red),
    );
  }

  @override
  bool shouldCustomizeBarrageItem(Barrage barrage) {    /// Determine if the current barrage message needs customization based on the data model of the barrage message
    if (barrage.extInfo.keys.isNotEmpty) {
      return true;
    }
    return false;
  }
}

/// 2. Set `setCustomBarrageBuilder` for `BarrageDisplayWidget`
_displayController.setCustomBarrageBuilder(GiftBarrageItemBuilder());
There are two default styles for barrage messages: normal barrage message style and custom message style. The specific style is represented by an integer, and the style of a normal barrage message is 0.
If you need more message styles (such as gift send echo), you can implement the BarrageItemTypeDelegate of BarrageStreamView, and implement the new style BarrageItemAdapter.
The BarrageItemTypeDelegate proxy has been overridden to support the new style GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1.
public static final int    GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1       = 1;
public class BarrageViewTypeDelegate implements BarrageItemTypeDelegate {

    @Override
    public int getItemViewType(int position, Barrage barrage) {
        if (barrage.extInfo != null && barrage.extInfo.containsKey(GIFT_VIEW_TYPE)) {
            String viewTypeString = String.valueOf(barrage.extInfo.get(GIFT_VIEW_TYPE));
            if (String.valueOf(GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1).equals(viewTypeString)) {
                return GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1;
            }
        }
        return 0;
    }
}

mBarrageStreamView.setItemTypeDelegate(new BarrageViewTypeDelegate());
Implement an adapter for a custom style and set it to a GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1 for the style.
public class GiftBarrageAdapter implements BarrageItemAdapter {
    @Override
    public RecyclerView.ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent) {
        LinearLayout ll = new LinearLayout(mContext);
        ll.addView(new TextView(mContext));
        return new GiftViewHolder(ll, mDefaultGiftIcon);
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(RecyclerView.ViewHolder holder, int position, Barrage barrage) {
        GiftViewHolder viewHolder = (GiftViewHolder) holder;
        viewHolder.bind(barrage);
    }
    // GiftViewHolder
    ...
}

mBarrageStreamView.setItemAdapter(GIFT_VIEW_TYPE_1, new GiftBarrageAdapter(mContext));

FAQs

Timing of bullet screen component initialization

Since the controller of the barrage component needs to integrate some live room information parameters, it is necessary to load the barrage component after the viewer enters the live room or the anchor creates the live room.