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1. Overview
In this tutorial, we’ll learn the difference between Flux and Mono of the Reactor Core library.
2. What Is Mono?
Mono is a special type of Publisher. A Mono object represents a single or empty value. This means it can emit only one value at most for the onNext() request and then terminates with the onComplete() signal. In case of failure, it only emits a single onError() signal.
Let’s see an example of Mono with a completion signal:
@Test
public void givenMonoPublisher_whenSubscribeThenReturnSingleValue() {
Mono<String> helloMono = Mono.just("Hello");
StepVerifier.create(helloMono)
.expectNext("Hello")
.expectComplete()
.verify();
}We can see here that when helloMono is subscribed, it emits only one value and then sends the signal of completion.
3. What Is Flux?
Flux is a standard Publisher that represents 0 to N asynchronous sequence values. This means that it can emit 0 to many values, possibly infinite values for onNext() requests, and then terminates with either a completion or an error signal.
Let’s see an example of Flux with a completion signal:
@Test
public void givenFluxPublisher_whenSubscribedThenReturnMultipleValues() {
Flux<String> stringFlux = Flux.just("Hello", "Baeldung");
StepVerifier.create(stringFlux)
.expectNext("Hello")
.expectNext("Baeldung")
.expectComplete()
.verify();
}Now, let’s see an example of Flux with an error signal:
@Test
public void givenFluxPublisher_whenSubscribeThenReturnMultipleValuesWithError() {
Flux<String> stringFlux = Flux.just("Hello", "Baeldung", "Error")
.map(str -> {
if (str.equals("Error"))
throw new RuntimeException("Throwing Error");
return str;
});
StepVerifier.create(stringFlux)
.expectNext("Hello")
.expectNext("Baeldung")
.expectError()
.verify();
}We can see here that after getting two values from the Flux, we get an error.
4. Mono vs. Flux
Mono and Flux are both implementations of the Publisher interface. In simple terms, we can say that when we’re doing something like a computation or making a request to a database or an external service, and expecting a maximum of one result, then we should use Mono.
When we’re expecting multiple results from our computation, database, or external service call, then we should use Flux.
Mono is more relatable to the Optional class in Java since it contains 0 or 1 value, and Flux is more relatable to List since it can have N number of values.
5. Conclusion
In this article, we’ve learned the difference between Mono and Flux.
The code backing this article is available on GitHub. Once you're logged in as a Baeldung Pro Member, start learning and coding on the project.
