java - RxJava Single.just() vs Single.fromCallable()?

Question

I wondered if someone can shed some light on this question, when to use

Single.fromCallable( ()-> myObject )

instead of

Single.just(myObject)

---

from the documentation, Single.fromCallable():

 /**
 * Returns a {@link Single} that invokes passed function and emits its result for each new SingleObserver that subscribes.
 * <p>
 * Allows you to defer execution of passed function until SingleObserver subscribes to the {@link Single}.
 * It makes passed function "lazy".
 * Result of the function invocation will be emitted by the {@link Single}.
 * <dl>
 *   <dt><b>Scheduler:</b></dt>
 *   <dd>{@code fromCallable} does not operate by default on a particular {@link Scheduler}.</dd>
 * </dl>
 *
 * @param callable
 *         function which execution should be deferred, it will be invoked when SingleObserver will subscribe to the {@link Single}.
 * @param <T>
 *         the type of the item emitted by the {@link Single}.
 * @return a {@link Single} whose {@link SingleObserver}s' subscriptions trigger an invocation of the given function.
 */

and the documentation for Single.just():

 /**
 * Returns a {@code Single} that emits a specified item.
 * <p>
 * <img width="640" height="310" src="https://raw.github.com/wiki/ReactiveX/RxJava/images/rx-operators/Single.just.png" alt="">
 * <p>
 * To convert any object into a {@code Single} that emits that object, pass that object into the
 * {@code just} method.
 * <dl>
 * <dt><b>Scheduler:</b></dt>
 * <dd>{@code just} does not operate by default on a particular {@link Scheduler}.</dd>
 * </dl>
 *
 * @param item
 *            the item to emit
 * @param <T>
 *            the type of that item
 * @return a {@code Single} that emits {@code item}
 * @see <a href="http://reactivex.io/documentation/operators/just.html">ReactiveX operators documentation: Just</a>
 */

Answer 1

Usually you will notice the difference when the thing you're emitting is not just an object but actually a result of some method calls that involve either heavy computation, I/O, or state.

Single.just(x) evaluates the x immediately in the current thread and then you're left with whatever was the result of x, for all subscribers.

Single.fromCallable(y) invokes the y callable in the subscribeOn scheduler at the time of subscription and separately for each subscriber.

---

So for example, if you wanted to offload an I/O operation to a background thread, you'd use

Single.fromCallable(() -> someIoOperation()).
    subscribeOn(Schedulers.io()).
    observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread()).
    subscribe(value -> updateUi(value), error -> handleError(error));

Having Single.just() here would not work since someIoOperation() would be executed on the current thread.