Overview
========

This patch refactors images to achieve the following goals:

* it allows references to unresolved assets to be passed
  around (previously, almost every layer of the system had to know about
  whether an image came from an asset bundle or the network or
  elsewhere, and had to manually interact with the image cache).

* it allows decorations to use the same API for declaring images as the
  widget tree.

It requires some minor changes to call sites that use images, as
discussed below.

Widgets
-------

Change this:

```dart
      child: new AssetImage(
        name: 'my_asset.png',
        ...
      )
```

...to this:

```dart
      child: new Image(
        image: new AssetImage('my_asset.png'),
        ...
      )
```

Decorations
-----------

Change this:

```dart
      child: new DecoratedBox(
        decoration: new BoxDecoration(
          backgroundImage: new BackgroundImage(
            image: DefaultAssetBundle.of(context).loadImage('my_asset.png'),
            ...
          ),
          ...
        ),
        child: ...
      )
```

...to this:

```dart
      child: new DecoratedBox(
        decoration: new BoxDecoration(
          backgroundImage: new BackgroundImage(
            image: new AssetImage('my_asset.png'),
            ...
          ),
          ...
        ),
        child: ...
      )
```

DETAILED CHANGE LOG
===================

The following APIs have been replaced in this patch:

* The `AssetImage` and `NetworkImage` widgets have been split in two,
  with identically-named `ImageProvider` subclasses providing the
  image-loading logic, and a single `Image` widget providing all the
  widget tree logic.

* `ImageResource` is now `ImageStream`. Rather than configuring it with
  a `Future<ImageInfo>`, you complete it with an `ImageStreamCompleter`.

* `ImageCache.load` and `ImageCache.loadProvider` are replaced by
  `ImageCache.putIfAbsent`.

The following APIs have changed in this patch:

* `ImageCache` works in terms of arbitrary keys and caches
  `ImageStreamCompleter` objects using those keys. With the new model,
  you should never need to interact with the cache directly.

* `Decoration` can now be `const`. The state has moved to the
  `BoxPainter` class. Instead of a list of listeners, there's now just a
  single callback and a `dispose()` method on the painter. The callback
  is passed in to the `createBoxPainter()` method. When invoked, you
  should repaint the painter.

The following new APIs are introduced:

* `AssetBundle.loadStructuredData`.

* `SynchronousFuture`, a variant of `Future` that calls the `then`
  callback synchronously. This enables the asynchronous and
  synchronous (in-the-cache) code paths to look identical yet for the
  latter to avoid returning to the event loop mid-paint.

* `ExactAssetImage`, a variant of `AssetImage` that doesn't do anything clever.

* `ImageConfiguration`, a class that describes parameters that configure
  the `AssetImage` resolver.

The following APIs are entirely removed by this patch:

* `AssetBundle.loadImage` is gone. Use an `AssetImage` instead.

* `AssetVendor` is gone. `AssetImage` handles everything `AssetVendor`
  used to handle.

* `RawImageResource` and `AsyncImage` are gone.

The following code-level changes are performed:

* `Image`, which replaces `AsyncImage`, `NetworkImage`, `AssetImage`,
  and `RawResourceImage`, lives in `image.dart`.

* `DecoratedBox` and `Container` live in their own file now,
  `container.dart` (they reference `image.dart`).

DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
==============================

* The `ImageConfiguration` fields are mostly aspirational. Right now
  only `devicePixelRatio` and `bundle` are implemented. `locale` isn't
  even plumbed through, it will require work on the localisation logic.

* We should go through and make `BoxDecoration`, `AssetImage`, and
  `NetworkImage` objects `const` where possible.

* This patch makes supporting animated GIFs much easier.

* This patch makes it possible to create an abstract concept of an
  "Icon" that could be either an image or a font-based glyph (using
  `IconData` or similar). (see
  https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/4494)

RELATED ISSUES
==============

Fixes https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/4500
Fixes https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/4495
Obsoletes https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/4496