Future vs Stream for Continuous Polling: Which Keeps Memory Usage in Check?

Goal

Implement a background service that polls a REST endpoint every minute and processes the response in a Flutter app.

Constraints

The service runs for hours, so memory consumption and subscription lifecycle must be managed carefully. The implementation should be easy to debug and maintain.

Unresolved Decision

Should the polling logic use a single Future per request, or a Stream that emits each poll result?

Specific Questions

• How does the lifecycle of a StreamController impact memory when emitting one event per minute over long periods?
• What are the best practices for closing a Stream to prevent leaks in a long‑running background service?
• Does a Future-based approach simplify debugging compared to a Stream-based approach in this scenario?