In Android, why the aar files can speed up compilation
I guess maybe because the content in aar file already compiled or it has the cache of compilation result
AAR files are more similar to Jars than to Dlls for the following reason:
Dlls can be shared across applications where as AARs and jars are
packaged in with your app.
AARs vs Jars:
The main difference between a Jar and a AAR is that AARs include
resources such as layouts, drawables etc. This makes it a lot easier
to create self-contained visual components. For example if you have
multiple apps that use the same login screen, with Jars you could
share classes but not the layout, styles, etc., you still had to
duplicate them. With AARs everything is bundled in one neat package.
In conclusion, AARs are a big step in the right direction.
Note:
Similar attempts were made with apk-libs but they are now obsolete as AARs are much better.
Because it can include everything needed to build an app, including source code, resource files, and an Android manifest. However, instead of compiling into an APK that runs on a device, an Android library compiles into an Android Archive (AAR) file that you can use as a dependency for an Android app module.
Related
Recently, I ported my existing Android project from an ancient Gradle version to Gradle 6.6 and Android Studio's Gradle plugin 4.0.1. This project uses an external native library (.so file) that gets used in the Java code via JNI. This .so library has a dependency on libc++_shared.so because it is written in C++.
I realized that if I just copy the .so file into the corresponding platform folder (arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, x86, x86_64) within the jniLibs Gradle packages it "properly" into my .apk file.
By "properly" I mean that it automatically adds libc++_shared.so, which my library has a dependency on, as well as my own library to the .apk file. In addition, if I additionally set jniDebuggable to true in the build.gradle file it will also add the gdbserver library which is required to be able to attach the native code debugger.
Now, this is exactly what I want. The problem is that I cannot find any documentation that describes this behavior. The best source I could find is this but it does not mention anything about dependencies being packaged automatically. So, I don't know whether that is an officially supported way of doing things.
I suspect that there is a part of Android's Gradle based build process that automatically analyzes the files in the jniLibs folder and acts accordingly. It would be great to know a bit more to be aware what is really going on.
Does anyone have a reference that confirms my above observations or know which Gradle task (or whatever) accomplishes this? It would also be good to know in which Android Gradle plugin version this behavior was introduced.
Edit:
This answer to another SO question led me to the Android source file https://android.googlesource.com/platform/tools/build/+/master/builder/src/main/java/com/android/builder/internal/packaging/Packager.java
which seems to be the code that packages the .so files and gdbserver into the .apk file. But I have no explanation why libc++_shared.so gets packaged as well.
I'm trying to build an app bundle but I'm getting the following error:
File 'root/lib/x86_64-MacOSX-gpp/jni/libjunixsocket-native-2.0.4.jnilib' uses reserved file or directory name 'lib'.
For what I've seen from similar questions, this issue is normally solved juggling dependencies or files in the project structure, but in this case it seems to point to a native library involved in app architecture if i'm not mistaken. Any ideas how to solve this?
It looks like you are adding a dependency as a jar instead of an aar.
The aar contains the information of what files should be considered as Android resources, native libraries, etc. in the app. A jar is just a plain list of files without Android concept. Because the jar you're depending on contains a directory lib, the files would normally end up being considered as native libraries, but because the files come from a jar instead of an aar, the build system warns that it's unlikely to be a native library and may have unintended consequences at runtime.
Try to package that library as an .aar instead of a .jar. See this documentation: https://developer.android.com/studio/projects/android-library
Edit:
Note that this file could not be loaded by the Android platform if it was included as is in the APK, so even though the previous build systems would allow you to put anything in an APK, the Android App Bundle is more restrictive to ensure that you don't accidentally put unnecessary files which would increase unnecessarily the size of your app.
Ok it is working now! Steps I used to found the problem (thanks for pointing me in the right direction #Pierre)
Run a gradle build --scan from your terminal or go to the Gradle tab in Android Studio, select :app, help , androidDependencies to see your dependency graph.
Search the dependency graph for the library name related to the problem ( in my case I searched for socket, there was no match for libjunixsocket for example).
Going upwards on the dependency tree I realized it was caused by the 'io.voucherify.android.client:voucherify-android-sdk:2.1.0' dependency.
I just added #aar at the end of the dependency implementation, and I managed to build the app bundle.
implementation 'io.voucherify.android.client:voucherify-android-sdk:2.1.0#aar'
I work for a company which has a android mobile application developed by an offshore team. I have access to GitHub repositories.
I am piecing together the android app block by block and it is giving me hell.
How do I distinguish between module, libraries, jar, library projects, gradle projects, aar and jar. Can someone please give me a practical definition. NOT out of a freaking google search. I have Google too.
PS yes I am a noob and not proud of it.
I'm just giving a brief description about each of these. I hope I'm clear.
Module : A Module is an component of your application that can build / test independently and re use it in another application if required.
Libraries : AAR files, JAR files etc.
JAR : Java library
AAR : Just like JAR, only difference is that it also contains android specific files like resources etc.
Gradle Project : Gradle is just a build system which is used by Android Studio to build the android project. Its very much powerful as compared to the build system which was used in Eclipse earlier.
Library Project : An Android library project is similar to an Android app project in that it also includes a project manifest file in the project’s root directory. Also, this directory contains src, res, and other directories that you also find when building an app project.
However, there is a significant difference. You cannot compile a library project into an APK file because a library project doesn’t describe an app. Instead, it provides reusable code and resources that contribute to an app when the app’s project and source code refer to the library project. At build time, this code and these resources are merged into the app’s APK file.
To explain more on this, let me give you an example :
Say you want to use a networking library volley for making API calls, now since this is an open source library from Google you can clone it making customisations as per your requirement.
You can make volley library as your Library Project, build it independently, unit test, etc.
Now say you started building an application where you need to make HTTP calls so you need to add volley library to your project. You have two choices for that :
Compile your library project volley, generate the aar file and add it your app Project.
Add Volley as module in your project. (If you choose this option you can make changes to volley library in same studio project since it will act as a component in your project)
Please let me know if something is not clear.
1.) Module
A module is a collection of source files and build settings that allow you to divide your project into discrete units of functionality. Your project can have one or many modules and one module may use another module as a dependency. Each module can be independently built, tested, and debugged.
There are 4 type of module in Android Studio.
Phone & Table Module
Android Wear Module
Android TV Module
Glass Module
2.) Support Library
The Android Support Library offers a number of features that are not built into the framework. These libraries offer backward-compatible versions of new features, provide useful UI elements that are not included in the framework, and provide a range of utilities that apps can draw on.
Support libraries provide a range of different features:
Backward-compatible versions of framework components.
UI elements to implement the recommended Android layout patterns.
Support for different form factors.
Miscellaneous utility functions.
3.) Jar file
JarFile is used to read jar entries and their associated data from jar files.
for more detail visit this : https://developer.android.com/reference/java/util/jar/JarFile.html
4.) Android Library Project
The Android team introduced a new binary distribution format called Android ARchive(AAR). The .aar bundle is the binary distribution of an Android Library Project.
An AAR is similar to a JAR file, but it can contain resources as well as compiled byte-code. This allows that an AAR file is included in the build process of an Android application similar to a JAR file
5.) Gradle and Gradle Project
Gradle is an automated build toolkit that allows the way in which projects are built to be configured and managed through a set of build configuration files. This includes defining how a project is to be built, what dependencies need to be fulfilled for the project to build successfully and what the end result (or results) of the build process should be. The strength of Gradle lies in the flexibility that it provides to the developer. The Gradle system is a self-contained, command-line based environment that can be integrated into other environments through the use of plug-ins. In the case of Android Studio, Gradle integration is provided through the appropriately named Android Studio Plug-in.
for more detail visit this : http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/An_Overview_of_Gradle_in_Android_Studio
I want to create an Android jar library which has activities which use layouts that are all within the jar file.
I have been researching and trying different methods for the last few days and exhausted the related posts here. I have managed to get drawables and other raw assets to reside and be loaded from within the jar. However I have not been able to include valid resources which include the layouts. The official view is that it is not supported yet however I am sure it can be done.
I see that this is possible with .aar libraries when using Gradle but I am unsure if .aar libraries are compatible with older Android projects.
Could anyone shed some upto date info on this issue of resources/layouts in jar libraries and also the compatibility of .aar libraries.
Many thanks
I want to create an Android jar library which has activities which use layouts that are all within the jar file.
That is not possible, sorry. However, you are welcome to create an Android library project that serves this role, and that library project can ship a JAR instead of Java source code (see the Play Services SDK's library project for an example). The layouts would not be inside of the JAR file, though.
The official view is that it is not supported yet however I am sure it can be done.
I am sure that you are incorrect in your assessment.
I see that this is possible with .aar libraries when using Gradle but I am unsure if .aar libraries are compatible with older Android projects.
Project age has nothing really to do with it. If you are using Gradle, AAR files work. If you are not using Gradle, AAR files do not work.
I have a rather large Android project, and it takes considerable amounts of time for the sdk to do the resource-parsing / dexing / etc. I'd like to improve this somehow.
I've read that Android library projects can contain resources now too. So we can also put Activities, Fragments, etc. in them.
Does this mean, that if I export parts of my large project into library projects which I reference from the main project, then I don't have to rebuild the already built (and not modified) libraries again, when I rebuild the main project? So I only have to do the resource-parsing / dexing / etc. for the modified libraries and possibly the main project, decreasing the overall build time in most cases.
Does this mean, that if I export parts of my large project into library projects which I reference from the main project, then I don't have to rebuild the already built (and not modified) libraries again, when I rebuild the main project?
Partially no, Android Library Project is not built directly, it is always built along with the dependent Main Project, when SDK compile/build the Main Project, SDK tools compile the Library Project into a temporary JAR file and uses it in the main project. whenever you re-build your Main Project, the referenced Library Project is re-built as a part of main project build life cycle, even though nothing changed in Library Project. Check out timestamp of the temporary JAR generated under your app-lib/bin folder for evidence, it always get changed every time yo build Main Project.
Quoting from official dev guide:
However, a library project differs from an standard Android application project in that you cannot compile it directly to its own .apk and run it on an Android device. Similarly, you cannot export the library project to a self-contained JAR file, as you would do for a true library. Instead, you must compile the library indirectly, by referencing the library in the dependent application and building that application.
When you build an application that depends on a library project, the SDK tools compile the library into a temporary JAR file and uses it in the main project, then uses the result to generate the .apk. In cases where a resource ID is defined in both the application and the library, the tools ensure that the resource declared in the application gets priority and that the resource in the library project is not compiled into the application .apk. This gives your application the flexibility to either use or redefine any resource behaviors or values that are defined in any library.
Android Library Project is different from regular java library project. where you can compile and build everything into and jar library once, and start import/use the class from reference jar dependencies in main project. Currently Android Library Project is designed on source-based mechanism, not compiled-code based library mechanism, as mentioned in this Android blog, although self-contained jar distribution is promised in future release (unfortunately not in neither r15, r16, r17 nor r18 yet).
Yes... The build system rebuilds what needs to be built unless you build Clean.
I wouldn't expect huge time savings here.
In my experience, the slowest step of compilation is actually the dexing of the output files, which can not be performed incrementally, so moving your code into libraries will not speed things up. Similarly, incremental compilation (when it works — it often doesn't with the Android toolchain) will work equally well with unchanged files spread over a bunch of projects as will unchanged files in a single project.
Of course, the best way to find the answer for your actual use case is to experiment on your actual code base. And there may also be code maintainability benefits to splitting your project up into independent modules.