EDIT:
When I use the response of How to manually include external aar package using new Gradle Android Build System I have an error.
BASE:
I never use AAR file, with the release of Android Studio we can use it.
But I don't find any explanation to use it.
Do you know how to use it?
It's necessary to make some things like ask for the permissions or create the dependencies?
Thanks
AAR format is a jar file containing a compiled Android Library project. Here's some info on what is inside an AAR file
What this means for app developers is that instead of (the old way):
Downloading the source code of a library project
Building it in eclipse
Setting your application project to depend on the local library project
You can instead add the dependency specification to your project/app/build.gradle's dependencies block: compile 'fr.baloomba:viewpagerindicator:2.4.2'
Then gradle (on the next build) searches for the aar file in a central binary repository, downloads the library and allows you to use it's functionality in your project. ( ex: http://search.maven.org/remotecontent?filepath=fr/baloomba/viewpagerindicator/2.4.2/viewpagerindicator-2.4.2.aar )
You can also search the central repository's web interface for libraries to depend on. Once you've clicked on a library to add to the project, click "Gradle/Grails" under "Dependency Information" to copy the line to add to build.gradle.
In my opinion this is a huge improvement.
You don't need to add any permissions to the app, either way, adding a Library project dependency is a compile time thing, not runtime or user-facing.
Related
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 am new in Gradle.
I've been made android library and I will upload this into maven repository.
But is it possible to add "Readme.txt" into my library?
for example,
When someone add my library into dependencies section in build.gradle and sync.
then Gradle creates(or copy) "Readme.txt" into target project(probably $projectDir or $projectDir/app) and user can read it(Like NuGet)
(Important things of this library, how to use example or something like that.)
I think it is really annoying visit project web-site and read "How to use" every using single library.
I want my library contains how to use text file.
Thank you.
I don't think this is possible, you don't know how the calling use is referencing your project. They are likely only referencing the compiled source code and never running your gradle file.
This is not a good idea, you don't know their exact folder structure, and even if you did you can not be sure that your readme.txt would have a unique name that did not conflict with their project file.s
When using a .jar file you cannot include this as resources cannot be compiled into it. But you can export your library as an *.aar file which can contain resource files. You get this by using "com.android.library" as your plugin type and can then find the aar-file in your build folder after you have built it.
This can then be included in your other project e.g. as a file reference.
I have an app and a library that I wrote. My issue is that when including the library as a jar (I see all of the classes included when decompiled),the app itself cannot interact with sub-classes from decencies of the library.
What is a good way to ensure that by including the library the app also pulls in the required dependencies?
What is a good way to ensure that by including the library the app also pulls in the required dependencies?
The best way is to publish the library in a maven repo (private or public).
In this way with gradle you will be able to download the library and all dependencies (described in the pom file).
Adding the jar (or an aar) in a project you have to add also the nested dependencies in the project since the jar and the aar don't contain the nested dependencies.
In my project I'm using the Parse SDK and now i want to add the ParseLoginUI library from here:
https://github.com/ParsePlatform/ParseUI-Android
I imported the library into my eclipse but i cannot use it inside my project.
Every time i try to include it as a library to my project, it gives me this error
Jar mismatch! Fix your dependencies
Any help
The problem is that the parse.jar file in the Parse SDK and in the login library are different versions. You can replace one with the other, and everything should work fine (found in the 'lib' folder). If you're using gradle to build the project, you'll need to appropriately adjust the dependencies config.
I will note that the Login UI library comes with no associated JavaDocs (and it's behind the SDK .jar by one version), so if you don't want to lose the convenient access to the docs, you should replace the .jar file in the login library with the one from the SDK, and not vice versa.
Alternatively, you can remove the parse.jar completely from you main project, and it will draw it from the loginUI library.
I'm new to android development. I wanted to implement Navigation Drawer feature in my application, which requires android.support.v4.jar file to be included in my project. I'm using Android Studio to develop my application so I included the compile "com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+" in my build.gradle file as mentioned in https://developer.android.com/tools/support-library/setup.html. My project is working fine, I was able to successfully include my library. I did adding library without resources.
What I couldn't figure out is the difference between adding library without resources and adding library with resources. Does adding library with resources mean including some sample project?
Thanks
For Android Studio projects using Gradle (which is what your project is), there isn't an important distinction between libraries with resources and without resources. The Gradle build system's support for Android is more advanced than anything available to Eclipse and can support libraries with and without resources the same way (you just add the compile statement to your dependencies as you have; you can also do it more easily via the Project Structure dialog).
In Eclipse, if you want to include a library with resources, you have to add it as a project (similar to an Android Studio module) to ensure the resources get included directly; there you can't include resourceful libraries as simple jar files.