md5sum of apk changes after every build - android

Why does the md5sum value of an apk change after every build?
Every time i build my Android application in the Eclipse IDE using the Android Tools -> Export Signed Application package, i get an apk file that gives a different md5sum value. If i have not changed any of the source code, shouldn't the apk files give the exact same md5sum? This happens even if i build it just seconds apart. What is going on?

The individual files should compile with the same CRC. An APK however is like a zip file containing all your files and those files are stored with a timestamp. The timestamp will be different for each compile and this is what changes your md5sum.

Related

AAB output file name and path gradle variable

I am trying to move my aab build process from my local machine to GitHub Actions following this post and using this GitHub action. In order to do so I need the releaseDirectory. In my project, unlike the example, I have two modules in the same project, so I have been trying to determine how to get the path from the ./gradlew bundleRelease
On my local machine when I run different items from the build menu, the artifacts are written to different directories:
Build APK > app/mobile/build/outputs/apk/debug/mobile-debug.apk
Build Bundle > app/mobile/build/outputs/bundles/debug/mobile-debug.aab
Generate Signed Bundle > app/mobile/release/mobile-release.aab
Ideally I would like to have the path printed during the build process so I can see the path in the GitHub Actions output, but I cannot determine the right variables to print in the build.gradle:
println("buildDir (mobile)=${buildDir}")
seems to print:
app/mobile/build/
Is there a more complete variable for the path of an aab file? I can understand the first two might be generated, but why is the third result so different? Both modules go to the same directory under the first module's directory.

Exclude folder from APK in Android Studio

I've included a production folder in the root of my project, after building the APK and opening it as an archive, I've noticed that the production folder has not been included.
Am I right/safe to assume that any un-referenced files/folders are automatically excluded from the APK or should I be using some sort of configuration file to specify an exclusion list?
I would phrase it more as "only stuff in src/ might ever get included in an APK, for a conventional Android Studio project".
If you create random other directories, those will be ignored, unless you specifically do something in build.gradle to try using them (e.g., as an alternative location for assets/).
IOW, the contents of an APK come from a whitelist, not a blacklist.

Is there an incremental Android ADT build?

I use very large resource files in my project (movies).
Whenever I change just one line in my code and debug on my device it seems to copy all files again.
Is there a kind of incremental build in ADT? SO it copies only the changed parts?

Renaming the Package Name inside an APK

I have created an AIR app that is currently on the market. To update the app, obviously I must keep the same package name. My first version's were packaged using Eclipse with the ADT plugin.
Now to use AIR 3.0 Native Extensions (ANE) which were not available when I first developed the app, I currently must create my APK using AIR's command line tools. Unfortunately, these command line tools force you to have a package name that starts with the word "air". For example, I need the package name "com.example". AIR creates the package name as "air.com.example".
So now, I cannot update my app in the market since the package name has changed. Adobe has this horrific article to help you rename and remove the "air" in the package. I'm not a great programmer so this has really stumped me.
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/875/cpsid_87562.html
Apparently this info is out of date or incorrect in a few areas.
I have completely stumbled at step 12 which uses apkbuilder:
apkbuilder final.apk -u -z resources.arsc -f classes.dex
I am getting this error message:
THIS TOOL IS DEPRECATED. See --help for more information.
java.io.FileNotFoundException: resources.arsc does not exist
I have used step 10 to create the new resources.arsc file. It clearly DOES exist and in the correct location. I tried using apkbuilder with other resources.arsc files taken from other projects. I still get the same error message.
Is there a chance in hell of this working? If anyone is interested in this, I have a zip file with a sample AIR apk, windows bat files for all the command line work, and all the needed utilities so they don't need to be downloaded. To get started you just need to change my path.bat to fit your system. And you need notepad++ (or an equivalent) to batch automate renaming the package name across several files.
bradwallacedesign.com/dktimer/renameApkProject.zip
Thanks so much!
this was done on a pc. i have no idea how to do this on a mac.
i don't recommend using this to remove the "air." from an air package name. If you do so, the user will not be prompted to download air on their device. the user will get an error message instead with no clue to the problem. of course you can use air captive runtime to solve this issue.
http://bradwallacedesign.com/share/renameAPK.zip
download and unzip my file (renameAPK.zip) to c:\renameAPK.
required files:
my file (renameAPK.zip) which contains the apkTool
java jdk/jre
android SDK
notepad++ (or an equivalent text editor that can rename across multiple files)
i made many bat files since i'm not sure how to combine them into one file. you will need to edit each one to change your path names and file names to work with your computer and your apk file.
i numbered all the bats in the order that i use them. once a command line is open, i type the number of the bat file i want then hit the tab key to automatically finish the name of the bat file then hit enter to run that bat file.
instructions:
double click `openCmd.bat to open a command line pointing to the directory with all your files.
0. run 0path.bat to set your path. (i can't remember now if the adobe air sdk is needed for this but i have it in my path. obviously, the JDK is needed and the android sdk for the jarsigner and zip align i think.)
1. run 1decompileAPK.bat to have apkTool decompile your app into a folder called UNZIPPEDapk
2. follow the instructions in 2editManifest & PackageName - Instructions (not a bat).txt to edit the manifest and package name using Notepad++ inside UNZIPPEDapk:
edit AndroidManifest.xml:
a. change package name from air.oldPackageName to newPackageName
b. edit other needed entries:
c. rename folder system inside "smali" folder so that it works with your new package name
for example:
if the old package name was: air/oldName then change the folders to match the new package name: air/newName
use notepad++ (or any editor that can find and replace text over many files)
d. ctrl+shift+f --- "Find in files"
find:
air/oldPackageName
replace with:
newPackageName
where:
all files in UNZIPPEDapk/smali
(i think there were over 200 replacements)
3. run 3buildDistFolder.bat to have apkTool build the new apk in the UNZIPPEDapk\Dist folder
4. follow the instructions in 4getMissingFiles - instructions.txt to reinstate the 2 missing files in the new build:
a. Two files were not built during 3buildDistFolder:
3buildDistFolder.bat built the new apk in the \UNZIPPEDapk\dist folder but it failed to copy 2 files:
(skipping hidden file 'C:\Users\computer\apkTool\UNZIPPEDapk\assets\META-INF
\AIR\extensions\com.adobe.mobile\META-INF\ANE\Android-ARM.classpath')
(skipping hidden file 'C:\Users\computer\apkTool\UNZIPPEDapk\assets\META-INF
\AIR\extensions\com.adobe.mobile\META-INF\ANE\Android-ARM.project')
grab these 2 files from your original apk and drop them into your new apk in the correct folder
b. copy yourApp.apk from DKTimer/Dist/ to root directory where your bat files are.
5. run 5signAPK.bat to sign the apk.
developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-signing.html
6. run 6verifySigned.bat to verify the signing worked properly
7. run 7zipAlign.bat to align the apk file.
developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/zipalign.html
You are finished at this point. Continue on if you want to test it on a device.
8. run 8installAPK.bat to install the apk on a usb connected device.
9. run 9remoteDebugger.bat if you want to use remote debugging.
i hope this helps someone. let me know if i forgot to include something.
also, if you know a better way to do this, please comment (such as how to combine this into 1 long pausing bat file...)
There is a simple environment variable you can set to disable the air. prefix easily. The following code exists in the Adobe AIR packager:
String optOut = System.getenv("AIR_NOANDROIDFLAIR");
if ((optOut == null) || (optOut.indexOf("true") == -1)) {
packageName = "air." + packageName;
}
So, simply set the AIR_NOANDROIDFLAIR environment variable to true, repackage your application, and it won't have the air. prefix. Google how to set environment variables in windows or mac for your particular OS version.
For example, I use the command-line compiler on Mac/Linux, so I run:
> export AIR_NOANDROIDFLAIR=true
> java -jar $AIR_HOME/lib/adt.jar -package -target apk-captive-runtime -storetype pkcs12 -keystore cert.p12 -storepass *** Main.apk Main-app.xml Main.swf
Warning: I don't know what implications this has. Per someone's note above, this may only be a good idea with captive runtime (but that's the default going forward from AIR 3.8).
Update: Renaun Erickson said it shouldn't cause problems.
Cross-posted here (slightly different question, same answer).
Having tried several apkRename tools, I found that they all failed for some app, such as com.android.browser on HTC device.
The reason is in apktool which does not correctly unpack apk file sometimes.
So, i create my own tool: https://github.com/sjitech/ApkRename
No need apktool, no need aapt, just java and jar utilities.
This utility directly modify AndroidManifest.xml so without recompile whole resource by apktool,
so it's clean.
Tested devices: 11 kinds (both android 4+, but 2.2+ should be no OK)
Tested OS: Mac OS X 10.9 and CentOS 6. (Cygwin with bash 4+ should be OK, but not tested yet)
I actually tried brad's approach and couldn't imagine having to go through the process EVERY TIME i compiled a release. so i did something else...i modified ADT so it doesn't insert "air." at the start and replaces it with a more useful extension like "com."
Here's a summary of the approach:
use:
jar xf adt.jar
to extract the adt.jar file to a directory on your desktop. you'll find it in {adobe SDK}/lib/
look for the file APKOutputStream.class
com/adobe/air/apk/APKOutputStream.class
Open it in a hex editor (eg, HxD is what i used). Search for "air." (without the quotes but including the dot).
Don't delete the entry. i tried, you can't, it corrupts the class and it won't run. What you can do, however, is replace "air." with "com." because it has the same number of characters and doesn't mess with the length of the file. The com prefix is a lot more useful to most of us.
save the modified APKOutputStream.class file and repackage with JAR. something like this:
jar cfm ..\patchedadt.jar ..\MANIFEST.MF *
you'll want to copy that MANIFEST.MF file from the subdirectory of the package called META-INF
Rename your patchedadt.jar to adt.jar and put it back in the lib directory. Works with the Flash Builder and all that garb.
Needless to say, when you're in there, you'll want to produce your package without a "com." prefix so you don't end up with com.com.your.package.name.
maybe there was an easier way, but i didn't know any better and no one else had an answer except to decompile the apk, modify it, and recompile and that didn't even work. so i figured i'll share what i did in case someone else stumbles on it later :)
jim

Ant build Android project with dependency lib

I have two Android projects, one shared library and the app. Now I want to compile the app with dependency to the library. In Eclipse, it works very well. After that, I upload it via git to my repository and trigger Jenkins to build both projects.
My problem is, that the error occurs: "sdk/android-sdk-linux/tools/ant/build.xml:440: ../shared-lib resolve to a path with no project.properties file for project". That's clear, because in Jenkins the jobs are stored different than under Eclipse.
Another problem is, that Eclipse compiled the shared to ".jar" and Ant compiled it to "classes.jar" (is named in sdk/android-sdk-linux/tools/ant/build.xml).
Ant scripts should allow you to include whatever files you need. In your case I will suggest you move the reference to the shared-lib to local.properties file (this file should also be read by the ant script generated by update-project. Keep the adequate path for jenkins in the repository and modify the file locally for the local built. In the file in the repository you will need to have something like:
android.library.reference.1=../classes.jar
EDIT By the way the suggestion of the second properties file is just because this file is really meant to store location-specific properties.
I fixed it with copy files. The first project builds my shared-lib.jar. The other projects (phone and tablet) copy this file (shared-lib.jar) to there libs-folder and build correctly. But now I have different projects.propertieson the server and my dev-client. This one is not checked in into git.

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