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.
Related
I want to make a separate module so I can share it between projects. The module is going to have android components. So upon creating a new module the options are Phone & Tablet module and Android Library. I wanted to know what's the difference between the two. thanks
What is Module? From the Add a Module for a New Device documentation:
Modules provide a container for your app's source code, resource
files, and app level settings, such as the module-level build file and
Android manifest file. Each module can be independently built, tested,
and debugged.
What is Android Library? From Create an Android Library documentation:
An Android library is structurally the same as an Android app module.
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. Unlike JAR files, AAR files can
contain Android resources and a manifest file, which allows you to
bundle in shared resources like layouts and drawables in addition to
Java classes and methods.
You can't access the components from one module to another module.
So, if you need to share components between projects, you need to create Android library. But please remember, you can't run the library. You only can access and use it from the module. Furthermore, you can use Gradle Android Maven plugin to install your library locally.
Check the official doc
Resume:
Modules provide a container for your app's source code, resource files, and app level settings, such as the module-level build file and Android manifest file. Each module can be independently built, tested, and debugged.
Android Studio uses modules to make it easy to add new devices to your project. By following a few simple steps in Android Studio, you can create a module to contain code that's specific to a device type, such as Android Wear or Android TV. Android Studio automatically creates module directories, such as source and resource directories, and a default build.gradle file appropriate for the device type. Also, Android Studio creates device modules with recommended build configurations, such as using the Leanback library for Android TV modules.
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
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.
My desired end result is to have a Project that can output different productflavors of Mobile, Tv, and Wear apps, that share the same code-base. So I would like the codebase to be a dependency for all three app-types, where each app module would only contain activities and interaction with the codebase.
My first idea was to add a "Android Library Module" to my newly created project, but I noticed that this is really just a new app module with its own resources and everything. I would like the codebase to function more like a "Java Library", but it needs access to packages like "android.graphics.Color".
So in short, is the correct way of achieving this result to use a java library that has a reference to an android sdk or am i just going about this the wrong way?
Continuation of this question at:Does an Android Library need a manifest ,app_name,Icon?
There's no in-between. If you want access to Android APIs, then the library needs to be an Android library so that the build system can properly link it in to dependent projects. It's true that Android Libraries have resources and other things you may not need, but you can ignore those bits and treat it essentially as a plain Java library if you wish. Even if you're not using resources, you may find useful the ability to specify AndroidManifest.xml attributes to be merged into the dependent app.
The Android Library project doesn't build a fully-fledged APK as its output; it generates an AAR, which is conceptually similar to a JAR archive, but has resources and meta-information useful to Android projects.
Supplemental answer defining terms
The Android Studio documentation defines a module as follows:
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.
So basically a module is a subproject in your bigger project.
Types of modules
Android app module - The app module is usually what you are working with in a normal project. When you compile it you get an APK file that will run on a device. Here are the different types of app modules that exist:
Phone & Tablet Module
Android Wear Module
Android TV Module
Glass Module
Library module - The purpose of a library is to share code. For example, you could have a project with a couple different app modules. The common code that they both use could be located in the library.
Android Library - In addition to Java code, this allows you to also include Android resource files and a manifest. If you are making an Android project and are wondering what kind of library to use, then choose the Android Library. When compiled it creates an AAR (Android Archive) file.
Java Library - This only allows you to include Java code files, no Android resource files. This is useful for cross-platform code sharing. When compiled it creates a JAR (Java Archive) file.
Google Cloud module - This type of module is the Google Cloud backend for communication with your client side app.
One additional point that I've not seen well documented: An android library module can have a dependency on another android library module or java library module, but a java library module cannot have a dependency on an android library module.
So I recently migrated to Android Studio from Eclipse. For the most part, it's better, but I haven't found a good way to maintain a shared codebase between multiple projects.
What I want to do is be able to share some code between several of my applications. Each application is in its own project. From what I've seen, most people add it as a library module in the application's project. The problem with that is the module is accessible from only one project. The other projects within which my other applications reside can't access the library.
It seems to me like there should be a mechanism for creating another library project and then allow each of the application projects to access that code. This worked in Eclipse, where I would create another project in my workspace, mark it as a library, and then have the other projects reference it. I would be able to change the code in the library and then all of the projects referencing it would automatically build with the updated code.
Is this something I could do in Android Studio?
Yes this is possible:
Create the project you would like to have as a shared library - we'll refer to it as sharedProject.
Now in the project that you want to use this library open settings.gradle and paste the following:
include '..:sharedProject:app'
Open your build.gradle and paste the following under the dependencies element:
compile project(':..:sharedProject:app')
You can use this technique for as many projects as you'd like to refer to your common codebase in sharedProject. Note that this assumes your project and your sharedProject directories are in a common workspace directory (which is almost always the case).