Develop Reference

Android Unable to load '.so.1' file

Hi I am working on a Android native application.
There is 'abc.so' files which depend on some 'xyz.so.1' file. All of the required files are available in the project structure before building, but the '.so.1' are not a part of the generated .apk file (I checked the apk file by unpacking).
This is causing in a "'java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError' Couldnt load 'abc.so.1' from loader dalvik" when trying to run the application.
I dont want to push the .so.1 file as the phone is not rooted and runs on a production build. How do I include the .so.1 files as a part of the APK?
Thank you.

I think you havent got the concept of loading native libraries to Java through JNI.
First you define the native methods in java and do the corresponding implementation in the native and compile it (you have to register the native methods by either 1) following a naming convention 2) registering the native methods in jni_onload...i think you must have done this, if not check http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/ehchua/programming/android/android_ndk.html)
Next, you have to load the library before any call can be made to native. This has to be done once. You can do it in an activity by defining:
static{
System.loadLibrary("mylib.so");
}
Note while compiling the library you will have got the library name as libXYZ.so, but when loading the library in java the "lib" should be omitted ,just system.loadlibrary(XYZ.so)
If you are using NDK the library would have been already copied to Java project > libs > armeabi folder , if not you have to copy your lib.so there
Now if you have multiple shared libraries , you should load the least dependent lib.so first , followed by second etc i.e.
Static {
System.loadLibrary(independent_lib.so); // should depend on only android libs
System.loadLibrary(next_dependent_lib1.so); //can depend on android libs and independent_lib.so
System.loadLibrary(next_dependent_lib2.so); //can depend on android libs,independent_lib.so,next_dependent_lib1.so
.....
....
..
}
If you jumble up, the VM will not be able to link the libraries and throw a unsatisfied link error.
Lastly, all this .so s will be part of your apk and it will be pushed to the system libs only runtime. Unless its a rooted phone you cannot extract the .so. If you follow the above method you will not need to push any .so to the system. Only build on eclipse/cygwin and run
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Shrish

gradlew appengineEndpointsInstallClientLibs does not install client libs (but does generate them)

I am working on an android project working in Android Studio (0.5.3).
I have created two endpoint api classes (called UserEndpoint and OfferEndpoint) in the backend part of the project. Then I wanted to create the client libraries to use in the app part of the project. I use the gradlew appengineEndpointsInstallClientLibs command for this. In the /build/client-libs part it did create the .zip files of the client libraries. But it did not install them in the app part of the project.
So now my question:
Is the command I am using (gradlew appengineEndpointsInstallClientLibs) supposed to also install them in the app part, and if yes what could be the reason it is not working for me (there seem to be no errors).
This tutorial mentions that I have to manually add the libraries. I added the .zip files to the /libs folder, but there is no 'add as library' option as the tutorial mentions. Is this the correct way of doing this? And if yes could someone give me a little more in detail explanation because I tried some things by adding the dependency in the build.gradle file but nothing seems to work.
Thanks in advance!

By default, if you don't use #ApiNamespace, the namespace that is used
is the reverse of your-project-id.appspot.com. That is, the package
path will be com.appspot.your-project-id.yourApi.
Source
The annotation was missing in the #Api annotations of the endpoints.

Android library project as jar file for distribution, like google analytics

I have seen this question, and have some more doubts regarding creating a jar file which I can distribute and can be used in any android applications.
What my requirement is
As I said, I want to build and distribute a closed source library. I
don't want the source code to be visible.
In that library I don't want to use any assets, layouts, resources
etc. But I want to use some android specific codes, like getting
android device id.
The most popular answer in the above linked SO question tells to create a regular java project and import android.jar in it. I tried to do that, but I don't know how to add android.jar to any java project. I would like to get some clarification on that too.
Moreover I would like to know if there are any other methods using android sdk itself (without using java project) create a closed source library jar file.
I think what I want is possible, since google analytics for android native apps seems to have done it. I am sure in the .jar file they distribute they are using android specific codes, since there seems no other way for them to get the device information to display in the analytics viewer.
EDIT : CAN SOMEONE CLARIFY THIS??
I think I have made some progress. This is what I have done
Created a regular android project (not library project, the "is
Library" checkmark is unchecked)
In the project I have coded out my logic. It uses some android
specific classes like SharedPreference, UUID, PackageManager. But
nothing related with assets, layouts also no class extending
Activity. Just a java class extending java.lang.object
Exported the project using Project->rightclick->export->Java->JAR
file. In the next screen I unchecked the checkbox near
AndroidManifest.xml. Set a destination directory to export and
clicked next thrice with keeping the default settings. Then I clicked
Finish, and got a lovely libMyLibraryName.jar at my desktop.
Then I created another android project, added this libMyLibraryName.jar to new project using project->rightclick->properties->java build path -> libraries->add external jar.
And I tried to use my class in the library, in my new project
MyLibraryClass objClass = new MyLibraryClass(this);
And I was able to compile and run successfully. I even sent the library to one of my co worker who was able to use the library in his on machine (Just making sure library project in my workspace wont influence the project using it).
Now I have 2 questions.
1) My first question is , what they meant by the term "true library" in the below given documentation ? Is it any non android java project which can be exported to a JAR file?
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.
Well this portion is taken from documentation under title "Library Projects".
2) My second question is, anything wrong with the way I have created the JAR file? Any possible pitfalls which might bite me back later? I would like to make sure I am not doing something terribly wrong, before using it in my important projects.
I might add that I didn't try the method of creating a JAVA project and importing android.jar. I am ready to try that one, if what I have done currently is wrong.

The android.jar will be located where you installed your Android SDK. Under the platforms directory there should be a number of other directories named android-<version>. The android.jar will be there. Choose the one specific to the minimum android version you are targeting.
Once you have that, copy it into your project. If you're using eclipse I think you can just cut and paste jars straight into your project, right click and add it to build path. If you're not using eclipse or any other IDE, you just need to ensure that the android.jar is on the classpath when building your jar file.
After that your newly built android library can be dropped into any Android project.
In answer to your additional questions:
What they mean by a true library is a jar file as opposed to an Android library project.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the way you created the jar file. I would have made it using the android.jar as I mentioned above but your way should also work. To verify this I would examine the jar contents and make sure all you have in there is .class files.

Sharing Java library with Android Apps

I'm just getting started in Android development, and use Netbeans with NBAndroid and SDK 17.
I'd like to use the same Java source code in my Java and Android app.
http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/projects/projects-eclipse.html says how to do it in Eclipse (although it is sketchy on the .JAR connection thing), but I can't seem to make it work in NB.
Based on that link, My understanding is that the correct setup for the Android app is an Android Application project which references an Android Library project which in turn references a .JAR library produced by a Java Library project. I could then also have a Java Application project referring to the same Java Library project.
So, I've set up this project structure... I have an AndroidApp project which is a basic HelloAndroid Activity in a com.ex package. This project includes an AndroidLib library project in the Libraries folder. I also have a LibClass.java file which defines a simple LibClass class which has one function getText() that just returns a String to be displayed. The MainActivity in the AndroidApp calls this to get the String to output.
When I put LibClass.java directly into the AndroidLib project, everything is fine.
But what I want to do is to share the source code with Java.
So I want to move the LibClass.java into the JavaLib library, whose .JAR file is included in the AndroidLib project. However, when I tried that, I get an error in the MainActivity class, complaining it can't find LibClass. Looking at the Projects window, I can see LibClass.class inside the com.ex package in the JavaLib.jar in the Libraries folder of the AndroidLib project. And AndroidLib is visible in the Libraries folder of the AndroidApp project, but it doesn't show any packages or other contents there.
So I feel like I'm just one step away from making this work. Do I need to do something with one or other of the AndroidManifest files perhaps? Or do something with the build.xml files? Or am I on the wrong track altogether?
I'd be really grateful if someone could post a how-to for this.

I'm trying something similar; I've got Java EE projects, built using Eclipse, and I'm trying to utilize some of that code from my Android projects. This should give me a shared codebase rather than a bunch of confusing SVN externals which I've had to endure before.
Rather than creating JAR files I've found that working with the source and building for the platform works best (well, it has been working but I've got a problem with it at the moment). So, what I'm doing is:
c:\MySvnFolderStructure\MyJavaProjectFolder\src\ (and then all the source under that)
c:\MySvnFolderStructure\MyJavaProjectFolder\android\ (and all the Eclipse Android project gubbins)
c:\MySvnFolderStructure\MyJavaProjectFolder\jee\ (and all the Eclipse JEE project gubbins)
The Android and Java EE projects do not have their own src folders, they both link to the src folder in their parent folder. What this means is that each of the Java implementations is building its own byte code version from the source, and using its own external libraries (like the Apache HTTP ones, for example).
Naturally they can't share stuff like awt (as mentioned in another post), but there's plenty of stuff that does cross-over especially if it's core Java classes that are being used.
Also, it's proving a bit tricky writing JUnit tests as there needs to be some duplication of the test code at the moment because the Android ones need extra instrumentation, but I'm working on it.
Also, see this post about relative paths in Eclipse, which means the folders can be checked-out to different places on different machines (like we all do with our version control check-outs) and still be shared.

if I understand your situation correct, you are trying to use a custom java library for both your android and java applications.
For this scenario, you can build the java library first. Instead of adding the java library jar as android library, you can drop the jar directly inside the libs folder of android project and add it to android project's build path.
If you are using ANT scripts for building the java library jar , you can consider adding the source files also as part of jar. This will help you get code assistance when you develop the android part. But this part is purely optional.

The problem is that the Java platform in Android is different from the JDK platform.
In particular, the .JAR library CANNOT refer to anything that is not icluded in the Android platform. An example of things you can't refer to is java.awt.* (except you can have java.awt.fonts).
There is also a difference between JDK String and Android String -- Android does not implement the isEmpty() method.

How to import individual projects from Android Source Code

As far as I understand, all the built-in standard apps like (email, music, calendar etc) are built using the same API. So I should be able to import a project like mail / music etc without checking out the full source repository of android. I'v been trying that but I am getting compilation problems like class resolve failure.
Am I doing it wrong? Do I have to get the full android source project to import a project like Mail ?

These apps are open source (mail, music and calendar). But they depend on internal classes and resources and can't be compiled with the SDK

You could pull a Git clone of some particular app. For example - the EMail app from
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Email/
The first problem is that Google are using MK files for building inside their android projects and Eclipse do not use them. But you can compile it because you have the sources, the XML resources and the manifest also.
The second problem is to deal with the dependencies. For example the gallery app may depend on few camera classes. You can manually copy them to your project.
Other way is:
Using Eclipse for writing code and testing if it builds correctly and using GNU Make 3.82 from http://www.gnu.org tool that will build the supplied Android.MK file and run the app.