I have an Android project that depends on a non-Android JAR that contains resources (Java resources, not Android resources), which classes within the JAR need to load. When running the application, these resources are not found (i.e., ClassLoader.getResourceAsStream() fails), apparently because the resources are not being included in the APK.
I found some discussion here:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=10076#c7
But I need to build the APK in Eclipse. Short of doing a command-line build with a deprecated tool (ugh), or duplicating all the resources (ugh), how can I make it work?
Create your jar file with the classes you need and save it your computer. Then in the project explorer right click the project and go to properties -> Java Build Path -> Libraries. Now import the jar file.
You should now have full access to the classes and methods in your code and the jar file will be installed with your APK. My guess is you have utility classes and when you are calling them in your source Eclipse is importing them from another project.
The solution I have given works for sure (I do it myself).
Related
Android project referencing to multiple libraries, with resource files.
I want to generate a jar with resource files from the library project and want to use it in
main android project, am not using eclipse, I want this to be done through ant .
Is it possible, because I checked few sites, where they have given to delete the src
and distributing it as zip.
If its possible please give me the process how to go with building through ant.
As far I know this is not possible. Android does not package xml files or drawables in jar files and you cannot access them from another project. You could look at *.aar files, which were introduced last year. But it only works with the Gradle system and Android Studio. It can contain xml and drawable resources from your project.
I am working on an android library, and wish to export a JAR file that I can distribute for others to use in their apps. I don't want to distribute the source code as it contains details on posting to my web server.
I have tried using the JAR file that is created in the bin directory and copying the jar file to my project and referencing it within my project and ticking the export button.
When I try and run my project referencing the library that I've copied, my app throws an exception with NoClassDefFoundError. I've done some Googling and everything I have found suggests you have to provide the source code and let the user import into their IDE and then reference that project into their app which I don't want to do. It must be possible as other companies provide JAR files for libraries that can be included.
Thanks for your help.
I don't want to distribute the source code as it contains details on posting to my web server.
Bear in mind that anyone who wants to can get that data out of the JAR.
It must be possible as other companies provide JAR files for libraries that can be included.
AFAIK, this recipe still works:
Create an Android library project, with your source code, resources, and such, and get it working
Compile the Java source (e.g., via Ant) and turn it into a JAR file
Create a copy of your original Android library project to serve as a distribution Android library project
Place the compiled JAR from step #2 and put it in libs/ of the distribution library project from step #3.
Delete everything in src/ of the distribution library project (but leave the now-empty src/ directory there)
Distribute the distribution library project (e.g., ZIP it up)
This effectively gives you what you see with the Play Services SDK -- a library project with no source code, but instead a JAR in libs/, along with the resources and such.
I will be reconfiming this recipe tomorrow and will try to remember to update this answer if I find that it needs adjusting for the current crop of tools.
And the new Gradle-based build system supports the AAR package for distributing libraries and such, though I have not played with this yet.
UPDATE
This recipe works, so long as the library project does not itself have dependencies upon another JAR or library project. In those cases, things seem to get messed up in the build process -- everything can compile, but class references from the dependencies cannot be resolved at runtime.
Did you try putting your jar file in libs folder?And if you are exporting a jar library for android be sure it has no /res folder. As you know you can't reference to your res folder from a jar therefore you have to use library project to reference your res folder (drawable,xml,ect...)On the other hand you cant make your code safe (the part you say about posting to your web service) by using it as jar since it is so easy to retrieve by reverse engineering. you better use some encoding (like base64 or any algorithm that bouncycastle provides)
As the topic indicates I would like to create a jar library that uses some android functions (no layouts) and that will be included in an Android project.
Is that possible and how?
From the research I've made I managed to include a simple jar file that uses pure Java (JAVA SE 1.6), but
when I tried creating a jar file I encountered the following exception when I tried to run the Andoid app: FATAL EXCEPTION: main
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: mylib.pleasework.amen
I tried including android.jar in my library and removing the java library, so that the jar file is build against android sdk, but it didn't work.
I tried including the jar file under a /libs folder as it is said to be the correct way to import jars in android projects from ADT v17 and after, but that didn't work either.
The jar I want to create will not use any resources (xml layouts, strings.xml) just Log.d and WifiManager.I am aware of Android Library Project but my library source is sensitive and I am afraid that it won't be safe if exposed in a Android library project. I was thinking of creating a jar and using ProGuard ( http://developer.android.com/tools/help/proguard.html ) obfuscate it.
I think I mentioned everything. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Thomas
As the topic indicates I would like to create a jar library that uses some android functions (no layouts) and that will be included in an Android project. Is that possible and how?
Use the jar command, or the <jar> Ant task. I am sure that there are ways to export a JAR from Eclipse, but I personally have never used them.
For example, in this GitHub repo I have a reusable component and a sub-project that is a sample app. My build.xml for the repo contains the following custom task:
<target name="jar" depends="debug">
<jar
destfile="bin/CWAC-WakefulIntentService.jar"
basedir="bin/classes"
/>
</target>
This generates a JAR file, that other Android applications can use by adding to their libs/ directories.
I am aware of Android Library Project but my library source is sensitive and I am afraid that it won't be safe if exposed in a Android library project.
It won't be safe exposed as a JAR, then, either. You can create an Android library project for public consumption that replaces the src/ tree's contents with a compiled JAR in libs/ in the library.
The way I did it in the end was: to create an Android Library project (check isLibrary checkbox in project properties) export it through Eclipse (right click on the project->export->jar file, careful to deselect all resources - res folder, androidmanifest.xml, *.png etc) and put it in the project you want by importing it under /libs folder. I don't know if this is the best solution but it worked for me.Used ADT r20, Eclipse 3.7.1, Android api level 7
I maintain an Android app and am not using Eclipse. I am not using Eclipse. I am using ant and build.xml and build.properties.
I have places my .jar file into the libs/ directory. My code compiles just dandy. But when I run it on the emulator, the output APK does not include the .jar, so I get a runtime stacktrace:
ERROR/AndroidRuntime(470): java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com.google.ads.AdView
my build.properties looks like this:
jar.libs.dir=libs
And the libs/ directory contains my .jar file.
What needs to be in build.xml so that the external .jar file is included in the APK?
Edit: In theory this answer should work, but it doesn't for me. Is it out of date? What gives? How to add external jar libraries to an android project from the command line
I just came over a similar problem and noticed that libraries should not be placed in "myprojectdir\lib". When I moved them to "myprojectdir\libs" everything started to work.
It turns out that I needed to upgrade the version of ant I was using to 1.8. During the compile process, I had been getting this error message:
Warning: Reference out.dex.jar.input.ref has not been set at runtime,
but was found duringbuild file parsing, attempting to resolve. Future
versions of Ant may support referencing ids defined in non-executed
targets.
I googled it, and found that I needed to upgrade Ant, and now I don't get this warning, and my application does not force close.
What needs to be in build.xml so that the external .jar file is included in the APK?
Just putting it in libs/ is sufficient.
my build.properties looks like this:
That line should not be necessary. It does not appear in my build.properties files that build successfully with JAR files.
If you use dexdump -f classes.dex from your project's bin/ directory, you will be able to determine whether com.google.ads.AdView made it in there. If it did not, then something is strange with your build scripts. If it did, then perhaps there is a dependent JAR that you are missing (though I would expect a VerifyError in that case).
You use 3rd party library, but you seem didn't run DX on it. Make sure that not only your code processed by DX tool (I assume Ant does it), but also all 3rd party libraries you use. You can look in 7Bee script I use to convert web applications to Android davlik format, so it can work for you too. You can find more about the script on Atjeews page.
Solution:
right click on the project in project tree and select Project
properties
select Java Build Path
select TAB Order
and Export
check GoogleAdMobAdsSdk-4.0.4.jar (or your
version SDK)
press OK
clean project by menu Project
-> Clean
rebuild project (Project – Build Automatically)
Oh Android. How I love your verbiage.
I have a workspace with a few projects in it. App1 and App2 are Android applications. Common is an Android library project. App1 and App2 depend upon Common (linked via the Android tab).
Common has some external dependencies, namely httpmime & apache-mime4j, which exist as jar files.
For some reason, it appears that I need to add my mime jars to the build path of App1 and App2 for compilation to succeed. This seems really dumb. In normal Java, I would add Common to the build path of App1 and App2 and things would work. Is this expected that I have to add my jars to every Android application?
-Andy
Note: If I don't configure the build path as described above, I get "The type org.apache.james.mime4j.message.SingleBody cannot be resolved. It is indirectly referenced from required .class files | DataCallUtil.java | /App1/Common/util | line 364"
I think omermuhammed and Amit didn't get the fact that Visser is talking about a Android Library Project.
For those project, I don't think it is possible to create a jar. ( jar has nothing to do with all the Android resources thing ).
From my experience with Android Library Project, this kind of project are just, basically, the sources and the ressources packaged, and ready to be included in another project.
But the settings are not part of the package, so you have to include the libs for each application.
In my experience, this setting is not something that changes often, so it is not so bad.
Android Library Project are still way from being perfect, but still a huge improvement from what was there before ( ie nothing ).
To augment omermuhammed's reply, if the common project is not one that is being changed frequently, creating a jar and using it in the other projects is a good solution.
To create a jar right-click the project on Eclipse -> Export -> Java -> JAR file, then select the folders you want to include in the JAR, in your case I guess this includes the folders gen and libs (libs being the folder with the httpmime & apache-mime4j JARS), but probably neither res nor the root directory of your project (with files such as AndroidManifest.xml that will cause problems with the same file in the dependent projects).
Try compiling the Common project into a jar and adding it as an external jar to your App1 or App2 projects.