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Gradle for Android
Gradle for Android

Gradle for Android: Automate the build process for your Android projects with Gradle

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Gradle for Android

Chapter 2. Basic Build Customization

We started out by looking at the uses of Gradle, and creating and converting Android projects. Now it is time to get a better understanding of the build files, to look at some useful tasks, and to explore the possibilities of both Gradle and the Android plugin.

In this chapter, we will look at the following topics:

  • Understanding the Gradle files
  • Getting started with build tasks
  • Customizing the build

Understanding the Gradle files

When creating a new project with Android Studio, three Gradle files are generated by default. Two of those files, settings.gradle and build.gradle, end up on the top level of the project. Another build.gradle file is created in the Android app module. This is how the Gradle files are placed in the project:

MyApp
├── build.gradle
├── settings.gradle
└── app
    └── build.gradle

These three files each serve their own purpose, which we will further look into in the upcoming sections.

The settings file

For a new project containing only an Android app, settings.gradle looks like this:

include ':app'

The settings file is executed during the initialization phase, and defines which modules should be included in the build. In this example, the app module is included. Single module projects do not necessarily require a settings file, but multimodule projects do; otherwise, Gradle...

Getting started with tasks

To know which tasks are available on a project, you can run gradlew tasks, which prints out a list of all the available tasks. In a newly created Android project, this includes Android tasks, build tasks, build setup tasks, help tasks, install tasks, verification tasks and other tasks. If you want to see not only the tasks, but also their dependencies, you can run gradlew tasks --all. It is possible to do a dry run of tasks, which prints out all the steps that are executed when running a specific task. This dry run will not actually perform any of these steps, so it is a safe way to see what you can expect to happen when running a certain task. You can do a dry run by adding the parameters -m or --dry-run.

Base tasks

The Android plugin for Gradle makes use of the Java base plugin, which in turn makes use of the base plugin. These add the standard lifecycle tasks and some common convention properties. The base plugin defines the tasks assemble and clean, and the...

Customizing the build

There are a lot of ways to customize the build process, and when you are editing the build files in Android Studio, it is recommended to always sync the project with the Gradle files, no matter what you are customizing. This becomes especially important when you start adding dependencies or BuildConfig fields, which we will talk about soon.

Android Studio will show a message in the editor as soon as you edit settings.gradle or build.gradle, and it is possible to trigger the sync at all times by navigating to Tools | Android | Sync Project with Gradle Files or the corresponding button in the toolbar.

Customizing the build

Under the hood, the Android Studio Sync actually runs the generateDebugSources task to generate all the necessary classes, based on the configuration in the build files.

Manipulating manifest entries

We already saw that it is possible to configure applicationId, minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion, versionCode, and versionName directly from the build files, instead of in the manifest...

Summary

In this chapter, we took a detailed look at the different Gradle files that are automatically generated by Android Studio. You are now able to create build files yourself, and add all the required fields and configure the key properties.

We got started with the basic build tasks, and learned how the Android plugin builds on the base plugin, and extends it with new Android-specific tasks. We also saw how to run build tasks both from the command-line interface, and from inside Android Studio.

In the final part of the chapter, we looked at several ways to influence the output of the build, and ways to configure parts of the build process itself.

In the last few years, the Android developer ecosystem has grown immensely, and a lot of interesting libraries have become available for everyone to use. In the next chapter, we will look at several ways to add dependencies to a project, so we can take advantage of this abundance of resources.

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Description

If you are an experienced Android developer wanting to enhance your skills with the Gradle Android build system, then this book is for you. As a prerequisite, you will need some knowledge of the concepts of Android application development.

Who is this book for?

If you are an experienced Android developer wanting to enhance your skills with the Gradle Android build system, then this book is for you. As a prerequisite, you will need some knowledge of the concepts of Android application development.

What you will learn

  • Build new Android apps and libraries using Android Studio and Gradle
  • Migrate projects from Eclipse to Android Studio and Gradle
  • Manage the local and remote dependencies of your projects
  • Create multiple build variants
  • Include multiple modules in a single project
  • Integrate tests into the build process
  • Create custom tasks and plugins for Android projects

Product Details

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Publication date : Jul 17, 2015
Length: 172 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783986835
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Product Details

Publication date : Jul 17, 2015
Length: 172 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783986835
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Tools :

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Table of Contents

10 Chapters
1. Getting Started with Gradle and Android Studio Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Basic Build Customization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Managing Dependencies Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Creating Build Variants Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Managing Multimodule Builds Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Running Tests Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Creating Tasks and Plugins Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Setting Up Continuous Integration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Advanced Build Customization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Amazon Customer Dec 22, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Great book with clear examples.I am definitely considering purchasing more books from this publisher.This book is great for anyone with Multi module pre-reqs, multi-flavor demands, CI requirements.Great! Great! Great!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
laurynas Aug 03, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Recommended to android professionals.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Peter Theill Aug 01, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is a great book. I've tried to get started with Gradle but it wasn't until I read this book I managed to setup my apps properly. The book gives a great introduction and further expands with some very nice cases to setup a world class build system.Highly recommended.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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