Droidcon 2013: Gradle for Android

Hans Dockter, CEO Gradleware & Founder of Gradle @hansd

http://gradle.org

http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system

buildTypes

• automatically picks up different source & resource directories
• can add code specific (e.g. setting constants)
• can adjust settings across multiple tasks
• automatically creates new tasks (e.g. packageTest, packageStaging)
• allows different dependencies for different types

productFlavors

• just like build types, but another axis
• can alter package name
• extends tasks further (e.g. installFreeTest, installPaidStaging)
• configure different things than buildTypes (not proguard, etc)

flavorGroups

• allows unlimited extension
• e.g. ARM/intel
• tasks allow you to run groups of things — e.g. test all debug builds

other features

• gradle wrapper
  • allows specifying the version of gradle in source control
• additional plugins
  • manymo — devices in the cloud
    • has gradle plugin to run tests against selections of their devices
• has a rich model & deep API that allows additional scripts in build
  • e.g. real-time warning if a test runs for longer than 20ms
• can combine with wrapper to have your own custom gradle installation
  • put scripts in .init of gradle installation to apply to all builds
• Android Studio picking up gradle built types
  • so can switch and see effects in the visual designer
• in future want to specify virtual devices in gradle
  • so IDE just executes gradle
  • IDE has less to do :-)