This document discusses different options for Android HTTP libraries. It begins by explaining that Android apps often need to connect to remote servers using HTTP. The built-in Android HTTP library uses HttpUrlConnection, but before Android 6.0 there was also the Android Apache HTTP library. It then demonstrates making requests with both HttpUrlConnection and the popular third party libraries Volley and OkHTTP. These third party libraries offer advantages like efficiency, parallel requests, caching and non-blocking of the UI thread. The document encourages exploring these options and additional resources to determine the best HTTP library for an app's needs.

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Android HTTP library
Surviving with Android

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What is it?
When we develop an Android app, usually we have to connect to a remote
server to get information. The connection usually is based on HTTP protocol
because it provides a simple mechanism to transport information. Moreover,
almost all platforms provide a set of API based on HTTP and it is very common
the scenario where an Android app needs to integrate with one of these
platforms. For these reasons, it is important to know how to choose the best
Android HTTP library. The best choice, of course, depends on the requirements
of our Android app, so we can provide some hints that help you to select the
best Android HTTP library according to our needs.

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Android HTTP Library:
The Android HTTP library is based on HttpUrlConnection. This Android HTTP
library supports HTTP and HTTPS protocol and it is the basic class to use when
handling HTTP connection. Before Android 6.0, there was another library
shipped with Android SDK, called Android Apache HTTP. To use it:
android {
useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'
}

4. Presentation 425/07/16
Android HTTP Library:
The Android HTTP library is based on HttpUrlConnection. This Android HTTP
library supports HTTP and HTTPS protocol and it is the basic class to use when
handling HTTP connection. Before Android 6.0, there was another library
shipped with Android SDK, called Android Apache HTTP. To use it:
android {
useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'
}

5. Presentation 525/07/16
HttpUrlConnection
HttpURLConnection connection = null;
try {
connection = (HttpURLConnection) (new URL(url)).openConnection();
connection.setRequestMethod("GET"); // or post
connection.connect();
InputStream is = connection.getInputStream();
}
Even if it is simple to use there is a drawback: we don’t have to make HTTP calls in UI
thread. For this reason, the piece of code above must be wrapped in a different thread.
Usually, the class used with HttpUrlConnection is the AsyncTask.

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Android HTTP Alternatives
Third-part libraries have these advantages:
● Efficiency
● Parallel requests
● Caching system
● Non-blocking UI thread
● HTTP/2 support
At level of HTTP handling there are two main libraries:
● Volley
● OkHTTP

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Android Volley
Android Volley is library made by Google and offers very
interesting features, as stated in its home page:
● Automatic scheduling of network requests
● Multiple concurrent network connections.
● Support for request prioritization
● Cancellation request API

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Android Volley: How to..
RequestQueue queue = Volley.newRequestQueue(ctx);
StringRequest req = new StringRequest(Request.Method.GET, url,
new Response.Listener<String>() {
@Override
public void onResponse(String data) {}
},
new Response.ErrorListener() {
@Override
OnError(...) {}
} );
queue.add(req);

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OkHTTP
OkHTTP is another interesting libraries to handle HTTP connections.
The main advantages provided by OkHTTP are:
●
HTTP/2 support
●
Connection pooling
●
Response caching

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OkHTTP
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
Request request = new Request.Builder().url(url).build();
client.newCall(request).enqueue(new Callback() {
@Override
public void onFailure(Request request, IOException e) {
// Handle error
}
@Override
public void onResponse(Response response) throws IOException
{
//handle response
}
});

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Find more...
To find more information please visit
Android HTTP library: Handle HTTP, JSON, Images
Follow me @survivingwithan

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Thank you