The document discusses the features and improvements introduced in Android Studio 3.0, including dependency-aware build variants, faster Gradle build times, and enhanced profiling tools. It explains the application structure through modules, build types, product flavors, and their importance in creating different versions of the app such as production, QA, and development. Additionally, it outlines the evolution of building and compiling methods with respect to Gradle plugin capabilities and introduces the concept of flavor dimensions for further customization.

1. Dependency-Aware Build
Variants in Android Studio 3.0
Stefan Martynkiw

2. Android Studio 3.0 Introduction
• Introduced at Google I/O 2017
• Improvements:
• Faster Gradle build times
• Profiling tools
• UI
• Network Request Inspection (with Retrofit & OkHTTP)
• Device File Explorer
• App-Private files too! (no more adb run-as!)
• Android Gradle Plugin Improvements

3. Application Structure and Dependencies
• Applications in Android Studio
can be structured into modules
• Drivewyze Example:
• Agatha (Mobile app)
• Gaby (Stripped down for Android
ELDs)
• Erica (Stripped down for even
older Android ELDs)
• Common
• “Magic Sauce”
Agatha Erica Gaby
Common

4. Why have variants?
• Production
• Signing Keys, Production
Environment
• QA
• Unsigned, QA test environment
• Development
• Unsigned, Local-host server
Agatha Erica Gaby
Common

5. Set Theory and the Cross Product
• {A, B, C}
• {A, B, C} ⋈ {D, E, F} =
• AD, AE, AF
• BD, BE, BF
• CD, CE, CF
• {A, B, C} ⋈ {D, E, F} ⋈ {Y, Z} =
• ADY, AEY, AFY
• BDY, BEY, BFY
• CDY, CEY, CFY
• ADZ, AEZ, AFZ
• BDZ, BEZ BFZ
• CDZ, CEZ, CFZ

6. Abstract  Real
• “Build type”:
• {Debug, Release, Simulated
Location}
• “Authorization Service / Server
Environment”:
• {Production, QA, Local}
• “Event cache”:
• {Production, QA, Local}

7. Product Flavors & Build Types & Build Variants
• Build Types
• Sets up various build properties.
• The debug build type enables debug options and signs
the APK with the debug key.
• The release build type may shrink, obfuscate, and sign
your APK with a release key for distribution.
• Android Studio creates the debug and release build
types by default.
• Product Flavors
• Product flavors represent different versions of your app
that you may release to users
• Free and paid versions of your app.
• You can customize product flavors to use different code
and resources, while sharing and reusing the parts that
are common to all versions of your app.
• Product flavors are optional and you must create them
manually.
• More info:
• https://developer.android.com/studio/build/index.html
• Build Variants
• The resulting entries in the set formed by cross-product
of BuildTypes x ProductFlavors
freeFlavor paidFlavor
debug freeDebug paidDebug
release freeRelease paidRelease

8. The Old Way
• “Build Type” did not propagate
to dependent modules
• Really old bug in Gradle
• Reported March, 2013
• https://issuetracker.google.com/issu
es/36967265
• “DESCRIPTION:
Gradle plugin does not propagate
whether you are doing a debug
build or a release build to a
dependent android library”
Agatha Build.conf:
buildTypes {
release {…}
debug {…}
simloc {…}
}
productFlavors {
prodFlavor {…}
qaFlavor {…}
devFlavor {…}
}
Dependencies{ …
simlocCompile project(path: ':common', configuration: 'simlocMongoQa')
debugCompile project(path: ':common', configuration: 'libraryMongoQa')
releaseCompile project(path: ':common', configuration: 'libraryMongoProd')}
Common Build.conf:
buildTypes {
mongoDev { … }
mongoQa { … }
mongoProd { … }
}
productFlavors {
library {
buildConfigField 'boolean', 'SIMLOC_BUILD', "false"
}
simloc {
buildConfigField 'boolean', 'SIMLOC_BUILD', "true"
}
}

9. Flavor Dimensions
• Flavor Dimensions add another
cross product.
• {A, B, C} ⋈ {D, E, F} ⋈ {Y, Z} =
• ADY, AEY, AFY
• BDY, BEY, BFY
• CDY, CEY, CFY
• ADZ, AEZ, AFZ
• BDZ, BEZ BFZ
• CDZ, CEZ, CFZ
• https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=daYl7edb6S0

10. Declaring Flavor Dimensions
• //Todo finish slide:
• https://developer.android.com/s
tudio/build/build-
variants.html#flavor-dimensions

11. The New Way Common: Build.conf
buildTypes {
debug{
debuggable true
buildConfigField 'boolean', 'SIMLOC_BUILD', "false"
}
release {
debuggable false
buildConfigField 'boolean', 'SIMLOC_BUILD', "false"
}
simloc {
debuggable true
buildConfigField 'boolean', 'SIMLOC_BUILD', "true"
}
}
flavorDimensions "mongo"
productFlavors {
mongoDevFlavor {
dimension "mongo"
buildConfigField 'String', 'DRIVE_EVENTREPL_URI', '”…"'
}
mongoQaFlavor {
dimension "mongo"
buildConfigField 'String', 'DRIVE_EVENTREPL_URI', '”…"'
}
mongoProdFlavor {
dimension "mongo"
buildConfigField 'String', 'DRIVE_EVENTREPL_URI', '"…"'
}
}
Agatha2: Build.conf
flavorDimensions "dsp", "mongo"
productFlavors {
prodFlavor {
dimension "dsp"
applicationId 'com.drivewyze.agatha2'
…
}
qaFlavor {
dimension "dsp"
applicationId 'com.drivewyze.agatha2.qa'
…
}
devFlavor {
dimension "dsp"
applicationId 'com.drivewyze.agatha2.dev'
…
}
mongoDevFlavor {
dimension "mongo"
}
mongoQaFlavor {
dimension "mongo"
}
mongoProdFlavor {
dimension "mongo"
}
}