When developing an Android application, we can generate an AAR file and use it in different android projects. Creating an Android Library will save you time compiling and running your project, and you can share existing services, images, resources, layouts with other people. Libraries make reusing existing code very convenient. As you build your library, remember this quote: “ .” ― Carl Sagan, Cosmos If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe So let’s get started. Creating an Android Library Starting process: Project Setup → Open a new project → Select an Empty Project Template This would create an empty Android project. Click . File > New > New Module In the window that appears, click Create New Module Android Library Then give your library a name and select a minimum SDK version for the code in the library, then click . Finish The library module appears in the Project panel on the left. At the top of the file, you should include the following line if it is not already there. apply plugin: 'com.android.library' ~/woah/build.gradle plugins {
    id 'org.jetbrains.kotlin.android'
    id 'com.android.library'
}

android {
    compileSdk 31

    compileOptions {
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled true
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation 'androidx.core:core-ktx:1.7.0'
} Try to simply or execute in terminal: Build > Rebuild project ./gradlew assembleRelease or . choose assembleRelease from Android Studio's Gradle menu After a successful build, First switch to the project view in the left panel and navigate as sown below. AAR file should appear in ~/woah/build/outputs/aar/ AAR files can contain Android resources and a manifest file, which allows you to bundle in shared resources like layouts and drawables in addition to Java classes and methods. AAR files can contain C/C++ libraries for use by the app module's C/C++ code. Implement Your logic in your Library Module Let’s write a simple library that is shown when your app gets crashed. interface CrashListener {
    fun onUncaughtException(thread: Thread, throwable: Throwable)
}

object Woah {
    @JvmStatic
    fun init(crashListener: CrashListener) {
        Thread.setDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler { p0, p1 ->
             crashListener.onUncaughtException(p0, p1)
        }
    }
} Adding @Keep on a class protects the class from removing by proguard during optimization. Don’t use default resource names such as or in resources. colorAccent colorPrimary Default host app resources will always be prioritized. How to Integrate AAR Library Just move the AAR file to the libs directory. Then add in file: build.gradle dependencies {
    implementation project(':woah')
    implementation fileTree(dir: "libs", include: ["*.aar"])
    ...
} Conclusion In this guide, we have covered all the steps you need to take to create an Android Library. The goal of creating an Android Library should be to develop more user-friendly interfaces that can be reused. Resources: Sample (full code) https://github.com/tkrest/woah Android-library https://developer.android.com/studio/projects/android-library Dependencies https://developer.android.com/studio/build/dependencies

Cosmos

Apple

Jetpack DataStore in Android Explained

How to Detect Language and Translate text in Android with Firebase ML Kit

Nominated for 2022 - Android Advocate of the Year

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Performance

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Firebase

Nominated for 2022 - HackerNoon Contributor of the Year - Kotlin

Too Long; Didn't Read

Make resilience your competitive advantage

How to Create an Android Library

How to Create an Android Library

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Untitled Story

Cancelling Coroutines in Kotlin

Java bits: 0xFF and 0xFFL

10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Google Keep

10 Things to check on Android code reviews

10 Mistakes In Mobile App Development That Make You Look Dumb

Cancelling Coroutines in Kotlin

Java bits: 0xFF and 0xFFL

10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Google Keep

10 Things to check on Android code reviews

10 Mistakes In Mobile App Development That Make You Look Dumb

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps