The apk-generator provided ability to the event organiser to build an apk from a single click by providing the necessary json/binary files. However it gave only one type of apk where on the other hand the Open Event Android was available with apk of different build versions.
Recently the functionality of the apk generator of the Open Event Android App was enhanced where the user is asked to select an option for build type either Google Play or FDroid which generates the apk according to that selected type.
The main difference in the googleplay apk and fdroid apk is the inclusion of googleplay libraries which aren’t included in the app/build.gradle file in case of fdroid build.
To include support for build type the following files for the apk-generator had to be changed:
- app/views/__init__.py
- app/tasks/__init__.py
- app/static/js/main.js
- app/generator/generator.py
- scripts/build.sh
- app/templates/index.html
Changes to the files
- app/templates/index.html
This file was where the changes to the UI of the apk-generator showing build type option to the user were made. With this the user was presented with an option to choose build type among googleplay and fdroid apart from the rest of the essential information.
- scripts/build.sh
The android app supported two different flavours one for google play and the other for fdroid. This required the build script to be modified according to the build type selected by the user during the filling of form.
If user selected “Google Play” or “Fdroid”, the script would look something like this:
#!/bin/bash
./gradlew assemblegoogleplayRelease --info
echo "signing"
jarsigner -keystore ${KEYSTORE_PATH} -storepass ${KEYSTORE_PASSWORD} app/build/outputs/apk/app-googleplay-release-unsigned.apk ${KEY_ALIAS}
echo "zipaligning"
${1}/zipalign -v 4 app/build/outputs/apk/app-$2-release-unsigned.apk release.apk
echo "done"
Where $2 is googleplay or fdroid depending on what build type the user has selected while building the apk from the apk generator.
- app/views/__init__.py and app/tasks/__init__.py
These files were modified by adding another parameter for supporting the two build type options in the desired functions.
- app/static/js/main.js
This is where the option selected by the user was taken and accordingly the apk corresponding to the build type option selected was made available to the user. The code for it was shown as follows:
$buildTypeRadio.change(
function () {
if (this.checked) {
enableGenerateButton(true);
buildType = $(this).val();
}
}
);
This was how the option to display build type option to the user was incorporated. This gave the user the ability to install different build versions of an apk, thus making it more useful from the user point of view.
Related Links:
- This link explains on how we can pass a variable from python script to the shell script. (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32085956/pass-a-variable-from-python-to-shell-script)
- This link explains on how to perform changes on radio button click. (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19138618/triggering-a-click-event-for-checked-radio-button-during-page-load)