Android adopted Gradle as the preferred build automation system a few years ago, but many Android developers are still unfamiliar with this open source tool. This hands-on guide provides a collection of Gradle recipes to help you quickly and easily accomplish the most common build tasks for your Android apps. You’ll learn how to customize project layouts, add dependencies, and generate many different versions of your app.
Gradle is based on Groovy, yet very little knowledge of the JVM language is required for you to get started. Code examples use Android SDK version 23, with emulators from Marshmallow (Android 6) or Lollipop (Android 5). If you’re comfortable with Java and Android, you’re ready.
Understand Gradle’s generated build files for Android apps
Run Gradle from the command line or inside Android Studio
Add more Java libraries to your Android app
Import and export Eclipse ADT projects
Digitally sign a Release APK for the Google Play store
Use product flavors to build many versions of the same app
Add custom tasks to the Gradle build process
Test both your app’s Android and non-Android components
Improve the performance of your Gradle build
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Gradle for Android Basics
Chapter 2. From Project Import to Release
Chapter 3. Build Types and Flavors
Chapter 4. Custom Tasks
Chapter 5. Testing
Chapter 6. Performance and Documentation
Appendix A. Just Enough Groovy to Get By
Appendix B. Gradle Basics
