Notes - Android Jetpack: What’s New in Android Support Library (Google I/O 2018)

In this Notes article, I roughly jotted down notes in English from the content of the English session video/podcast. This article is intended to be read as a reference while watching the video. I hope this article helps you even a little when you watch the actual video. (Please feel free to contact me if there are any errors or typos! m(__)m)

This article is based on Android Jetpack: What’s New in Android Support Library (Google I/O 2018).

Packaging

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Current Package Name

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• com.android.support
  • support-v4
  • support-v13
  • appcompat-v7
  • cardview-v7
  • gridlayout-v7
  • mediarouter-v7
  • palette-v7
  • preference-v7
  • preference-v14
  • recyclerview-v7

Packaging, Versioning, Releasing

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• Forming the foundation for Jetpack: Android Extension Libraries = AndroidX

Jetpack

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• Guidance
• Recommended libraries and tools
• Has a cute logo

AndroidX

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• The libraries themselves
• Technical guarantees
• Does not have a cute logo

Finer-grained Artifacts

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• Feature-based Maven groupId and artifactId
• Scoped to individual widgets and use cases
• Compatible with old artifacts
• Binary compatible

Refined Versioning

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• Reset from 28.0.0 to 1.0.0
• Strict semantic versioning:
  • Major - binary compatibility
  • Minor - feature release
  • Bug fix
• Per-artifact versioning & release
• Dependencies defined in POM

Updated Packaging

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• Refactored to androidx Java packages: androidx.<feature>.ClassName
• Consistent Maven naming schemes: androidx.<feature>:<feature>-<sub-feature>
• Removed -v7, -v4, etc., naming

Examples

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Support Library 28.0.0-alpha1 => AndroidX 1.0.0-alpha1

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com.android.support:multidex
=> androidx.multidex:multidex

com.android.databinding:adapters
=> androidx.databinding:databinding-adapters

android.arch.persistence.room:common
=> androidx.room:room-common

com.android.support:support-compat
=> androidx.core:core

com.android.support:cardview-v7
=> androidx.cardview:cardview

Migrating to AndroidX

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• Tooling for automatic source migration
  • Available in Android Studio 3.2 Canary 14+
  • Wait until Canary 15 to start using this
• Jetifier tool for prebuilt JAR, AAR transformation
  • Available as a standalone JAR or Gradle plugin
• Use Automated Refactoring (As of 05/12/18: Available in Android Studio 3.2 Canary 14)
  • “Refactor to AndroidX…”
• Support Library 28.0.x
  • Parity with AndroidX 1.0.x libraries
  • Same old android.support Java package
  • Same old com.android.support Maven groupId
• No feature releases after 28.0.0

New Features

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RecyclerView Selection

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• Touch and mouse-driven
• Preserves state between Activity lifecycle events
• Fine-grained control

dependencies {
  implementation "androidx.recyclerview:recyclerview-selection:1.0.0-alpha1"
}

• Band selection
• Item selection area
• Item rejection
• State management
• Much more

RecyclerView ListAdapter

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• Operates on immutable lists
• Simplified way to use DiffUtil
• Provides animated updates
• Concurrency support
• Efficiently animates changes
• See also AsyncListDiffer

androidx.webkit

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• Provides access to latest WebView platform APIs (android.webkit.*)
• Relies on updatable WebView APK
  • API 21+ devices only

dependencies {
  implementation "androidx.webkit:webkit:1.0.0-alpha1"
}

Browser Library

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• android.support.customtabs -> androidx.browser
• Custom tabs supported by major browsers:
  • Chrome
  • Firefox
  • Samsung Internet
• Browser actions:
  • Allows apps to hook into browser context-click menu
  • Requires browser support: Chrome v66+

HeifWriter

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• Writing to HEIF files from:
  • YUV byte buffers
  • android.view.Surface
  • android.graphics.Bitmap
• API 28+ (backport coming)

Slices

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Android’s new approach for remote content

• Templated
• Interactive
• Updatable
• Backwards-compatible through API 19+ (95% of devices)

Goal

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• One reusable API for presenting remote app content in Android
• Templated and Interactive

Launching in Search

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Enhance Suggestions with rich, live app content:

• App names
• General terms Reach hundreds of millions of users with Slices backwards-compatibility.

dependencies {
  implementation "androidx.slice:slice-builders:1.0.0-alpha1"
  implementation "androidx.slice:slice-view:1.0.0-alpha1"
  implementation "androidx.slice:slice-core:1.0.0-alpha1"
}

Slice Types

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• Shortcut slice
• Small slice
• Large slice

Material Components

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• Adding more customization for color, type, and shape
• New components
• Animations
• Express your brand

dependencies {
  implementation "com.google.android.material:material:1.0.0-alpha1"
}

Impressions / Summary / Key Takeaways

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• Automatic Source Migration is from Canary 15.
• “Jetifier” is a cool name… watch the linked video to see how it works.
• “What’s New in Android Support Library” becomes “What’s New in AndroidX” next year!
• Since I started Android development, I’ve found the packaging of support libraries confusing. Having everything unified under androidx sounds fantastic!

That’s all!