14.7. Using external dependencies
When using the Android Maven Plugin there are three types of
dependencies that are treated differently.
-
Regular dependencies to other Java libraries
-
The Java byte code files (.class) of library dependencies as denoted
in the normal Maven way are transformed to dalvik executable format
like any source code of the current project and included in the
Android package. All other files are included as contained in the
source library. An example would look like this
<dependency>
<groupId>com.simpligility</groupId>
<artifactId>model</artifactId>
<version>0.1</version>
</dependency>
-
Dependencies to other Android projects
-
Other Maven Android projects with packaging type apk declared as
dependencies are deployed to the emulator prior to running the
instrumentation tests in the integration test phase.
<dependency>
<groupId>com.simpligility.android</groupId>
<artifactId>intents</artifactId>
<version>0.1</version>
<type>apk</type>
</dependency>
-
Dependencies to other Android projects' sources
-
Other Android Maven projects with packaging type apk declared as
source dependencies are pulled into the current Android application
with assets and resources and used to build an application
combining all artifacts including resources.
<dependency>
<groupId>com.simpligility.android</groupId>
<artifactId>tools</artifactId>
<version>0.1</version>
<type>apklib</type>
</dependency>
Tip
A common use case for using Android libraries is to separate out
all application code that is independent of the application store in
which the apk will be made available. Then you can have one apk
per store that depends on the library and add any specific code for
e.g. market access or release build requirements.
