How to support android

What is Android Support Library and How to add it in Android Studio?

In this post, you will learn about the Android Support Library and How to add in your Android Studio project.

In Android app development, support libraries have an important role. Without them, It might difficult to provide a consistent look and feel in all devices.

Okay, tell me in detail.

What is Android support library?

There are many devices still running in Jelly bean and below versions. So you need to give the same importance for old and new devices While making an app. Otherwise, the App in old devices looks dull when compared to new ones.
That may affect the app’s market. To avoid this trouble, Android introduced the Support library. These are set of code libraries that provide backward compatibility and you can find it on Android SDK. These libraries experiences revisions for fresh features and bug fixes. Package name shows which Android Version it supports from.
For example : android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity – It can be used with API level 7 and higher.

After the release of support-library 26.0.0, support for minimum API level change it to API level 14 . So Don’t confuse with v* notation

The Android Support library includes

• Palette – It used to take out colors from image.
• CardView – Provides card look like widget.
• leanback – Helps to make UI for TV apps.
• Mediarouter – Supports for Media Routes.
• gridLayout – Arranges widgets in grid manner.
• RecyclerView – New version of ListView and GridView.
• AppCompat – Provides support for ActionBars.
• support-v4 library – User Interface features and other components.
• MultiDex – helps to make apk contains multiple dex files.
• RenderScript – Enables latest features of RenderScript .
• Annotations – improves code .

If you are a beginner and experimenting with online tutorials, there may be a chance to edit the gradle file directly for adding the library as a dependency, sometimes wait for a download too.

Before doing that you can perform the following procedures to find and add an available version of the same support library. You can use this way to add AppCompat, Design, CardView, RecyclerView and so on.

There are two methods you are going to learn here. First one is simple and fast. The second method is an old one. But it’s good to know about that.

We assume that you have opened Android Studio and your project.

Method 1 – How to add support library in Android Studio

Open build.gradle(Module:app) file

Use ALT + ENTER and select Add library dependency

Select from the list, Here I am adding CardView.

CardView is added to my project. Just like this, you can add any library. If there is a sync needed. Just sync it.

Method 2 – How to add support libray in Android Studio

File->Project Structure you can use “Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S ” key combinations.

click the app module.

Click the Dependencies tab, you will see already added libraries below. click the + Button shown in the Right side of the window.

Choose library dependency from available options.

Choose library dependency dialog will be visible now. You can search here or choose the desired library that you want from the list. After your selection, just click OK.

The selected library will be added as a dependency in your dependencies tab list and click OK.

Just look at the build.gradle(Module: app) file dependency section, Android Studio will add your selected library. Please share it and your valuable comments will help us to improve.

Conclusion

The Android Support library helps to reduce the headache of developers by providing backward compatibility. Users also feel fresh and happy with their old device. There is no complexity in adding support library in Android Studio. You can do it in simple steps. I assume the above words might have helped you.

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How to Add Support Library to Android Studio Project?

An android support library is part of Android SDK tools. You can use the Android Support Library for backward-compatible versions of new Android features and additional UI elements and features not included in the standard Android framework. Each package in the support library has a version number in three parts (X.Y.Z) that correspond to an Android API level, and a particular library revision For example, a support library version number of 22.3.4 is version 3.4 of the support library for API 22.

As a general rule, use the most recent version of the support library for the API your app is compiled and targeted for, or a newer version. For example, if your app targets API 25, use version 25.X.X of the support library.

Download the Support Library

Step 1: In Android Studio, select Tools > Android > SDK Manager, or click the SDK Manager icon. The SDK Manager preference pane appears.

Step 2: Click the SDK Tools tab and expand the Support Repository.

Step 3: Look for Android Support Repository in the list.

• If Installed appears in the Status column, you’re all set. Click Cancel.
• If Not installed or Update Available appears, click the checkbox next to Android Support Repository. A download icon should appear next to the checkbox. Click OK.

Step 4: Click OK again, and then Finish when the support repository has been installed.

Add the Dependency to Your build.gradle File

The Gradle scripts for your project manage how your app is built, including specifying your app’s dependencies on other libraries. To add a support library to your project, modify your Gradle build files to include the dependency to that library you found in the previous section.

Step 1: In Android Studio, make sure the Project pane is open and the Android tab is clicked.

Step 2: Expand Gradle Scripts, if necessary, and open the build.gradle (Module: app) file. Note that build.gradle for the overall project (build.gradle (Project: app_name) is a different file from the build.gradle for the app module.

Step 3: Locate the dependencies section of build.gradle, near the end of the file. The dependencies section for a new project may already include dependencies in several other libraries.

Step 4: Add a dependency for the support library that includes the statement you copied in the previous task. For example, a complete dependency on the design support library looks like this:

Step 5: Update the version number, if necessary. If the version number you specified is lower than the currently available library version number, Android Studio will warn you that an updated version is available. (“a newer version of com.android.support:design is available”). Edit the version number to the updated version, or type Shift+Enter and choose “Change to XX.X.X” where XX.X.X is the updated version number.

Step 6: Click Sync Now to sync your updated Gradle files with the project, if prompted.

Your Gradle file will look something like this in the above picture.

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How to Enable NTFS Support on Android: With & Without Root

These days, New Technology File System or NTFS is the most popular data format being used in most flash drives. But note that, most pen drives available in the market still doesn’t come formatted in NTFS by default. Instead, they come in FAT32 format, and you must have wondered why the hell do they still come in last gen format? It’s because most of the multimedia devices that we use in our daily life still doesn’t support NTFS. Even our good old Android doesn’t. But there’s a way out. How? For that, you need to stay tuned.

Just in case you haven’t come across these terms, you needn’t worry cause we have you covered there. We would be briefing you about the various data encoding formats before we get on with the real deal. And if you are still using FAT32 as your default format, we would recommend you to upgrade to NTFS due to a no of advantages listed below.

NTFS vs FAT32: Pros & Cons

NTFS is the newer file format among the two, which was introduced by Microsoft back in 1993 in their Windows NT 3.1 and the Windows 2000. Both these Operating systems were built keeping Microsoft’s commercial clients in mind and hence failed to be popular among home users. It wasn’t until the release of the good old Windows XP that NTFS became popular as a drive format. NTFS has numerous advantages over the FAT32 (File Allocation Table), which are listed below:

• NTFS negates a big disadvantage of the FAT32 drives in the form of max file size. Now the file size is no longer limited to 4GB. If you are a frequent downloader of Full HD videos or even a 4K videos from the net, you will understand my point pretty well. Most video files are in excess of 4GB, and that makes copying files between/across FAT32 drives impossible.
• The limitation of the maximum partition size is no longer valid. Hence dividing a 4TB hard drive into a 3TB partition won’t be an issue.
• NTFS offers more built-in security for your files and folders.
• NTFS also had a higher read and write speed as compared to FAT32. But you will notice this only when you are using a USB 3.0 pen drive.

In spite of these advantages, there are a few catches:

• Apple’s Mac OS still doesn’t support writing capabilities from NTFS drives. It means that if you have an NTFS formatted pen drive connected to your laptop, you can only read files. Copying/Cutting not permitted. This NTFS read capability is available only from MAC OSX and upwards. Linux too suffers from compatibility issues. But recent gen Linux support both read/write for NTFS.
• Android still doesn’t support NTFS read/write capabilities natively. But yes it is possible via certain simple tweaks which we will show you below.
• Most SD cards/pen drives still come formatted in FAT32. After coming across all the advantages, NTFS provides over the older format you might be wondering why. Actually, till date, most Camera, MP3 player, and even DVD/Blu Ray player support only FAT32 format. Hence the SD cards and pen drives come formatted in FAT32 format to make the life of average users hassle-free.

You now know exactly what NTFS and FAT32 mean. So let’s move onto the real deal, i.e. how to enable NTFS support for Android. We will be providing you with two processes – one is targeted at those geeks who have already rooted their devices and the other for the standard user who doesn’t like to root their Android smartphones.

Without Root

This process can be carried out via an app Total Commander which is still in development stage i.e. beta stage to be precise. You will also need a USB plugin for Total Commander developed by Paragon.

After you are done and dusted with the installation process, connect your NTFS formatted pen drive to your device and open the USB plugin for Total Commander (just in case it doesn’t open by itself).

In this case, I inserted a SANDISK NTFS formatted pen drive. The USB Plugin detected my flash drive and provided me the option to mount it. Tick the enable write mode option.

Now press okay and thereby enable the write mode.

Next press on the Open Total Commander option.

So finally you can see the flash drive showing up in Total Commander (Total Commander is basically a file manager/explorer software). You are now ready to enjoy the content of your flash drive.

NOTE: We have shown this with a pen drive, but you can even try this method with an External Hard disk too. NTFS formatted SD card won’t work though. For that, you need to root your device and make use of the 2nd method given below. Moreover, you might come across certain hiccups while running some heavy files like 1080p/4K video via this process. But remember this is only in Beta stage. Expect performance improvements in the future.

With Root

Before we continue with the procedure you must download the following software which are the most vital tools for this process – Paragon exFAT, NTFS & HFS+ and Super SU

Super SU is required for providing root permission for the Paragon app. So just in case you haven’t configured Super SU already, kindly do so by downloading the app from the above link. Then follow the instructions as shown in the screen. The boot will reboot once during the process. Just in case you face any issues with the process do feel free to share your problem with us in the comment section below and we will be glad to help.

Now you have configured Super SU, download the Paragon app from the play store link provided and install it. Refer to the Paragon’s official video for the detailed process. But this is a much easier process than the one given above. So relax!

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NOTE: Samsung devices come with NTFS support by default! This is due to an agreement between the Korean and the Redmond giants.

Hope this helps. Do let us know in the comment section below whether you want us to provide a separate article on NTFS support for Mac OS. Feel free to share any problems you face during executing the process, and we will be glad to help.

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Implement In-app Update In Android

Make sure every user of your app is on the new version.

Apr 6, 2020 · 8 min read

In this article, we will learn about the In-app update feature in Android what is all about In-app update, what are the benefits of using the In-app update in your android application. Recently I’ve been working on a product in which I need to Implement an In-app update Why we need to Implement this?.

As a Developer we always want our users to have the updated version of their application but there are a lot of people who actually turned off their auto update from google play store and he/she doesn’t know about any update available or not.

To overcome the problem Google Introduced this feature called In-app update from this feature you can easily prompt the user to update the application and with the user permission you can update the application also while updating the app user can be able to interact with the application. Now the user doesn’t need to go to google play store to check there is any update available or not.

What is In-App Update:

An In-app update was Introduced as a part of the Play Core Library, which actually allows you to prompts the user to update the application when there is any update available on the Google Play Store.

There are two modes of an In-app update.

• Flexible Update
• Immediate Update

Flexible Update:

In Flexible update, the dialog will appear and after the update, the user can interact with the application.

This mode is recommended to use when there is no major change In your application like some features that don’t affect the core functionality of your application.

The update of the application is downloading in the background in the flexible update and after the completion of the downloading, the user will see the dialog in which the user needs to restart the application. The dialog will not automatically show, we need to check and show to the user and we will learn how later.

Benefits:

The major benefit of the flexible update is the user can interact with the application.

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