Using Android Studio with Cordova projects

This article assumes you already have a Cordova project ready to use. So you will use CLI to build the project first as you normally would, including adding an Android platform to the project and running cordova build android. You’ll still need to use the steps outlined in my article to build Cordova apps, including steps for installing plugins, icons, and screens: https://iphonedevlog.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/using-cordova-3-5-cli-on-mac-os-x-mavericks-to-build-android-apps/

You’ll need the dependencies set up if you’ve never made a Cordova project before. See: https://iphonedevlog.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/setting-up-your-developmemt-environment-for-cordovaphonegap-android-projects/

Resources:
https://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/latest/guide/platforms/android/
https://developer.android.com/studio/intro/index.html
https://developer.android.com/studio/install.html 

Adding an Android APK Expansion File to a Cordova Project

Google Play apps are limited to 50MB, but may go larger with “expansion files” of up to 2GB in size. The “main” expansion file is the primary expansion file that contains additional resources required by your application. The “patch” expansion file is optional and intended for small updates to the main expansion file. This article covers how to create and add an expansion file to our Android app using a plugin. Then gives the “secret” way to upload the APK and expansion file to Google Play.

Setting Up Your Development Environment for Cordova Android projects

Updated 8/2/2015 to include Windows 7 setup. Adobe PhoneGap/Apache Cordova CLI quickly sets up your project files for the mobile environment. However, it requires a hefty setup of your development environment before you can begin making Android apps. If you are a working developer, all these tools are par for the course and you’ll have them already installed. If you are trying out Cordova/PhoneGap for the first time, and you are new to the programming world – welcome! – you need to install all the “dependencies” that Cordova/PhoneGap assumes are already resident on your system. Follow all these steps to make your Cordova/PhoneGap work go smoothly. Of course, these steps need to be done just once.

App testing with the PhoneGap Developer App — see your changes instantly without re-building!

With this software, you can develop your app on the desktop, then see the changes instantly on your mobile device. There’s no need to re-sign, re-compile, or reinstall your app to test your code. You’ll have access to the device APIs that aren’t available in web browsers. Let’s give it a spin!

For more info:
http://phonegap.com/blog/2014/04/23/phonegap-developer-app/ 

Fixing Android Lint Warnings Found when Building a PhoneGap Project

One of the checks you should make before creating your apk file for testing or uploading to an Android-based app store is the Run Lint command in Eclipse. This is found when you right-click on your project name in the Project Explorer, and select Android Tools > Run Lint…

The Lint Warnings view will show various performance, correctness, security, and other Android-environment-specific problems that may give rise to your app not loading or working in your device. (You would not use Lint to check for the validity of your HTML; you would use Validate for that.)

Cordova PhoneGap 2.7.0 in Windows with Eclipse: Install to Release (updated 6/25/13)

I already have the major software installed on my Windows machine from my last Eclipse build, detailed in https://iphonedevlog.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/building-a-phonegap-android-app-on-windows-cordova-2-2-0-with-eclipse/. If this is your first time with Eclipse and PhoneGap, follow the link above and pay careful attention to the following setup sections:

Install Eclipse Juno IDE
Install Java JDK
Install ADT
Install the Android SDK
Android SDK Manager
Set up your PATH environment variables

The steps following will take up where these left off.

Building a PhoneGap Android App in Windows: Cordova 2.3.0 with Eclipse 4.2.1

I already have the major software installed on my Windows machine from my last Eclipse build, detailed in https://iphonedevlog.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/building-a-phonegap-android-app-on-windows-cordova-2-2-0-with-eclipse/. If this is your first time with Eclipse and PhoneGap, follow the link above and pay careful attention to the following setup sections: 

Cordova 2.2 Android App Creation in Mountain Lion with Eclipse

I upgraded an Android app from Cordova 2.0 to 2.2. There were no plugins involved. These are the steps I followed. This article assumes you already have Eclipse (a software developement kit used to create Android apps; available for Windows and Mac) and its associated files installed.

If you are new to developing apps for an app store, I recommend reading the following:

Developing for the Amazon app store:
https://developer.amazon.com/help/faq.html
http://www.amazonappstoredev.com/

Developing for Google Play:
http://developer.andr oid.com/distribute/googleplay/publish/preparing.html 

Cordova 2.0 Android App Creation in Mountain Lion with Eclipse: from Install to Google Play

I kept meticulous notes as I downloaded Eclipse and all the other software I needed to create an Android app for Google Play as though my readers were absolute newbies on the Mac (I’ve been there and I haven’t forgotten) using PhoneGap 2.0.0.

I highly recommend you read this informative FAQ page before you start your app if you are going to submit to the Amazon app store: https://developer.amazon.com/help/faq.html  and this page if you want your app to work on the Kindle Fire devices: http://www.amazonappstoredev.com/2012/09/the-kindle-fire-hd-7-emulator.html

My article below follows these basic steps, but provides much more material to finalize the app: http://docs.phonegap.com/en/2.0.0/guide_getting-started_android_index.md.html#Getting%20Started%20with%20Android

(After I finished the app, I discovered strange error. An Aussie colleague told me to open up the bin/create file in the Downloads folder and do a search for “Darwin.” “Darwin11” should be changed to “Darwin12.” It looks like it would be better off to download PG 2.1.0 instead.)

Android App Process with Cordova-PhoneGap and Eclipse – from Download to Google Play

The following steps parallel this page for PhoneGap 1.8.x for the most part: http://wiki.phonegap.com/w/page/30862722/phonegap-android-eclipse-quickstart 

These steps assume you’ve already downloaded and installed Eclipse Classic, Android SDK, and the ADT Plugin, as mentioned in the above web page (which includes links if you haven’t downloaded them).

Set up the Eclipse workspace

Eclipse is the software development kit (SDK) you’ll use to assemble your project, then prepare it for app submission to Google Play or any other Android app store. The final file used in devices ends in “.apk” and this is the software that creates that file.