Android custom build using Ant

Question

These 4 files (build.xml, local.properties, projects.properties, proguard.cfg) are auto-generated when running:

android update project --name TestApp --target 10 -p .

Updated project.properties

Updated local.properties

Added file ./build.xml

Updated file ./proguard.cfg

But I want the "auto-gen" build.xml to also include the following "pre-compile" code as well, is there a way to do that? Is there some "include" file or "template" file which can include that?

  <target name="config">

  <property name="config-target-path" value="${source.dir}/com/androidengineer/antbuild"/>

  <!-- Copy the configuration file, replacing tokens in the file. -->
  <copy file="config/Config.java" todir="${config-target-path}"
        overwrite="true" encoding="utf-8">
   <filterset>
    <filter token="CONFIG.LOGGING" value="${config.logging}"/>
   </filterset>
  </copy>

 </target>

Try to paste that code into your build.xml and then modify the "compile" target (it may be another name) like ... — Dante WWWW, Dec 16 '11 at 01:45
Hi, What I mean is "build.xml" is auto-generated when running "android update". I can't paste that code in there. That's my problem and want to know if I can paste that code somewhere else but still able to get included when "android update" runs. — samxiao, Dec 16 '11 at 23:37
It can be delay, but yes, now it is run right after it is generated. — samxiao, Dec 19 '11 at 20:00

score 13 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 04 '12 at 08:11

The build.xml as generated by the android tool (at least when using Android SDK r20) contains this piece of code:

<!--
    Import per project custom build rules if present at the root of the project.
    This is the place to put custom intermediary targets such as:
        -pre-build
        -pre-compile
        -post-compile (This is typically used for code obfuscation.
                       Compiled code location: ${out.classes.absolute.dir}
                       If this is not done in place, override ${out.dex.input.absolute.dir})
        -post-package
        -post-build
        -pre-clean
-->
<import file="custom_rules.xml" optional="true" />

So what I do to create additional targets or customize existing targets is to create a custom_rules.xml file with these new targets. Note that in my tests the targets needed to be nested in a <project> tag, so simply copy the first two lines of your generated build.xml to custom_rules.xml, and don't forget about the closing </project> tag in the end. As custom_rules.xml will not be overwritten by android update your changes will be persistent and can be checked into your SCM tool of choice.

Yup, it seems like they had fix it in the new SDK release. – samxiao Oct 19 '12 at 19:30 — samxiao, Oct 19 '12 at 19:30

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:51

3

Maybe you can check the answer to this question:

Does the ADT plugin automatically create an ant build file?

in the answer there is a paragraph saying...

Alternatively, you can just copy the build.xml template directly from $ANDROID_HOME/tools/lib/build.template then just change the project name.

Modify this file and run the commands to see if it works.

Update

Also check "Customizing the build" of this article: http://www.androidengineer.com/2010/06/using-ant-to-automate-building-android.html

edited May 23 '17 at 11:51

Community

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answered Dec 20 '11 at 07:51

Dante WWWW

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Thanks! But this does not work as I always run "android update project" at each time it builds which always generated a new "build.xml" and replace the existing one. I'm looking for a solution to that. – samxiao Dec 20 '11 at 23:31
Then I don't know why it doesn't work. Since there is a build.xml template, I think it should generate a new build.xml from the template each time you run "android update project", but it seems that is doesn't... Sorry for that. – Dante WWWW Dec 21 '11 at 01:27
Hi coolcfan, thanks for your ansewr, but I don't think you understand my problem here. I can make changes to the template, but that would be affecting all of my "other" projects as they are using the same SDK. I only want the customized changed for this particular project for this particular build. `So here is my situation:` `1. Copy $ANDROID_HOME/tools/lib/build.template to build.xml` `2. Modify the build.xml` `3. Run "android update project"` `4. "android update" generate a new build.xml which now replaced my copy of modified build.xml` – samxiao Dec 21 '11 at 02:38
A stupid way is to write a script which overwrites the build-template at the start of your building process, then runs the commands, and then, whether the build succeeds or not, restore the original build-template in the end...... – Dante WWWW Dec 21 '11 at 02:48
Thanks coolcfan, that's what I originally think about. I was just curious to know if there's a better solution for this like a way to have "android update project" to include some customized build.xml content when generating it.. – samxiao Dec 21 '11 at 05:01
Since you have more than one projects... Maybe there isn't. Does "android update project" has the ability to let you specify a build.xml template as a parameter or in a properties file? If not... Then the "stupid" way has to be the choice :P – Dante WWWW Dec 21 '11 at 05:46

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 17 '12 at 16:05

1

In build.xml itself, it tells you how to do this. See the following comment from the file:

<!--

    ***********************
    ****** IMPORTANT ******
    ***********************
    In all cases you must update the value of version-tag below to read 'custom' instead of an integer,
    in order to avoid having your file be overridden by tools such as "android update project"
-->
<!-- version-tag: 1 -->

answered Feb 17 '12 at 16:05

Graham Borland

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I tried, and it didn't work :-( But it could because a bug I had in my Android SDK. I will try again with the new update. – samxiao May 31 '12 at 22:39

Android custom build using Ant

3 Answers3

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