Creating Android Plugins: Unity3d, Basic4Android, Phonegap, Adobe AIR (by Artem Kuzmenko) - Mobile...

Android Native Plugins

Artem KuzmenkoAndroid Software Engineer

Innovecs

Plan for each plugin

- Software used- Programming languages required- General steps- Information source, community help

- Personal experience- End users feedback

Common patternMain SDK

Bridge class

Helper class

End user’s code

Android

Cross-platform tool

Software used

- Eclipse- Sublime Text 2

Programming languages required

- Java- JavaScript

Activity

Cordova Plugin

General steps

MyPlugin.js

index.html

Android

PhoneGap

Cordova Plugin

- Java class extends CordovaPlugin (cordova.jar)- Add consts, implement all needed interfaces- “execute()” method

public boolean execute(String action, JSONArray args, CallbackContext callbackContext) throws JSONException {

if (NAME_TO_POSITION_ACTION.equals(action)) {

JSONObject arg_object = args.getJSONObject(0);

String name = arg_object.getString("name");

int position = arg_object.getInt("position");

…

cordova.getActivity().runOnUiThread( … );

callbackContext.success();return true;

} else if ….

Return result to js

- From “execute()” method

boolean isReady = MainSdk.isReady();PluginResult result = new PluginResult(PluginResult.Status.OK, isReady);result.setKeepCallback(false);callbackContext.sendPluginResult(result);

- Primitives, JSONObject, JSONArray, byte array

PluginResult.Statuspublic enum Status { NO_RESULT, OK, CLASS_NOT_FOUND_EXCEPTION, ILLEGAL_ACCESS_EXCEPTION, INSTANTIATION_EXCEPTION, MALFORMED_URL_EXCEPTION, IO_EXCEPTION, INVALID_ACTION, JSON_EXCEPTION, ERROR}

Config.xml

<feature name="MyPlugin"> <param name="android-package" value="com.myphonegap.MyPlugin" /></feature>

index.html

<script type="text/javascript" src="js/myplugin.js"></script>

MyPlugin.jsMyPlugin.prototype.init = function(successCallback, errorCallback, arg1, arg2) { cordova.exec ( successCallback, // success callback function errorCallback, // error callback function 'MyPlugin', // mapped to our native Java class called "MyPlugin" 'init', // with this action name [ // and this array of custom arguments

{ "arg1": arg1,

"arg2": arg2}

] ); };

Information source, community help

- http://docs.phonegap.com/- https://github.com/phonegap/phonegap/wiki

Software used

- Eclipse- Unity- MonoDevelop-Unity

Programming languages required

- Java- C# or JavaScript

Main SDK

Bridge class

General steps

Helper class (o)

MonoBehaviour

Android

Unity3d

Bridge class

- Java, android project- Add external jar - Unity classes.jar

Unity\Editor\Data\PlaybackEngines\androiddevelopmentplayer\bin\classes.jar”

- Extend UnityPlayerActivity, Activity(to place in subview) - optional- Implement all needed interfaces, add public API- UnityPlayer (com.unity3d.player.UnityPlayer)

UnityPlayer.currentActivityUnityPlayer.UnitySendMessage(String gameObjectName, String method, String message)

- Resource id (string, array, bool, layout etc.)int id = getResources().getIdentifier(String name, String defType, String defPackage)

Helper class

- C# or JS- Add consts- Add interfaces for MonoBehaviours to implement- AndroidJavaObject for the bridge class (from constructor for ex.)

AndroidJavaObject mBridge = new AndroidJavaObject("com.bridge.package");mBridge .Call ("setGameObjectForCallback", gameObject.name);

- Add public functions which calls bridge APImBridge.Call ("setNameToPosition", name, position);mBridge.Call<bool>("isReady");

MonoBehaviour

- C# or JS- Implement interfaces- Initialize Helper class from onStart()

mHelper = new PluginHelper (gameObject);

- Call Helper functions from onStart(), onGUI() etc.mHelper.setNameToPosition(name, position);bool isReady = mHelper.isReady();

AndroidManifest.xml

- Default Unity manifest\Unity\Editor\Data\PlaybackEngines\androidplayer\AndroidManifest.xml

- Custom plugin manifest, add your permissions, services, activities etc.\Assets\Plugins\Android\AndroidManifest.xml

- Result manifestProject_Folder\Temp\StagingArea\AndroidManifest.xml

- Custom Main Activity<meta-data

android:name="unityplayer.ForwardNativeEventsToDalvik" android:value="true" />

Pitfalls

- Resource ids- Hardware buttons: Back, Menu

Bridge class can have a boolean onBackPressed method

- Sensor, gyroscope when extending regular Activity

Information source, community help

- http://docs.unity3d.com/- http://answers.unity3d.com/- http://forum.unity3d.com/

AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime)

Software used

- Eclipse- FlashDevelop- Adobe Flash Professional CS6

Programming languages required

- Java- ActionScript 3

FREContext

FREExtension

General steps

AIR Mobile AS3 bridge

Android

AIR

FREFunction

Air Native Extension

Java part

- FlashRuntimeExtensions.jar- MyExtension implements FREExtension (initialize, dispose)

@Overridepublic FREContext createContext(String contextType) {

return new MyContext();}

- MyContext extends FREContext@Override

public Map<String, FREFunction> getFunctions() { … }

FREFunction interface@Overridepublic FREObject call(FREContext context, FREObject[] args)

- argsgetAsString(), getAsInt(), getAsBool(), getAsDouble()

- return null or FREObject.newObject(...)String, int, boolean, double

- catch FREExceptionsFRETypeMismatchException, FREInvalidObjectException, FREWrongThreadException

etc.

- send async event to AS from FREFunctioncontext.dispatchStatusEventAsync(MyExtension.READY_EVENT, “ready”);

ActionScript bridge

- extends EventDispatcher- add consts- implement calls to Java FREContext

private static var context:ExtensionContext;

public static function setNameToPosition(name:String, position:int):void {context.call("setNameToPosition", name, position);

}

public static function isReady():Boolean {return context.call("isReady"); }

Extension.xml

- id - com.my.air.plugin.MyExtension

- versionNumber - 0.9

- nativeLibrary - MyAirPlugin.jar

- initializer - com.my.air.plugin.extensions.MyExtension

- finalizer - com.my.air.plugin.extensions.MyExtension

AndroidManifest.xml

- application.xml in FlashDevelop

Information source, community help

Native extensions for Adobe AIRhttp://www.adobe.com/devnet/air/native-extensions-for-air.html

Using native extensions for Adobe AIRhttp://help.adobe.com/en_US/air/build/WS597e5dadb9cc1e0253f7d2fc1311b491071-8000.html

Building a native extension for iOS and Androidhttp://www.adobe.com/devnet/air/articles/building-ane-ios-android-pt1.html