Posted yesteryear Aurimas Liutikas, software engineer on AndroidX team AndroidX (previously known every bit Android Support Library) started out every bit a pocket-sized laid of libraries intended to supply backwards compatibility for novel Android platform APIs and, every bit such, its evolution was strictly tied to the platform. As a result, all function was done inwards internal Google branches in addition to hence pushed to the populace Android Open Source Project (AOSP) together amongst the platform push. With this flow, external contributions were limited to a narrow window of fourth dimension where the internal in addition to AOSP branches were unopen inwards content. On summit of that, it was hard to contribute -- inwards gild to create a total AndroidX create in addition to testing, external developers had to banking corporation lucifer out >40GB of the total Android platform code.
Today, the orbit of AndroidX has expanded dramatically in addition to includes libraries such every bit AppCompat for easier UI development, Room for database management, in addition to WorkManager for background work. Many of these libraries implement higher-level abstractions in addition to are less tied to novel revisions of the Android platform, in addition to all libraries are designed amongst backwards compatibility inwards bespeak heed from the start. Several libraries, such every bit RecyclerView in addition to Fragment, are purely AndroidX-side implementations amongst few ties to the platform.
Starting a picayune over 2 years ago, nosotros began a procedure of unbundling -- moving AndroidX out of Android platform builds into its ain course of teaching build. We had to create a bang-up bargain of work, including migrating our builds from brand to Gradle every bit good every bit migrating all of our API tracking tools in addition to documentation generation out of the platform build. With that procedure completed, nosotros reached a indicate where a developer tin instantly banking corporation lucifer out a minimal AndroidX project, opened upward it inwards Android Studio, in addition to create using the populace SDK in addition to populace Android Gradle Plugin.
The Android developer community has long expressed a wishing to contribute to a greater extent than easily to AndroidX; however, this was ever a challenge due to the reasons described above. This changes today: AndroidX evolution is moving to populace AOSP. That agency that our principal characteristic evolution (except for top-secret integrations amongst the platform đ) in addition to pĂ”rnikas fixes volition hold upward done inwards the opened upward using the r.android.com Gerrit review tool in addition to changes volition hold upward visible inwards the aosp/androidx-master-dev branch.
We are making this alter to give improve transparency to developers; it gives developers a direct a opportunity to meet features in addition to pÔrnikas fixes implemented inwards real-time. We are also excited near receiving pÔrnikas cook contributions from the community. We accept written upward a curt guide on how to become near contributing a patch.
In add-on to regular development, AOSP volition hold upward a house for experimentation in addition to prototyping. You volition meet novel libraries demo upward inwards this repository; roughly of them may hold upward removed earlier they ship, alter dramatically during pre-alpha development, or merge into existing libraries. The full general dominion is that solely the libraries on maven.google.com are officially ready for external developer usage.
Finally, nosotros are only getting started. We apologize for whatever fossil oil edges that you lot mightiness accept when contributing to AndroidX, in addition to nosotros asking your feedback via the public AndroidX tracker if you lot striking whatever issues.
