Build an Android Application

Applies to Kony Visualizer Classic.

Once you have created and configured an app’s assets, resources, and services, you compile and link them by building your app.

To save time and effort you can rebuild your app with your most recent build settings, or you can build with new or different settings.

 

To build an app with your most recent build settings, do the following:

• On the Product menu, click Build Last.

To build an app with new or different settings, do the following:

1. On the Product menu, click Build.
2. In the Build Generation dialog box, select the channels and platforms for which you want to build your app. For example, you may want to build a native type of app for Mobile (phone) devices and Tablet devices for the iOS and Android platforms. For more information about native and SPA apps, see Types of Applications.
3. Select the build mode, either debug or release.
• Debug mode. To help you identify and fix errors, Kony Visualizer emits the complete symbolic debug information . To lessen the amount of time necessary to complete the build, the build is not optimized for code execution, so it may tend to execute slower than a build optimized for release. Also, the inclusion of the symbolic debug information causes the final executable to be larger than a release build.
• Release mode.Kony Visualizer optimizes the build for execution, requiring more time to generate the build. It also does not emit the complete symbolic debug information, making the final executable smaller than a debug build.
  If you want to sign your android application with your keystore certificate, see Build and Sign an Android application in Release Mode.
4. Click Build.

Build and Sign an Android Application in Release Mode

Kony Visualizer V 8.1 introduced a new feature for Android application build where you can generate and sign an Android application in the release mode with a keystore certificate.

You must configure the settings for the keystore certificate in the Project Settings section.

During the build process in the release mode, keystore configuration from the Project Settings is used to sign the Android binary. Once the Android binary is built with the signing certificate, you can upload the binary to Google Playstore.

To configure the keystore certificate, do the following:

1. On the File menu, click Settings.
2. Click the Native tab.
3. On the Android tab, in the Signing section, set the following properties:
   
4. Key Alias: Enter the alias for your key.
   
5. Key Password: Enter the password to access the key.
6. Store File: Browse to the location of your store and select the store certificate.
7. Store Password: Enter the password to access the store.

8. Click Finish.

Android SDK and Gradle Dependencies

From Kony Visualizer V8 release, Visualizer downloads the required dependencies before the Android build. If you have started the build for Android for the first time, all required SDK, support packages, and dependent libraries download in the background. Your build is blocked till the time the downloads are complete.

Known Issues:

• When a download dependency is in progress, and the network disconnects in the middle, Android build may hang indefinitely. This is a known technical issue with Gradle. Refer https://github.com/gradle/gradle/issues/868 for more info. You may have to restart visualizer to build again.
• When an SDK component is partially downloaded or corrupted, the build fails. Delete the corrupted SDK component and then proceed with the build.

Updating an Android App

If your Android app is published even once, when you modify the app, you must ensure to change the version of the app from project settings. Modifying the version number is a mandatory step for the changes to reflect in the app.

• From the File menu, navigate to Project Settings.
• In the Application tab, update the version number to the next version. For example, if the Version is 1.0.0, modify it to 1.0.1.

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