5 Highly Resourceful Libraries That Can Leverage Android Development

A good developer knows that the best approach is to use the already available options rather than starting from scratch. This will not only help boost your productivity, but also allow one to make an optimal use of the resources.

Android is an open source platform that is based on Linux. There are myriads of open source libraries existing in the Android ecosystem. From specific libraries to general libraries, there are libraries that are restricted to a specific function, while there are some highly delightful libraries that make a valuable choice in most of the applications. Thus, you can use a suitable one to proficiently develop a requisite Android application.

Moreover, a useful IDE like Android Studio has further made the integration of libraries in a project easier than ever before. Including a library in a project often needs only a line of code to be added in the build.gradle file of your application. Gradle is an automation tool in Android Studio that automatically downloads and include the libraries configured for a project. Yes, it is that easy to include a library, featuring a huge chunk of code, in a project by simply writing a line of code.

In this post, I will uncover some incredibly useful Android libraries that every Android developer should know. Let’s explore them briefly and observe what makes them the best.

1. Retrofit

You can proficiently manage all the API calls in a project by implementing this elegant library. It basically transforms the REST API into a Java interface and since it deploys GSON, no custom parsing is needed. It makes the code clean and easily readable by using annotations in the request method and a relative URL.

To end it asynchronously, a Callback can be used, and to make it run synchronously, including a return type within a method can work.

public interface RetrofitInterface {

// asynchronously with a callback

@GET(“/api/user”)

User getUser(@Query(“user_id”) int userId, Callback<User> callback);

// synchronously

@POST(“/api/user/register”)

User registerUser(@Body User user);

}

// example

RetrofitInterface retrofitInterface = new RestAdapter.Builder()

.setEndpoint(API.API_URL).build().create(RetrofitInterface.class);

// fetch user with id 2048

retrofitInterface.getUser(2048, new Callback<User>() {

@Override

public void success(User user, Response response) {

}

@Override

public void failure(RetrofitError retrofitError) {

}

});

2. Icepick

Icepick is a great library that has made the Android Instance State much easier. It simply removes the boilerplate of restoring and saving instance state. With this library, you won’t need to write the code yourself. It processes annotation that develops code while bundling key generation and manipulation. Moreover, it can also create the instance state code to support custom views.

class ExampleActivity extends Activity {

@Icicle String username; // This will be automatically saved and restored

@Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {

super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

Icepick.restoreInstanceState(this, savedInstanceState);

}

@Override public void onSaveInstanceState(Bundle outState) {

super.onSaveInstanceState(outState);

Icepick.saveInstanceState(this, outState);

}

// You can put the calls to Icepick into a BaseActivity

// All Activities extending BaseActivity automatically have state saved/restored

}

3. GSON

GSON is another useful Java library that allows one to efficiently transform Java objects into their equivalent JSON description, known as serialization, or vice versa, that is to transform a JSON string into a corresponding Java object, known as deserialization. This lightweight library implements arbitrary Java objects.

// Serialize

String userJSON = new Gson().toJson(user);

// Deserialize

User user = new Gson().fromJson(userJSON, User.class);

4. AndroidViewAnimations

The Google Material design has offered a list of useful guidelines that if adhered precisely can help create a ravishing Android application. By appropriately using the golden rules defined by the recently revealed Material Design, you can create visually appealing and highly intuitive apps with users will love to interact. One of the feature included is animations.

It might appear to be a challenging task to include animations in an app, but relying on an ultimate library can make it more convenient and effective. The AndroidViewAnimation is one such library that offers a set of regular view animations.

Library Syntax

YoYo.with(Techniques.Bounce)

.duration(700)

.playOn(findViewById(R.id.usernameField));

dependencies {

compile ‘com.nineoldandroids:library:2.4.0’

compile ‘com.daimajia.easing:library:1.0.0@aar’

compile ‘com.daimajia.androidanimations:library:1.0.8@aar’

}

5. Universal Image Loader (UIL)

Proficiently accomplish asynchronous caching and loading of an image with this blissful library. No doubt, Picasso embraces a beautiful API, but since it is not as customizable as the Universal Image Loader. You can easily tailor the images in a desired manner by using its prolific configuration builder.

It is extremely easy to use, you just need to include the following line of code to use this library.

imageLoader.displayImage(imageUri, imageView);

Reflection

These are a few of the popular Android libraries that can be used in almost every kind of application. As mentioned in the beginning, to use these libraries, you will need to include the dependencies in your build.gradle file. After syncing the libraries appropriately, you will be ready to implement them in your application. Choose a library that best cater to your needs and develop an astonishing Android application.

Author Bio: Juana Steves is an android app developer with Xicom Technologies, where you can hire android app developer. You can get her assistance, to explore more about Mobile app development services and its leverages.