Android Java Skill
Project Structure
project/
├── app/
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── main/
│ │ │ ├── java/com/example/app/
│ │ │ │ ├── data/ # Data layer
│ │ │ │ │ ├── local/ # Room database, SharedPreferences
│ │ │ │ │ ├── remote/ # Retrofit services, API clients
│ │ │ │ │ └── repository/ # Repository implementations
│ │ │ │ ├── di/ # Dependency injection (Hilt/Dagger)
│ │ │ │ ├── domain/ # Business logic
│ │ │ │ │ ├── model/ # Domain models
│ │ │ │ │ ├── repository/ # Repository interfaces
│ │ │ │ │ └── usecase/ # Use cases
│ │ │ │ ├── ui/ # Presentation layer
│ │ │ │ │ ├── feature/ # Feature screens
│ │ │ │ │ │ ├── FeatureActivity.java
│ │ │ │ │ │ ├── FeatureFragment.java
│ │ │ │ │ │ └── FeatureViewModel.java
│ │ │ │ │ └── common/ # Shared UI components
│ │ │ │ └── App.java # Application class
│ │ │ ├── res/
│ │ │ │ ├── layout/
│ │ │ │ ├── values/
│ │ │ │ └── drawable/
│ │ │ └── AndroidManifest.xml
│ │ ├── test/ # Unit tests
│ │ └── androidTest/ # Instrumentation tests
│ └── build.gradle
├── build.gradle # Project-level build file
├── gradle.properties
├── settings.gradle
└── CLAUDE.md
Gradle Configuration
App-level build.gradle
plugins {
id 'com.android.application'
}
android {
namespace 'com.example.app'
compileSdk 34
defaultConfig {
applicationId "com.example.app"
minSdk 24
targetSdk 34
versionCode 1
versionName "1.0"
testInstrumentationRunner "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
}
buildTypes {
release {
minifyEnabled true
proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
}
}
compileOptions {
sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
}
buildFeatures {
viewBinding true
}
}
dependencies {
// AndroidX
implementation 'androidx.core:core:1.12.0'
implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.6.1'
implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.11.0'
implementation 'androidx.constraintlayout:constraintlayout:2.1.4'
// Lifecycle
implementation 'androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-viewmodel:2.7.0'
implementation 'androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-livedata:2.7.0'
// Testing
testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.13.2'
testImplementation 'org.mockito:mockito-core:5.8.0'
androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.ext:junit:1.1.5'
androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.5.1'
}
Architecture Patterns
MVVM with ViewModel
// ViewModel - holds UI state, survives configuration changes
public class UserViewModel extends ViewModel {
private final UserRepository repository;
private final MutableLiveData<User> user = new MutableLiveData<>();
private final MutableLiveData<Boolean> loading = new MutableLiveData<>(false);
private final MutableLiveData<String> error = new MutableLiveData<>();
public UserViewModel(UserRepository repository) {
this.repository = repository;
}
public LiveData<User> getUser() {
return user;
}
public LiveData<Boolean> isLoading() {
return loading;
}
public LiveData<String> getError() {
return error;
}
public void loadUser(String userId) {
loading.setValue(true);
repository.getUser(userId, new Callback<User>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(User result) {
user.setValue(result);
loading.setValue(false);
}
@Override
public void onError(String message) {
error.setValue(message);
loading.setValue(false);
}
});
}
}
Repository Pattern
// Repository interface (domain layer)
public interface UserRepository {
void getUser(String userId, Callback<User> callback);
void saveUser(User user, Callback<Void> callback);
}
// Repository implementation (data layer)
public class UserRepositoryImpl implements UserRepository {
private final UserApi api;
private final UserDao dao;
public UserRepositoryImpl(UserApi api, UserDao dao) {
this.api = api;
this.dao = dao;
}
@Override
public void getUser(String userId, Callback<User> callback) {
// Try cache first, then network
User cached = dao.getUserById(userId);
if (cached != null) {
callback.onSuccess(cached);
return;
}
api.getUser(userId).enqueue(new retrofit2.Callback<User>() {
@Override
public void onResponse(Call<User> call, Response<User> response) {
if (response.isSuccessful() && response.body() != null) {
dao.insert(response.body());
callback.onSuccess(response.body());
} else {
callback.onError("Failed to load user");
}
}
@Override
public void onFailure(Call<User> call, Throwable t) {
callback.onError(t.getMessage());
}
});
}
}
Activity & Fragment Patterns
Activity with ViewBinding
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
private ActivityMainBinding binding;
private MainViewModel viewModel;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(getLayoutInflater());
setContentView(binding.getRoot());
viewModel = new ViewModelProvider(this).get(MainViewModel.class);
setupObservers();
setupListeners();
}
private void setupObservers() {
viewModel.getUser().observe(this, user -> {
binding.userName.setText(user.getName());
});
viewModel.isLoading().observe(this, isLoading -> {
binding.progressBar.setVisibility(isLoading ? View.VISIBLE : View.GONE);
});
}
private void setupListeners() {
binding.refreshButton.setOnClickListener(v -> {
viewModel.loadUser(getCurrentUserId());
});
}
@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
binding = null;
}
}
Fragment with ViewBinding
public class UserFragment extends Fragment {
private FragmentUserBinding binding;
private UserViewModel viewModel;
@Override
public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container,
Bundle savedInstanceState) {
binding = FragmentUserBinding.inflate(inflater, container, false);
return binding.getRoot();
}
@Override
public void onViewCreated(View view, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState);
viewModel = new ViewModelProvider(requireActivity()).get(UserViewModel.class);
setupObservers();
}
private void setupObservers() {
viewModel.getUser().observe(getViewLifecycleOwner(), user -> {
binding.userName.setText(user.getName());
});
}
@Override
public void onDestroyView() {
super.onDestroyView();
binding = null; // Prevent memory leaks
}
}
Testing
Unit Tests with JUnit & Mockito
@RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
public class UserViewModelTest {
@Mock
private UserRepository repository;
@Rule
public InstantTaskExecutorRule instantTaskExecutorRule = new InstantTaskExecutorRule();
private UserViewModel viewModel;
@Before
public void setup() {
viewModel = new UserViewModel(repository);
}
@Test
public void loadUser_success_updatesUserLiveData() {
// Arrange
User expectedUser = new User("1", "John Doe");
doAnswer(invocation -> {
Callback<User> callback = invocation.getArgument(1);
callback.onSuccess(expectedUser);
return null;
}).when(repository).getUser(eq("1"), any());
// Act
viewModel.loadUser("1");
// Assert
assertEquals(expectedUser, viewModel.getUser().getValue());
assertFalse(viewModel.isLoading().getValue());
}
@Test
public void loadUser_error_updatesErrorLiveData() {
// Arrange
doAnswer(invocation -> {
Callback<User> callback = invocation.getArgument(1);
callback.onError("Network error");
return null;
}).when(repository).getUser(eq("1"), any());
// Act
viewModel.loadUser("1");
// Assert
assertEquals("Network error", viewModel.getError().getValue());
assertFalse(viewModel.isLoading().getValue());
}
}
Instrumentation Tests with Espresso
@RunWith(AndroidJUnit4.class)
public class MainActivityTest {
@Rule
public ActivityScenarioRule<MainActivity> activityRule =
new ActivityScenarioRule<>(MainActivity.class);
@Test
public void userName_isDisplayed() {
onView(withId(R.id.userName))
.check(matches(isDisplayed()));
}
@Test
public void refreshButton_click_triggersRefresh() {
onView(withId(R.id.refreshButton))
.perform(click());
onView(withId(R.id.progressBar))
.check(matches(isDisplayed()));
}
@Test
public void userList_scrollToItem_displaysCorrectly() {
onView(withId(R.id.userList))
.perform(RecyclerViewActions.scrollToPosition(10));
onView(withText("User 10"))
.check(matches(isDisplayed()));
}
}
GitHub Actions
name: Android CI
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Set up JDK 17
uses: actions/setup-java@v4
with:
java-version: '17'
distribution: 'temurin'
- name: Setup Gradle
uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@v3
- name: Grant execute permission for gradlew
run: chmod +x gradlew
- name: Run Lint
run: ./gradlew lint
- name: Run Unit Tests
run: ./gradlew testDebugUnitTest
- name: Build Debug APK
run: ./gradlew assembleDebug
- name: Upload APK
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: debug-apk
path: app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
instrumentation-tests:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Set up JDK 17
uses: actions/setup-java@v4
with:
java-version: '17'
distribution: 'temurin'
- name: Enable KVM
run: |
echo 'KERNEL=="kvm", GROUP="kvm", MODE="0666", OPTIONS+="static_node=kvm"' | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-kvm4all.rules
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger --name-match=kvm
- name: Run Instrumentation Tests
uses: reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner@v2
with:
api-level: 29
script: ./gradlew connectedDebugAndroidTest
Lint Configuration
lint.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<lint>
<!-- Treat these as errors -->
<issue id="HardcodedText" severity="error" />
<issue id="MissingTranslation" severity="error" />
<issue id="UnusedResources" severity="warning" />
<!-- Memory leak detection -->
<issue id="StaticFieldLeak" severity="error" />
<!-- Security -->
<issue id="HardcodedDebugMode" severity="error" />
<issue id="AllowBackup" severity="warning" />
<!-- Performance -->
<issue id="ViewHolder" severity="error" />
<issue id="Overdraw" severity="warning" />
<!-- Ignore for tests -->
<issue id="InvalidPackage">
<ignore path="**/test/**" />
<ignore path="**/androidTest/**" />
</issue>
</lint>
build.gradle lint options
android {
lint {
abortOnError true
warningsAsErrors false
checkReleaseBuilds true
xmlReport true
htmlReport true
}
}
Common Patterns
Null-Safe Callbacks
// Define callback interface
public interface Callback<T> {
void onSuccess(T result);
void onError(String message);
}
// Use with null checks
public void fetchData(Callback<Data> callback) {
if (callback == null) return;
try {
Data result = performFetch();
callback.onSuccess(result);
} catch (Exception e) {
callback.onError(e.getMessage());
}
}
Safe Context Usage
// Use application context for long-lived objects
public class DataManager {
private final Context appContext;
public DataManager(Context context) {
// Always use application context to prevent Activity leaks
this.appContext = context.getApplicationContext();
}
}
// Check for null context in callbacks
private void updateUI() {
Context context = getContext();
if (context == null || !isAdded()) return;
// Safe to use context
}
Thread-Safe Singleton
public class ApiClient {
private static volatile ApiClient instance;
private final Retrofit retrofit;
private ApiClient() {
retrofit = new Retrofit.Builder()
.baseUrl(BASE_URL)
.addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
.build();
}
public static ApiClient getInstance() {
if (instance == null) {
synchronized (ApiClient.class) {
if (instance == null) {
instance = new ApiClient();
}
}
}
return instance;
}
}
Android Anti-Patterns
- ❌ Context leaks - Never hold Activity/Fragment references in static fields or singletons
- ❌ Memory leaks in callbacks - Always use WeakReference or clear callbacks in onDestroy
- ❌ UI updates on background thread - Always post to main thread for UI changes
- ❌ Hardcoded strings - Use string resources for all user-visible text
- ❌ God Activities - Keep Activities under 200 lines, extract logic to ViewModels
- ❌ NetworkOnMainThreadException - Never perform network calls on main thread
- ❌ Ignoring lifecycle - Always respect Activity/Fragment lifecycle states
- ❌ Blocking the main thread - Keep main thread operations under 16ms
- ❌ Not handling configuration changes - Use ViewModel to survive rotation
- ❌ Hardcoded dimensions - Use dp/sp units and dimension resources
- ❌ Deep view hierarchies - Keep layout depth under 10 levels, use ConstraintLayout
- ❌ Not closing resources - Always close Cursor, InputStream, database connections
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