Ultimate guide to make android app using Yeoman Generator boilerplate

npm install -g yo

It is a good idea to check that everything is installed as expected by running commonly used Yeoman commands like yo with the –version flag as follows:

yo --version

Step 2: Install the Generator
Yeoman travels light. He didn’t pack any generators when he moved in. You can think of a generator like a plug-in. You get to choose what type of application you wish to create, such as a Backbone application or even a Chrome extension.

Install generator-android:

npm install -g generator-android

Make a new directory and cd into it:

mkdir my-shiny-project && cd $_

Finally, initiate the generator:

$ yo android

This will create a fully functioning Android app skeleton.

After it you will get the index.js file. You can change this file as per your requirement.

'use strict';
var yeoman = require('yeoman-generator');
var chalk = require('chalk');
var yosay = require('yosay');
var path = require('path');

/**
* Functionally the same as directory however applies templating if file name begins with an underscore (_).
*
* @param source
* @param destination
*/
function templateDirectory(source, destination) {
var root = this.isPathAbsolute(source) ? source : path.join(this.sourceRoot(), source);
var files = this.expandFiles('**', { dot: true, cwd: root });

for (var i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
var f = files[i];
var src = path.join(root, f);
if(path.basename(f).indexOf('_') == 0){
var dest = path.join(destination, path.dirname(f), path.basename(f).replace(/^_/, ''));
this.template(src, dest);
}
else{
var dest = path.join(destination, f);
this.copy(src, dest);
}
}
}

module.exports = yeoman.generators.Base.extend({
initializing: function () {
this.pkg = require('../package.json');
this.templateDirectory = templateDirectory.bind(this);
},

prompting: function () {
var done = this.async();

// Have Yeoman greet the user.
this.log(yosay(
'Welcome to the rad ' + chalk.red('Android Starter') + ' generator!'
));

var prompts = [{
name: 'name',
message: 'What are you calling your app?',
store: true,
default : this.appname // Default to current folder name
},
{
name: 'package',
message: 'What package will you be publishing the app under?',
store: true
},
{
name: 'targetSdk',
message: 'What Android SDK will you be targeting?',
store: true,
default: 23 // Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
},
{
name: 'minSdk',
message: 'What is the minimum Android SDK you wish to support?',
store: true,
default: 15 // Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
}];

this.prompt(prompts, function (props) {
this.appName = props.name;
this.appPackage = props.package;
this.androidTargetSdkVersion = props.targetSdk;
this.androidMinSdkVersion = props.minSdk;
done();
}.bind(this));
},

configuring: {
saveSettings: function() {
this.config.set('appPackage', this.appPackage);
}
},

writing: {
projectfiles: function () {
this.copy('gitignore', '.gitignore');
this.copy('_build.gradle', 'build.gradle');
this.copy('gradle.properties', 'gradle.properties');
this.copy('gradlew', 'gradlew');
this.copy('gradlew.bat', 'gradlew.bat');
this.copy('settings.gradle', 'settings.gradle');
this.template('_README.md', 'README.md');
this.directory('gradle', 'gradle');
},

app: function () {
var packageDir = this.appPackage.replace(/./g, '/');

this.mkdir('app');
this.copy('app/gitignore', 'app/.gitignore');
this.copy('app/proguard-rules.pro', 'app/proguard-rules.pro');
this.template('app/_build.gradle', 'app/build.gradle');

this.mkdir('app/src/androidTest/java/' + packageDir);
this.templateDirectory('app/src/androidTest/java', 'app/src/androidTest/java/' + packageDir);
this.templateDirectory('app/src/androidTest/res', 'app/src/androidTest/res');

this.mkdir('app/src/env_prod/java/' + packageDir);
this.templateDirectory('app/src/env_prod/java', 'app/src/env_prod/java/' + packageDir);

this.mkdir('app/src/env_test/java/' + packageDir);
this.templateDirectory('app/src/env_test/java', 'app/src/env_test/java/' + packageDir);
this.templateDirectory('app/src/env_test/res', 'app/src/env_test/res');

this.mkdir('app/src/main/assets');
this.mkdir('app/src/main/java/' + packageDir);
this.directory('app/src/main/assets', 'app/src/main/assets');
this.template('app/src/main/_AndroidManifest.xml', 'app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml');
this.templateDirectory('app/src/main/java', 'app/src/main/java/' + packageDir);
this.templateDirectory('app/src/main/res', 'app/src/main/res');
this.mkdir('app/src/debug');
this.template('app/src/debug/_AndroidManifest.xml', 'app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml');
}
}
});

Step 3: Run it
Once you’ve generated the skeleton app simply import into Android Studio/IntelliJ as a Gradle project, perform a Gradle sync and then run!

Conclusion

The pace at which new tools and frameworks are being made available is staggering. This inherently means that our development workflows are always evolving so that we can take advantage of the best tools on offer. The thing I like most about Yeoman is its ability to adapt. By creating an ecosystem of generators it’s easy to start using new frameworks and libraries whilst keeping a relatively consistent workflow.

References

• Yeoman: Set up your dev environment for Yeoman Generator
• Yeoman Generators: Yeoman Generator for any platform

For further reading

• Continuous Integration Jenkins to automate android app
• Quick Guide: Test execution sequence of JUnit method android