Can not add Biometric support API in my Old Android Project

Question

SO After being an iOS Developer for 8 and half years , I started learning andorid 4 months ago and I was given a Cordova andorid project to work on. Task was to integrate Fingerprint and face ID Login.

What i have in my current project ( very old project ) :

build gradle : 2.3.3 gradle version : 3.3 cordova-android version : 5.1.4

I know these are very old .

What i tried so far in last 10 days :

I tried to upgrade above to latest build gradle and gradle version. Whole bunch of errors appears , one after another.

I have tried adding bio-metric support library in build.gradle and in build-extra.gradle one by one .. but nothing works...

My Qustions:

1. Why cant i add bio-metric support library When i have everything compile and work fine on build gradle 2.3.3 and gradle 3.3 ?

2. Do i have to update gradle and every support library version to latest ? If yes then will it cause issues in code ? Lets say i have used Any old UI component which wwill generate compile time errors when i try to merge old support libraries with new biometric API. I tried it.

3. Can anyone just tell me the step by step of upgrading this project so that even there are compile time errors i can remove those and then once everything works fine i can add biometric support library.

4. Lastly Biometric support libraries can be integrated into any old project , thats why they are called support libraries. Correct me if i am wrong.

I am using Android studio on MAC OSX

Following are the files :

Build-extra.gradle :

 ext.postBuildExtras = {
    android {
        compileOptions {
            sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
            targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
        }
        useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'
    }

    dependencies {
        //compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:8.4.0'
        compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.3.0'
        compile "com.squareup.picasso:picasso:2.4.0"
        compile "com.android.support:design:25.0.0"
        compile "com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:9.2.0" //FCM Config
        compile 'com.rmtheis:tess-two:6.0.2'
        compile 'com.github.bumptech.glide:glide:3.8.0'
        compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:19.1.0'
    }
}

build.gradle

// GENERATED FILE! DO NOT EDIT!

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter{ url "http://jcenter.bintray.com/" }
    }

    // Switch the Android Gradle plugin version requirement depending on the
    // installed version of Gradle. This dependency is documented at
    // http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system/version-compatibility
    // and https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CB-8143
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.3.3'
        classpath "com.google.gms:google-services:3.0.0" //FCM Config

    }
   }


// Allow plugins to declare Maven dependencies via build-extras.gradle.
repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

task wrapper(type: Wrapper) {
    gradleVersion = '2.8'
}

// Configuration properties. Set these via environment variables, build-extras.gradle, or gradle.properties.
// Refer to: http://www.gradle.org/docs/current/userguide/tutorial_this_and_that.html
ext {
    apply from: 'CordovaLib/cordova.gradle'
    // The value for android.compileSdkVersion.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvCompileSdkVersion')) {
        cdvCompileSdkVersion = null;
    }
    // The value for android.buildToolsVersion.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvBuildToolsVersion')) {
        cdvBuildToolsVersion = null;
    }
    // Sets the versionCode to the given value.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvVersionCode')) {
        cdvVersionCode = null
    }
    // Sets the minSdkVersion to the given value.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvMinSdkVersion')) {
        cdvMinSdkVersion = null
    }
    // Whether to build architecture-specific APKs.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvBuildMultipleApks')) {
        cdvBuildMultipleApks = null
    }
    // .properties files to use for release signing.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile')) {
        cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile = null
    }
    // .properties files to use for debug signing.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile')) {
        cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile = null
    }
    // Set by build.js script.
    if (!project.hasProperty('cdvBuildArch')) {
        cdvBuildArch = null
    }

    // Plugin gradle extensions can append to this to have code run at the end.
    cdvPluginPostBuildExtras = []
}

// PLUGIN GRADLE EXTENSIONS START
// PLUGIN GRADLE EXTENSIONS END

def hasBuildExtras = file('build-extras.gradle').exists()
if (hasBuildExtras) {
    apply from: 'build-extras.gradle'
}

// Set property defaults after extension .gradle files.
if (ext.cdvCompileSdkVersion == null) {
    ext.cdvCompileSdkVersion = privateHelpers.getProjectTarget()
}
if (ext.cdvBuildToolsVersion == null) {
    ext.cdvBuildToolsVersion = privateHelpers.findLatestInstalledBuildTools()
}
if (ext.cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile == null && file('debug-signing.properties').exists()) {
    ext.cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile = 'debug-signing.properties'
}
if (ext.cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile == null && file('release-signing.properties').exists()) {
    ext.cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile = 'release-signing.properties'
}

// Cast to appropriate types.
ext.cdvBuildMultipleApks = cdvBuildMultipleApks == null ? false : cdvBuildMultipleApks.toBoolean();
ext.cdvMinSdkVersion = cdvMinSdkVersion == null ? null : Integer.parseInt('' + cdvMinSdkVersion)
ext.cdvVersionCode = cdvVersionCode == null ? null : Integer.parseInt('' + cdvVersionCode)

def computeBuildTargetName(debugBuild) {
    def ret = 'assemble'
    if (cdvBuildMultipleApks && cdvBuildArch) {
        def arch = cdvBuildArch == 'arm' ? 'armv7' : cdvBuildArch
        ret += '' + arch.toUpperCase().charAt(0) + arch.substring(1);
    }
    return ret + (debugBuild ? 'Debug' : 'Release')
}

// Make cdvBuild a task that depends on the debug/arch-sepecific task.
task cdvBuildDebug
cdvBuildDebug.dependsOn {
    return computeBuildTargetName(true)
}

task cdvBuildRelease
cdvBuildRelease.dependsOn {
    return computeBuildTargetName(false)
}

task cdvPrintProps << {
    println('cdvCompileSdkVersion=' + cdvCompileSdkVersion)
    println('cdvBuildToolsVersion=' + cdvBuildToolsVersion)
    println('cdvVersionCode=' + cdvVersionCode)
    println('cdvMinSdkVersion=' + cdvMinSdkVersion)
    println('cdvBuildMultipleApks=' + cdvBuildMultipleApks)
    println('cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile=' + cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile)
    println('cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile=' + cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile)
    println('cdvBuildArch=' + cdvBuildArch)
    println('computedVersionCode=' + android.defaultConfig.versionCode)
    android.productFlavors.each { flavor ->
        println('computed' + flavor.name.capitalize() + 'VersionCode=' + flavor.versionCode)
    }
}

android {
    sourceSets {
        main {
            manifest.srcFile 'AndroidManifest.xml'
            java.srcDirs = ['src']
            resources.srcDirs = ['src']
            aidl.srcDirs = ['src']
            renderscript.srcDirs = ['src']
            res.srcDirs = ['res']
            assets.srcDirs = ['assets']
            jniLibs.srcDirs = ['libs']
        }
    }

    defaultConfig {
        //versionCode cdvVersionCode ?: Integer.parseInt("" + privateHelpers.extractIntFromManifest("versionCode") + "0")
        versionCode  Integer.parseInt("" + privateHelpers.extractIntFromManifest("versionCode"))
        applicationId privateHelpers.extractStringFromManifest("package")

        if (cdvMinSdkVersion != null) {
            minSdkVersion cdvMinSdkVersion
        }
    }

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////



    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig signingConfigs.release
        }
    }

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    lintOptions {
        abortOnError false;
        disable "ResourceType"
    }

    compileSdkVersion cdvCompileSdkVersion
    buildToolsVersion cdvBuildToolsVersion

    if (Boolean.valueOf(cdvBuildMultipleApks)) {
        productFlavors {
            armv7 {
                //versionCode defaultConfig.versionCode + 2
                ndk {
                    abiFilters "armeabi-v7a", ""
                }
            }
            x86 {
                //versionCode defaultConfig.versionCode + 4
                ndk {
                    abiFilters "x86", ""
                }
            }
            all {
                ndk {
                    abiFilters "all", ""
                }
            }
        }
    } else if (!cdvVersionCode) {
      def minSdkVersion = cdvMinSdkVersion ?: privateHelpers.extractIntFromManifest("minSdkVersion")
      // Vary versionCode by the two most common API levels:
      // 14 is ICS, which is the lowest API level for many apps.
      // 20 is Lollipop, which is the lowest API level for the updatable system webview.
      if (minSdkVersion >= 20) {
        //defaultConfig.versionCode += 9
      } else if (minSdkVersion >= 14) {
        //defaultConfig.versionCode += 8
      }
    }

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_6
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_6
    }

   if (cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile) {
        signingConfigs {
            release {
                // These must be set or Gradle will complain (even if they are overridden).
                keyAlias = ""
                keyPassword = "__unset" // And these must be set to non-empty in order to have the signing step added to the task graph.
                storeFile = null
                storePassword = "__unset"
            }
        }
        buildTypes {
            release {
                signingConfig signingConfigs.release
            }
        }
        addSigningProps(cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile, signingConfigs.release)
    }
    if (cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile) {
        addSigningProps(cdvDebugSigningPropertiesFile, signingConfigs.debug)
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: '*.jar')
    // SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES START
    debugCompile project(path: "CordovaLib", configuration: "debug")
    releaseCompile project(path: "CordovaLib", configuration: "release")
    // SUB-PROJECT DEPENDENCIES END

    compile 'com.android.support:design:25.0.0'

}

def promptForReleaseKeyPassword() {
    if (!cdvReleaseSigningPropertiesFile) {
        return;
    }
    if ('__unset'.equals(android.signingConfigs.release.storePassword)) {
        android.signingConfigs.release.storePassword = privateHelpers.promptForPassword('Enter key store password: ')
    }
    if ('__unset'.equals(android.signingConfigs.release.keyPassword)) {
        android.signingConfigs.release.keyPassword = privateHelpers.promptForPassword('Enter key password: ');
    }
}

gradle.taskGraph.whenReady { taskGraph ->
    taskGraph.getAllTasks().each() { task ->
        if (task.name == 'validateReleaseSigning') {
            promptForReleaseKeyPassword()
        }
    }
}

def addSigningProps(propsFilePath, signingConfig) {
    def propsFile = file(propsFilePath)
    def props = new Properties()
    propsFile.withReader { reader ->
        props.load(reader)
    }

    def storeFile = new File(props.get('key.store') ?: privateHelpers.ensureValueExists(propsFilePath, props, 'storeFile'))
    if (!storeFile.isAbsolute()) {
        storeFile = RelativePath.parse(true, storeFile.toString()).getFile(propsFile.getParentFile())
    }
    if (!storeFile.exists()) {
        throw new FileNotFoundException('Keystore file does not exist: ' + storeFile.getAbsolutePath())
    }
    signingConfig.keyAlias = props.get('key.alias') ?: privateHelpers.ensureValueExists(propsFilePath, props, 'keyAlias')
    signingConfig.keyPassword = props.get('keyPassword', props.get('key.alias.password', signingConfig.keyPassword))
    signingConfig.storeFile = storeFile
    signingConfig.storePassword = props.get('storePassword', props.get('key.store.password', signingConfig.storePassword))
    def storeType = props.get('storeType', props.get('key.store.type', ''))
    if (!storeType) {
        def filename = storeFile.getName().toLowerCase();
        if (filename.endsWith('.p12') || filename.endsWith('.pfx')) {
            storeType = 'pkcs12'
        } else {
            storeType = signingConfig.storeType // "jks"
        }
    }
    signingConfig.storeType = storeType
}

for (def func : cdvPluginPostBuildExtras) {
    func()
}

// This can be defined within build-extras.gradle as:
//     ext.postBuildExtras = { ... code here ... }
if (hasProperty('postBuildExtras')) {
    postBuildExtras()
}

apply plugin: "com.google.gms.google-services" //FCM Config

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter{ url "http://jcenter.bintray.com/" }
    }
}

Build.gradle(Module: CordovaLib)

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter{ url "http://jcenter.bintray.com/" }
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.3.3'
    }

}

apply plugin: 'com.android.library'

ext {
    apply from: 'cordova.gradle'
    cdvCompileSdkVersion = privateHelpers.getProjectTarget()
    cdvBuildToolsVersion = privateHelpers.findLatestInstalledBuildTools()
}

android {
    compileSdkVersion cdvCompileSdkVersion
    buildToolsVersion cdvBuildToolsVersion
    publishNonDefault true

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_6
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_6
    }

    sourceSets {
        main {
            manifest.srcFile 'AndroidManifest.xml'
            java.srcDirs = ['src']
            resources.srcDirs = ['src']
            aidl.srcDirs = ['src']
            renderscript.srcDirs = ['src']
            res.srcDirs = ['res']
            assets.srcDirs = ['assets']
        }
    }
    buildToolsVersion '25.0.0'
}

gradle-wrapper.properties

distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
distributionPath=wrapper/dists
zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-3.3-all.zip

Yes Its a hybrid app. Using Cordova-android.

I have tried searching on google like anything , but could not find a simple demo android ( Cordova android) project which uses the latest biometric support library.

ok so the above link is a working demo android app .

Just one Question bother me : Why cant i add this line in build.gradle (or where ever i need to add this ) or How can i add it so that my current project in AS start using Bio-metric API for face ID login. dependencies { implementation 'androidx.biometric:biometric:1.0.0-alpha03'

NOTE: Bounty will be awarded to the one who will provide step by step solution of how can i integrate biometric support API in my current project which uses old support libraries as shown in my build-extra.gradle file .

Answer 1

So finally after 14 days of struggle i made my 3 year old code working fine.

here are the detailed steps in case anyone is looking for same thing.

1. So I had a Cordova android hybrid app old code . using Android studio 3.2 . Build gradle version was very old , 2.8 and gradle version was 3.3.

2. I first of all upgraded Android studio to latest version 3.3.2

3. Now i decided to migrate the whole project to androidX. Remember it wont even let me do that with the previous version of Android studio, i dont know why.

4. When i clicked on Refactor -> Migrate to AndroidX. A pop up appeared saying "Upgrade the gradle version. So now I updated gradle version to 4.10.1 , it is still giving me error if i upgrade it to 5.2 ( i dont know why , I am still new to Android). Also updated build gradle to 3.3.2

5.My build.gradle (Module : App) looks like this :

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter{ url "http://jcenter.bintray.com/" }
        google()
    }

    // Switch the Android Gradle plugin version requirement depending on the
    // installed version of Gradle. This dependency is documented at
    // http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system/version-compatibility
    // and https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CB-8143
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.3.2'
        classpath "com.google.gms:google-services:3.0.0" //FCM Config

    }
   }

6. Now App is syncing fine , Build ok. I again tried Refactor -> Migrate to androidX. This time Android studio started refactoring the code and provided me 70 code change suggestions .

7. These code changes are mainly the header file changes like : import "" . So I opened this link - https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/migrate and changed every import statement to the equal androidx statment.

8. After copy pasting all the changes I again compiled and synced the code . after 3 resources and code compilation error , I was able to build the code . This whole process took 1.2 hours .

9. Finally i was able to import the biometric support API in build-extras.gradle (Module : app) , look at the file :

       dependencies {
           api 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.0.2'
           api "com.squareup.picasso:picasso:2.4.0"
           api "com.google.android.material:material:1.1.0-alpha04"
           api "com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging:9.2.0" //FCM Config
           api 'com.rmtheis:tess-two:6.0.2'
           api 'com.github.bumptech.glide:glide:3.8.0'
           api 'androidx.legacy:legacy-support-v4:1.0.0'
   
           api "androidx.biometric:biometric:1.0.0-alpha03"
       }
   }
   

10. Finally , I was able to build the complete code and sync it . So happy finally did it. Now i just have to use biometric API functions to integrate it into my code ( notice this code was written 3 years ago and given to me for integrating latest biometric API).

Yes I needed step by step answer like this one.

Still thanks to all who helped.

Answer 2

you need to define the repository in the root project's build.gradle:

allprojects {
    repositories {
        google()
    }
}

these versions are a) completely outdated and b) do not mix com.android.support with androidx. and you cannot add Java dependencies into the buildscript dependencies, because this produces the error message Could not find method implementation().

and maybe read the manual of this site, in order to provide input as a programmer would expect. only because you have a Mac does not exclude you from these guidelines ...which do exist for a reason.

DO NOT post images of code, data, error messages, etc. - copy or type the text into the question. Please reserve the use of images for diagrams or demonstrating rendering bugs, things that are impossible to describe accurately via text.

I could have simply fixed the dependencies, too... but I'm way too lazy to type from screenshots.

Answer 3

You are using implementation keyword which is not supported by your Gradle plugin (2.3.3)

You can definitely add it to your gradle you just need to use compile instead of implementation compile "androidx.biometric:biometric:1.0.0-alpha03"

If you want to use implementation you need to update your Gradle plugin. This would allow you to use newer android studio and but would require you to migrate some things to new gradle.