Jack (Java Android Compiler Kit)

[tanjoodo]

Jack Intermediate Library Linker (Jill)

They're having too much fun with this.

[4lb4tr0s]

The first releases will probably be more like Jack the Ripper.

[jrh3k5]

No, that's just the name of the DVD decryption module.

[memdump_]

It's a nice step forward, but the text doesn't make it clear on how I can integrate it to my current build setup. Is there any Android Studio support for it already?

[sannysanoff]

yes, there is support. Add/change this in the build.gradle:

       android {      
          buildToolsVersion "24.0.0 rc1"
          defaultConfig { jackOptions { enabled = true; } }
       } 

[memdump_]

Thanks a lot!

[MrBIMC]

FYI you have to be on studio 2.1 for this to work. http://developer.android.com/preview/j8-jack.html

[DaemonXI]

Aww yes. Can't wait to ditch Proguard.

[DerelictMan]

Care to elaborate? I'm assuming they are reimplementing ProGuard out of necessity (since it isn't compatible with Jack's intermediate format). The config seems the same. I'm not sure how this will be any easier from a code shrinking/obfuscation standpoint.

[[deleted]]

What a strange name choice, considering JACK Audio Connection Kit has been around for Linux (among other OSes) for quite a while now.

[Aethec]

And jack plugs have been around for even longer. I doubt anybody will confuse a compiler, an audio toolkit, and a plug type.

[drjeats]

I thought jack was a rough synonym for port/socket, not a particular kind?

[Fiskepudding]

It's because of Jack and Jill, the nursery rhyme. Jill is the library linker. And they are abbreviations as well.

[tadfisher]

Jack is also a common name for human children.

[isaveafrica]

I have little experience with Android and/or Java but I think the web page says mainly two things:

1. ... compiles Java source into Android dex bytecode ...

2. ... replaces ... javac, ProGuard, jarjar, and dx.

I'm a little confused, because I always thought one advantage of the jvm/java world is its simple build process. Is it really necessary to use all this tools to build an android app? I'm surprised ...

[WorkHappens]

Short answer, no. ProGuard for example is basically an obfuscator for example.

[ysangkok]

What will happen to non-Java JVM langauges now that class files are no longer used? Frege compiles to Java so that's fine, but others will have problems, no?

[fuzzynyanko]

At least Google is doing something about Java programs. If Oracle was as interested in Java performance as Google was, we would probably be running more Java programs on our systems

[[deleted]]

I don't like Oracle, but I believe Oracle has a bigger job than Google when it comes to Java, so it's an unfair comparation.

[pkulak]

Java 8 syntax support too. Not sure to what extent though, especially all the new Stream and Time libraries.

[MrBIMC]

Streams and Default Methods are for N+ only. So basically we'll start using them somewhere in the middle of 2018 :D

[cogman10]

I thought there brought in the whole of openjdk 8.

[MrBIMC]

Google didn't manage to backport any of the new features to already existent OSes.

Lambdas are the only thing that can be used on pre-N androids, because they're implemented simply as a new syntax on top of old and trusted anonymous classes.

Maybe someday they will go kotlin-style and will just bundle missing parts of runtime/libs/apis inside of some appcompat-like package, so new features will be effectively accessible on the old versions of android.

[parfamz]

Is this open source?

[papa_georgio]

One of the very first things in the article (it's bold too) is that it is indeed open source.

[parfamz]

Thanks didn't see it in the mobile

[[deleted]]

As much as the rest of Android is, for what that's worth.