We've had some good, no, great times with our beloved IDE. Eclipse has been the backbone of this project since the beginning and has been great, but we have to move on. The Google gods demand it.
The community and SDLC have spoken and it's time to move the Android side of the project to Android Studio. The decision was made through the SDL Evolution process. Discussion for the issue can be found here. This is a much needed change as Google has stopped mainline support for Eclipse since 2015 and as of last year cut off support completely.
When will it happen?
Right now the move is scheduled for the 4.3.0 release of the SDL Android library. Current ETA puts the release at early to mid Q2 (April-May).
What this means for you, the developer:
We will be changing the project's file structure to resemble the correct structure Android Studio is looking for.
- Users who include the AAR file into their project will experience no changes.
- Eclipse users who extract the JAR file out of the AAR will also not experience any changes.
- Android Studio users might need to reimport the SDL module into their project.
- Eclipse users who have the project as part of their workspace will no longer be able to continue to use the project in this manner. See below.
Ok, I use Eclipse for my project how can I continue to use SDL?
First, we highly recommend you move your project to Android Studio. Most Android library projects have already or are currently in the process of moving to Android Studio. It is a step you will have to take eventually so there's no better time than now to make it happen!
Alright, we get it. This might not be the perfect time for you. We do understand it is not possible for all app developers to do this right away, so there are two other intermediate solutions
- Extract the JAR file from the AAR file for each release and drop them into your project.
- We will tag the last commit before the Android Studio move with "Pre Android Studio". You will be able to reference this commit and retain your workspaces validity.
Remember these are only temporary solutions, and moving to Android Studio is a necessity.