Android App bundles and Dynamic Feature Modules (DFMs) is a Play Store feature that allows delivering pieces of an app when they are needed rather than at install time. We use DFMs to modularize Chrome and make Chrome's install size smaller.
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Currently (March 2019), DFMs have the following limitations:
- WebView: We don't support DFMs for WebView. If your feature is used by WebView you cannot put it into a DFM. See crbug/949717 for progress.
- Android K: DFMs are based on split APKs, a feature introduced in Android L. Therefore, we don't support DFMs on Android K. As a workaround you can add your feature to the Android K APK build. See crbug/881354 for progress.
- Native Code: We cannot move native Chrome code into a DFM. See crbug/874564 for progress.
This guide walks you through the steps to create a DFM called Foo and add it to the public Monochrome bundle. If you want to ship a DFM, you will also have to add it to the public Chrome Modern and Trichrome Chrome bundle as well as the downstream bundles.
*** note
Note: To make your own module you'll essentially have to replace every
instance of foo/Foo/FOO with your_feature_name/YourFeatureName/
YOUR_FEATURE_NAME.
DFMs are APKs. They have a manifest and can contain Java and native code as well as resources. This section walks you through creating the module target in our build system.
First, create the file //chrome/android/features/foo/java/AndroidManifest.xml
and add:
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:dist="http://schemas.android.com/apk/distribution"
featureSplit="foo">
<!-- dist:onDemand="true" makes this a separately installed module.
dist:onDemand="false" would always install the module alongside the
rest of Chrome. -->
<dist:module
dist:onDemand="true"
dist:title="@string/foo_module_title">
<!-- This will prevent the module to become part of the Android K
build in case we ever want to use bundles on Android K. -->
<dist:fusing dist:include="false" />
</dist:module>
<!-- Remove android:hasCode="false" when adding Java code. -->
<application android:hasCode="false" />
</manifest>Then, add a package ID for Foo so that Foo's resources have unique identifiers.
For this, add a new ID to
//chrome/android/features/dynamic_feature_modules.gni:
resource_packages_id_mapping = [
...,
"foo=0x{XX}", # Set {XX} to next lower hex number.
]Next, create a template that contains the Foo module target.
*** note Note: We put the module target into a template because we have to instantiate it for each Chrome bundle (Chrome Modern, Monochrome and Trichrome for both upstream and downstream) you want to ship your module in.
To do this, create //chrome/android/features/foo/foo_module_tmpl.gni and add
the following:
import("//build/config/android/rules.gni")
import("//build/config/locales.gni")
import("//chrome/android/features/dynamic_feature_modules.gni")
template("foo_module_tmpl") {
android_app_bundle_module(target_name) {
forward_variables_from(invoker,
[
"base_module_target",
"module_name",
"uncompress_shared_libraries",
"version_code",
"version_name",
])
android_manifest = "//chrome/android/features/foo/java/AndroidManifest.xml"
min_sdk_version = 21
target_sdk_version = android_sdk_version
proguard_enabled = !is_java_debug
aapt_locale_whitelist = locales
package_name = "foo"
package_name_to_id_mapping = resource_packages_id_mapping
}
}Then, instantiate the module template in //chrome/android/BUILD.gn inside the
monochrome_or_trichrome_public_bundle_tmpl template and add it to the bundle
target:
...
import("modules/foo/foo_module_tmpl.gni")
...
template("monochrome_or_trichrome_public_bundle_tmpl") {
...
foo_module_tmpl("${target_name}__foo_bundle_module") {
manifest_package = manifest_package
module_name = "Foo" + _bundle_name
base_module_target = ":$_base_module_target_name"
uncompress_shared_libraries = true
version_code = _version_code
version_name = _version_name
}
...
android_app_bundle(target_name) {
...
extra_modules += [
{
name = "foo"
module_target = ":${target_name}__foo_bundle_module"
},
]
}
}The next step is to add Foo to the list of feature modules for UMA recording.
For this, add foo to the AndroidFeatureModuleName in
//tools/metrics/histograms/histograms.xml:
<histogram_suffixes name="AndroidFeatureModuleName" ...>
...
<suffix name="foo" label="Super Duper Foo Module" />
...
</histogram_suffixes>Lastly, give your module a title that Chrome and Play can use for the install
UI. To do this, add a string to
//chrome/android/java/strings/android_chrome_strings.grd:
...
<message name="IDS_FOO_MODULE_TITLE"
desc="Text shown when the Foo module is referenced in install start, success,
failure UI (e.g. in IDS_MODULE_INSTALL_START_TEXT, which will expand to
'Installing Foo for Chrome…').">
Foo
</message>
...*** note Note: This is for module title only. Other strings specific to the module should go in the module, not here (in the base module).
Congrats! You added the DFM Foo to Monochrome. That is a big step but not very useful so far. In the next sections you'll learn how to add code and resources to it.
Before we are going to jump into adding content to Foo, let's take a look on how
to build and deploy the Monochrome bundle with the Foo DFM. The remainder of
this guide assumes the environment variable OUTDIR is set to a properly
configured GN build directory (e.g. out/Debug).
To build and install the Monochrome bundle to your connected device, run:
$ autoninja -C $OUTDIR monochrome_public_bundle
$ $OUTDIR/bin/monochrome_public_bundle install -m base -m fooThis will install Foo alongside the rest of Chrome. The rest of Chrome is called base module in the bundle world. The Base module will always be put on the device when initially installing Chrome.
*** note
Note: You have to specify -m base here to make it explicit which modules
will be installed. If you only specify -m foo the command will fail. It is
also possible to specify no modules. In that case, the script will install the
set of modules that the Play Store would install when first installing Chrome.
That may be different than just specifying -m base if we have non-on-demand
modules.
You can then check that the install worked with:
$ adb shell dumpsys package org.chromium.chrome | grep splits
> splits=[base, config.en, foo]Then try installing the Monochrome bundle without your module and print the installed modules:
$ $OUTDIR/bin/monochrome_public_bundle install -m base
$ adb shell dumpsys package org.chromium.chrome | grep splits
> splits=[base, config.en]To make Foo useful, let's add some Java code to it. This section will walk you through the required steps.
First, define a module interface for Foo. This is accomplished by adding the
@ModuleInterface annotation to the Foo interface. This annotation
automatically creates a FooModule class that can be used later to install and
access the module. To do this, add the following in the new file
//chrome/android/features/foo/public/java/src/org/chromium/chrome/features/foo/Foo.java:
package org.chromium.chrome.features.foo;
import org.chromium.components.module_installer.ModuleInterface;
/** Interface to call into Foo feature. */
@ModuleInterface(module = "foo", impl = "org.chromium.chrome.features.FooImpl")
public interface Foo {
/** Magical function. */
void bar();
}*** note
Note: To reflect the separation from "Chrome browser" code, features should
be defined in their own package name, distinct from the chrome package - i.e.
org.chromium.chrome.features.<feature-name>.
Next, define an implementation that goes into the module in the new file
//chrome/android/features/foo/java/src/org/chromium/chrome/features/foo/FooImpl.java:
package org.chromium.chrome.features.foo;
import org.chromium.base.Log;
import org.chromium.base.annotations.UsedByReflection;
@UsedByReflection("FooModule")
public class FooImpl implements Foo {
@Override
public void bar() {
Log.i("FOO", "bar in module");
}
}You can then use this provider to access the module if it is installed. To test
that, instantiate Foo and call bar() somewhere in Chrome:
if (FooModule.isInstalled()) {
FooModule.getImpl().bar();
} else {
Log.i("FOO", "module not installed");
}The interface has to be available regardless of whether the Foo DFM is present.
Therefore, put those classes into the base module. For this create a list of
those Java files in
//chrome/android/features/foo/public/foo_public_java_sources.gni:
foo_public_java_sources = [
"//chrome/android/features/foo/public/java/src/org/chromium/chrome/features/foo/Foo.java",
]Then add this list to chrome_java in //chrome/android/BUILD.gn:
...
import("modules/foo/public/foo_public_java_sources.gni")
...
android_library("chrome_java") {
...
java_files += foo_public_java_sources
}
...The actual implementation, however, should go into the Foo DFM. For this
purpose, create a new file //chrome/android/features/foo/BUILD.gn and make a
library with the module Java code in it:
import("//build/config/android/rules.gni")
android_library("java") {
# Define like ordinary Java Android library.
java_files = [
"java/src/org/chromium/chrome/features/foo/FooImpl.java",
# Add other Java classes that should go into the Foo DFM here.
]
# Put other Chrome libs into the classpath so that you can call into the rest
# of Chrome from the Foo DFM.
deps = [
"//base:base_java",
"//chrome/android:chrome_java",
# etc.
# Also, you'll need to depend on any //third_party or //components code you
# are using in the module code.
]
}Then, add this new library as a dependency of the Foo module target in
//chrome/android/features/foo/foo_module_tmpl.gni:
android_app_bundle_module(target_name) {
...
deps = [
"//chrome/android/module/foo:java",
]
}Finally, tell Android that your module is now containing code. Do that by
removing the android:hasCode="false" attribute from the <application> tag in
//chrome/android/features/foo/java/AndroidManifest.xml. You should be left
with an empty tag like so:
...
<application />
...Rebuild and install monochrome_public_bundle. Start Chrome and run through a
flow that tries to executes bar(). Depending on whether you installed your
module (-m foo) "bar in module" or "module not installed" is printed to
logcat. Yay!
Coming soon ( crbug/874564).
You can already add third party native code or native Chrome code that has no
dependency on other Chrome code. To add such code add it as a loadable module to
the bundle module target in //chrome/android/features/foo/foo_module_tmpl.gni:
...
template("foo_module_tmpl") {
...
android_app_bundle_module(target_name) {
...
loadable_modules = [ "//path/to/lib.so" ]
}
}In this section we will add the required build targets to add Android resources to the Foo DFM.
First, add a resources target to //chrome/android/features/foo/BUILD.gn and
add it as a dependency on Foo's java target in the same file:
...
android_resources("java_resources") {
# Define like ordinary Android resources target.
...
custom_package = "org.chromium.chrome.features.foo"
}
...
android_library("java") {
...
deps = [
":java_resources",
]
}To add strings follow steps
here to
add new Java GRD file. Then create
//chrome/android/features/foo/java/strings/android_foo_strings.grd as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<grit
current_release="1"
latest_public_release="0"
output_all_resource_defines="false">
<outputs>
<output
filename="values-am/android_foo_strings.xml"
lang="am"
type="android" />
<!-- List output file for all other supported languages. See
//chrome/android/java/strings/android_chrome_strings.grd for the full
list. -->
...
</outputs>
<translations>
<file lang="am" path="vr_translations/android_foo_strings_am.xtb" />
<!-- Here, too, list XTB files for all other supported languages. -->
...
</translations>
<release allow_pseudo="false" seq="1">
<messages fallback_to_english="true">
<message name="IDS_BAR_IMPL_TEXT" desc="Magical string.">
impl
</message>
</messages>
</release>
</grit>Then, create a new GRD target and add it as a dependency on java_resources in
//chrome/android/features/foo/BUILD.gn:
...
java_strings_grd("java_strings_grd") {
defines = chrome_grit_defines
grd_file = "java/strings/android_foo_strings.grd"
outputs = [
"values-am/android_foo_strings.xml",
# Here, too, list output files for other supported languages.
...
]
}
...
android_resources("java_resources") {
...
deps = [":java_strings_grd"]
custom_package = "org.chromium.chrome.features.foo"
}
...You can then access Foo's resources using the
org.chromium.chrome.features.foo.R class. To do this change
//chrome/android/features/foo/java/src/org/chromium/chrome/features/foo/FooImpl.java
to:
package org.chromium.chrome.features.foo;
import org.chromium.base.ContextUtils;
import org.chromium.base.Log;
import org.chromium.base.annotations.UsedByReflection;
import org.chromium.chrome.features.foo.R;
@UsedByReflection("FooModule")
public class FooImpl implements Foo {
@Override
public void bar() {
Log.i("FOO", ContextUtils.getApplicationContext().getString(
R.string.bar_impl_text));
}
}*** note
Warning: While your module is emulated (see below)
your resources are only available through
ContextUtils.getApplicationContext(). Not through activities, etc. We
therefore recommend that you only access DFM resources this way. See
crbug/949729
for progress on making this more robust.
So far, we have installed the Foo DFM as a true split (-m foo option on the
install script). In production, however, we have to explicitly install the Foo
DFM for users to get it. There are two install options: on-demand and
deferred.
On-demand requesting a module will try to download and install the module as soon as possible regardless of whether the user is on a metered connection or whether they have turned updates off in the Play Store app.
You can use the autogenerated module class to on-demand install the module like so:
FooModule.install((success) -> {
if (success) {
FooModule.getImpl().bar();
}
});Optionally, you can show UI telling the user about the install flow. For this, add a function like the one below. Note, it is possible to only show either one of the install, failure and success UI or any combination of the three.
public static void installModuleWithUi(
Tab tab, OnModuleInstallFinishedListener onFinishedListener) {
ModuleInstallUi ui =
new ModuleInstallUi(
tab,
R.string.foo_module_title,
new ModuleInstallUi.FailureUiListener() {
@Override
public void onRetry() {
installModuleWithUi(tab, onFinishedListener);
}
@Override
public void onCancel() {
onFinishedListener.onFinished(false);
}
});
// At the time of writing, shows toast informing user about install start.
ui.showInstallStartUi();
FooModule.install(
(success) -> {
if (!success) {
// At the time of writing, shows infobar allowing user
// to retry install.
ui.showInstallFailureUi();
return;
}
// At the time of writing, shows toast informing user about
// install success.
ui.showInstallSuccessUi();
onFinishedListener.onFinished(true);
});
}To test on-demand install, "fake-install" the DFM. It's fake because the DFM is not installed as a true split. Instead it will be emulated by Chrome. Fake-install and launch Chrome with the following command:
$ $OUTDIR/bin/monochrome_public_bundle install -m base -f foo
$ $OUTDIR/bin/monochrome_public_bundle launch --args="--fake-feature-module-install"When running the install code, the Foo DFM module will be emulated. This will be the case in production right after installing the module. Emulation will last until Play Store has a chance to install your module as a true split. This usually takes about a day.
*** note Warning: There are subtle differences between emulating a module and installing it as a true split. We therefore recommend that you always test both install methods.
Deferred install means that the DFM is installed in the background when the device is on an unmetered connection and charging. The DFM will only be available after Chrome restarts. When deferred installing a module it will not be faked installed.
To defer install Foo do the following:
FooModule.installDeferred();On Android K we still ship an APK. To make the Foo feature available on Android
K add its code to the APK build. For this, add the java target to
the chrome_public_common_apk_or_module_tmpl in
//chrome/android/chrome_public_apk_tmpl.gni like so:
template("chrome_public_common_apk_or_module_tmpl") {
...
target(_target_type, target_name) {
...
if (_target_type != "android_app_bundle_module") {
deps += [
"//chrome/android/module/foo:java",
]
}
}
}This will also add Foo's Java to the integration test APK. You may also have to
add java as a dependency of chrome_test_java if you want to call into Foo
from test code.