Other B4A v8.00 BETA has been released!

Erel

B4X founder
Staff member
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Longtime User
I'm very happy to release B4A v8.00 BETA. This update includes many important improvements and makes it simpler to target the latest versions of Android.

android.png

(image source: android.com)

As explained in this tutorial, all apps will soon need to target sdk version 26 (Android 8). This is a new policy of Google and it has many consequences for app developers. Many of the improvements in B4A v8.0 help developers with this task.

Improvements:
  • The process of starting the app from the background was rewritten to comply with targetSdkVersion 26 requirements.
  • Push notifications and other features that cause apps to start from the background should be more reliable due to changes in the way services are started. A wake lock is automatically held when a receiver receives an intent. The wake lock is released when the service starts.
  • Automatic foreground mode: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/automatic-foreground-mode.90546/
  • Notification object rewritten to work with targetSdkVersion 26. In most cases you don't need to change anything. Notification.SetInfo or Notification.SetInfo2 should be the last calls before you show the notification.
  • Notification.SetInfo / SetInfo2 accept CharSequences so it can work with CSBuilder.
  • StartServiceAt / StartServiceAtExact rewritten to work with targetSdkVersion 26 and they are now more reliable.
  • Notification.Initialize2 - Allows to set the notification channel importance level.
  • Better support for AAR libraries: jni folders (native libraries) are handled properly, assets and resources from internal jars are added to the project.
  • Signing key size is explicitly set to avoid issues with newer versions of Java.
  • B4A Sdk Manager v3.22 - Bug fixes and support for Google based AVDs.
  • Screenshot tool modified to work with latest versions of Android SDK.
  • MediaPlayer.IsInitialzied method.
  • Manifest editor macros - Macros can be added to libraries or zip files. For example to set a light theme based on Android version:
    B4X:
    CreateResourceFromFile(Macro, Themes.LightTheme)
    Unless you are setting a custom theme then it is recommended to use either Themes.LightTheme or Themes.DarkTheme.

    Firebase push notifications:
    B4X:
    CreateResourceFromFile(Macro, FirebaseAnalytics.GooglePlayBase)
    CreateResourceFromFile(Macro, FirebaseAnalytics.Firebase)
    CreateResourceFromFile(Macro, FirebaseNotifications.FirebaseNotifications)
    https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/new-feature-manifest-macros.90398/#content

  • Custom class templates - Class templates can be added to libraries.
    For example if you add the XUI library to your project then you will have an option to add a custom view based on XUI:

    SS-2018-03-12_10.57.15.png


    Libraries can include multiple templates and any library can include templates.
  • #SignKeyAlias attribute - Allows overriding the default signing key alias.
  • Firebase and xCustomListView are internal libraries.
  • Libraries deprecation messages in the IDE:

    SS-2018-03-12_11.01.17.png


  • Fix for a very long standing issue where the activity code could have been executed while the activity is paused which leads to a hard to reproduce NullPointerException.
  • BADoclet (tool to generate libraries XML) v1.07 - adds support for custom class templates.
  • Other bug fixes and minor improvements.

Backward compatibility notes
  • Notification.SetInfo or SetInfo2 should be the last calls before you use the notification. Note that standard notifications created with previous versions of B4A will not work at all on Android 8+ when targetSdkVersion is 26+.
  • Adding a service, other than the Starter service, will add the WAKE_LOCK permission. This is a non-dangerous permission.
    As mentioned above a wake lock is held automatically when a service is started from the background and until Service_Start is called. You can remove this permission with:
    B4X:
    RemovePermission(android.permission.WAKE_LOCK)
    Everything will still work, however the service might fail to start from the background in some cases.

Developers eligible for a free upgrade should receive an email with upgrade instructions.
I remind you that this is a beta version.
 
Last edited:

Star-Dust

Expert
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Longtime User
Many thanks, we felt the need.
 
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RonSens

Member
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Longtime User
Great Erel, thank you!
This is really a fantastic tool and we are using it a lot right now for all different kind of apps.
 
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Cableguy

Expert
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Longtime User
Would it be too difficult to allow for a custom template? (Personal template).
 
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Star-Dust

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
I have already tried and it seems like a Interesting upgrade. Will there be tutorial for the news?
For example, Custom class templates
 
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lemonisdead

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Or I should uninstall the current version first?
Just install the stable over the previous stable (but it is not necessary and you can keep both if you wish ; that's your choice). Only the shortcut in Windows start menu is updated.
 
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