Building a mobile app with PhoneGap and Dreamweaver: Creating a release build for Android

Once you have an app that you've tested, you're ready to create a release build of your application, with your own private signing key. This tutorial describes the process for doing just that.

You must meet the following system requirements before you can continue with this tutorial.

• Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later (x86 only)

or

• Windows XP (32-bit), Vista (32- or 64-bit), or Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit)
• Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) or greater. Eclipse Classic is recommended.
• Android SDK starter package
• ADT Eclipse plug-in
• JDK 5 or later (This should already be installed if you have had your app running on an emulator using Dreamweaver CS 5.5)

After setting up Eclipse with the Android SDK and ADT plug-in, the first step is to import the project you built with Dreamweaver into Eclipse. Eclipse streamlines the process of creating a signing key and generating a release build of your project.

1. Start Eclipse and choose File > New > Android Project.
2. Type a name for your project.
3. Select Create Project From Existing source.
4. Click Browse and navigate to the folder of the app you want to sign (see Figure 1). If you don't have a project of your own to use, you can download and unzip the sample files for this article, which include a sample Dreamweaver project. (Point this to the com.companyname.testapp_Android folder that is supplied in the download)
5. Select a Build Target; for example, Google APIs.
6. Click Finish.

Next, you need to add the PhoneGap.jar to the build path of your project, otherwise it will not compile correctly.

7. Right-click your project in the Package Explorer and select Build Path > Configure Build Path.
8. In the Properties dialog box, click the Libraries tab and then click Add JARs (See Figure 2).

9. In the Add JARs dialog box, select your project directory and navigate to the libs folder.
10. Locate phonegap.jar, select it, and click OK. Click OK once more in the Properties dialog box.

Now you can run your application to verify that it was imported correctly.

11. Right-click your project in the Package Explorer, and select Run As > Android Application.

Depending on your setup, this will start the Android emulator and start your application in it, or it will launch the application on your device if you have one plugged in and have enabled USB debugging. To enable USB debugging on your device, go to Settings > Applications > Development and enable USB debugging.

Note: It can take a minute or longer to launch the application in the emulator. If the emulator fails on the first try, close it and run your application again.

To create a release build of your application, you must sign the application. Before you can sign the application you have to create a signing certificate. Since you are using Eclipse and the ADT Eclipse plug-in, you can sign and create a release build in a few easy steps.

The first step is to turn off debug mode.

1. In the Eclipse Package Explorer, right-click your project's AndroidManifest.xml file and select Open With > Text Editor.
2. Locate the line that contains android:debuggable="true" and change the test to android:debuggable="false" .
3. Save your changes.

Now you're ready to create and sign your application.

4. In Eclipse, choose File > Export.
5. Open the Android folder, select Export Android Application, and click Next.
6. Make sure the dialog box lists your project and reports No Errors Found. Click Next.
7. Select Create New Keystore. Specify a location and file name for the keystore. Type a password and retype it to confirm. Click Next (see Figure 3).

8. In the Key Creation dialog box, type a Key Alias and a Password. Set the Validity to 25 years (see Figure 4). Fill in at least one Certificate issuer field; for example, your name. Click Next.

9. Choose a destination for your application and click Finish.

You have now succesfully created a signed application.

You have created a signing key and signed your application using it. You can test your APK file on your device by emailing the file to your device or by using the adb command line tool to install it.

For information on alternative methods of signing your application without using Eclipse, see Signing Your Application on the Android Developers website.

If you run into issues importing a project into Eclipse, check out the getting started guide on the PhoneGap website.

Now that you have created a release build on Android, you may want to step through the following articles:

• Submitting to Android Market
• Creating a release build for iOS
• Submitting to the Apple App Store