Android gradle test tasks

Question

Can someone explain the main differences between these types of Android gradle tasks?

• check - Runs all checks.
• connectedAndroidTest - Installs and runs the tests for Build 'debug' on connected devices.
• connectedCheck - Runs all device checks on currently connected devices.
• deviceCheck - Runs all device checks using Device Providers and Test Servers.

E.g. if I run connectedAndroidTest and connectedCheck, it seems, that everything will be the same -> my test classes are called (on the device or emulator).

Answer 1

Difference between different Android gradle tasks is as follows: (Ref: http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system/user-guide)

• check - uses Lint to run checks. These checks include layout issues, manifest errors etc. For more detail refer http://tools.android.com/tips/lint
• connectedCheck - uses connectedAndroidTest - Runs all checks/tests that requires a connected device or emulator. Thus, connectedAndroidTest and connectedCheck run same tests.
• deviceCheck - Run checks only using APIs to connect to remote devices.