Android Studio E/dalvikvm: Could not find class... referenced from method

Question

I encountered a problem that seems to have something to do with the libraries in android studio.
I am having compiling errors like:

Could not find class 'android.os.PersistableBundle referenced from method com.example.jack.test1.MainActivity.access$super', Could not find class 'android.app.SharedElementCallback referenced from method com.example.jack.test1.MainActivity.access$super', Could not find class 'android.app.ActivityManager$TaskDescription.

The app still runs normally but when it comes to running a certain button event, it stops working. My friend has the same exact code as I do but in my case it doesn't work. I have tried upgrading to a latest API level and tried different gradle plugin version but the problem persisted. Thanks

running android studio 2.0
gradle version 2.10
min sdk 4.0

Answer 1

I got this error in Android Studio v2.0 while building an empty child of AppCompatActivity from the (v7-appcompat) Support Library. Seems like the problem occurred when the Build Tools (Gradle v2.1.0, Android plugin v2.10) were upgraded after the corresponding support library upgrade (v23.3.0).

My solution:

• Remove the support-library dependency reference from my module-level build.gradle file(s)
• Clean the Project
• Restart Android Studio (possibly optional)
• Add the support-library back via Project Structure > Dependencies

Seems to be working so far, although in future it would be nice to be able to specify an upgrade-order, or set up some kind of happens-before hierarchy for libraries/settings that are dependent on Build Tools.