java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to instantiate application android.app.Application: java.lang.NullPointerException at LoadedApk.makeApplication [duplicate]

Question

So I get this error from time to time. It's at the application launching from the Run button in Eclipse. this occurs once every 4-5 times. Anyone has an idea what's going on.

I really appreciate it!

05-01 18:08:31.109: W/dalvikvm(15491): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x40a311f8)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to instantiate application android.app.Application: java.lang.NullPointerException
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.LoadedApk.makeApplication(LoadedApk.java:482)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.ActivityThread.handleBindApplication(ActivityThread.java:3938)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1300(ActivityThread.java:123)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1185)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:137)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4424)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:511)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:784)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:551)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491): Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.LoadedApk.initializeJavaContextClassLoader(LoadedApk.java:362)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.LoadedApk.getClassLoader(LoadedApk.java:305)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    at android.app.LoadedApk.makeApplication(LoadedApk.java:474)
05-01 18:08:31.109: E/AndroidRuntime(15491):    ... 11 more

Answer 1

Looked into the ICS source code - It seems like for whatever reason the Package Manager can't get your package info - it could just be an eclipse/ADT bug where eclipse holds some kind of lock on the file, but whatever it is, it doesn't seem like something that you could cause with your code. I would suggest running a clean, uninstalling the app from the emulator/device, or if those don't work, you might try a fresh eclipse workspace.

Another thing that might be an issue is if you're using a Library project - try unlinking the two, cleaning, and then linking them back up again - but thats it for my bag o' tricks :)

UPDATE: yorkw gives a better explanation for why this occurs and its resolution here: RuntimeException: Unable to instantiate application

Answer 2

This is (unsurprisingly*) a bug in Eclipse/ADT/adb. I managed to fix it by uninstalling my app from the emulator. Hopefully it won't come back, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

*Seriously, Eclipse & ADT seem to be the buggiest pieces of software I've ever used. In only one day I've run into at least four different very annoying bugs! (This one, ddms broken pipe, workspace in use but it isn't, dex out of memory.) It's embarrassingly shoddy. Thank god we have stackoverflow!

Edit: I spoke too soon. The bug returns as soon as you run the app a second time.

Answer 3

I struggled with this error too.The error occurs inconsistently. Found out it was a library dependency that was not included in the build path for API level 16 (android-support-v4)