maven archetype for an android project

Question

The following options are listed on a maven archetype:generate

19: remote -> android-quickstart (-)
20: remote -> android-release (-)
21: remote -> android-with-test (-)

There is one more plugin available at http://code.google.com/p/maven-android-plugin/

What would be the right archetype / plug-in to use for Android 3.1 application development?

Answer 1

The archetype to use depends on the size and purpose of your project. The different archetypes are similar to creating regular Android projects where:

• quickstart creates something similar to an Android application project but does not create any tests.
• with-test is similar to creating an Android application project and a corresponding test project
• project release - expands the with-test archetype and also supplies tools to let maven help out with zipalign, proguard and signing of your application

For anything relatively complex I would recommend going with the release configuration even though it requires some extra settings since it manages all stages of building, testing and releasing. For prototyping or minor projects the quick-start archetype may be sufficient. With-test can be used if you want to maintain more manual control of the release process but still want a maven managed test project.

If this is the first time you are using the Maven Android plugin I would suggest creating a small experimental project with the quick-start archetype to get the feel for it. Then use a release type project for your application.