org.apache.http.NameValuePair no longer available with compileSdkVersion 23

Question

I have a helper class that does request functions, and one method I am using is the following.

private String buildQueryString(String url, List<NameValuePair> params) throws IOException {
    StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
    if (params == null) return url;

    for (NameValuePair param : params) {
        sb.append(urlEncode(param.getName()));
        sb.append("=");
        sb.append(urlEncode(param.getValue()));
        sb.append("&");
    }

    return url + "?" + sb.substring(0, sb.length() - 1);
}

If I update my gradle to compileSdkVersion 23, the import org.apache.http.NameValuePair no longer exists. I was curious to know what the replacement is? Thanks in advance!

EDIT -posting gradle- Also, I am using gradle-2.4

buildscript {
    repositories {
        maven { url 'https://maven.fabric.io/public' }
        maven { url 'https://zendesk.artifactoryonline.com/zendesk/repo' }
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'io.fabric.tools:gradle:1.+'
    }
}
apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
apply plugin: 'io.fabric'

repositories {
    maven { url 'https://maven.fabric.io/public' }
}

android {
    signingConfigs {
        debug {
            storeFile file('keystore/debug/debug.keystore')
        }
    }

    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion "21.1.2"
    useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'

    // jenkins setup
    def versionPropsFile = file('version.properties')
    def code = 1;
    if (versionPropsFile.canRead() && versionPropsFile.exists()) {
        def Properties versionProps = new Properties()

        versionProps.load(new FileInputStream(versionPropsFile))
        List<String> runTasks = gradle.startParameter.getTaskNames();
        def value = 0
        for (String item : runTasks) {
            if (item.contains("assembleRelease")) {
                value = 1;
            }
        }
        code = Integer.parseInt(versionProps['VERSION_CODE']).intValue() + value
        versionProps['VERSION_CODE'] = code.toString()
        versionProps.store(versionPropsFile.newWriter(), null)
    } else {
        throw new GradleException("Could not read version.properties!")
    }

    // construct version name
    def versionMajor = 2
    def versionMinor = 3
    def versionPatch = 9

    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 16
        targetSdkVersion 22
        versionName "${versionMajor}.${versionMinor}.${versionPatch}"
        versionCode code
        signingConfig signingConfigs.debug

        // enabling multidex support
        multiDexEnabled true
    }

    buildTypes {
        stage {
              <content removed>
        }
        debug {
              <content removed>
        }
        release {
              <content removed>
        }
    }
    packagingOptions {
        exclude 'META-INF/LICENSE.txt'
    }


dependencies {
    <bunch of dependencies>
    compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:23.0.1'
}

Answer 1

Add this on your build.gradle

android {
    useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'
}

org.apache library was deprecated from api 22 and it was eliminated on api 23.

change buildToolsVersion '21.1.2' with buildToolsVersion '23.0.1'

Or you should add this on your dependencies:

compile 'org.jbundle.util.osgi.wrapped:org.jbundle.util.osgi.wrapped.org.apache.http.cli‌​ent:4.1.2'

Be careful to use the Gradle 1.3.+

Answer 2

To elaborate on this issue, there are two ways to fix this for those that face the same conflict. As @Michele pointed out, useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy' can be used, but you have to remember to also update gradle.

For API 23:

Top level build.gradle - /build.gradle

buildscript {
    ...
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.3.1'
    }
}
...

Module specific build.gradle - /app/build.gradle

android {
    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion "23.0.0"
    useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'
    ...
}

Official doc:
https://developer.android.com/about/versions/marshmallow/android-6.0-changes.html#behavior-apache-http-client

Latest android gradle plugin changelog: http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system

The second way of resolving this is by adding the following to dependencies

 dependencies {
    compile 'org.jbundle.util.osgi.wrapped:org.jbundle.util.osgi.wrapped.org.apache.http.client:4.1.2'
 }