What is the difference between "configuration: 'android-endpoints'" and "configuration: 'endpoints'" in build.gradle in Android Studio?

Question

In my app module (which depends on my backend endpoints module), I have the following

dependencies {
    compile project(path: ':backend', configuration: 'android-endpoints')
}

But the following also works.

dependencies {
    compile project(path: ':backend', configuration: 'endpoints')
}

I see that the generated .jar file dependency has the "android" appended to its name in the former case. However, I suspect there is a more fundamental difference between the two. Does anyone know?

I found the following cryptic reference here: https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/gradle-appengine-plugin search for "How do I use a compile dependency on my endpoints client libraries from another project?" in the FAQ section.

Thanks for your help and I hope this isn't a stupid question.

Answer 1

android-endpoints adds few a extra transitive dependencies to the artifact that are required to use endpoints with android, it also removes some that are already included with android.

included : "google-api-client-android"
excluded : "org.apache.httpcomponents:httpclient"

endpoints only adds "google-api-client" and doesn't exclude anything.