New Android 5.1 Deprecated classes which could affect on the library in future

[SlavVv]

The org.apache.http classes and the AndroidHttpClient class have been deprecated in Android 5.1.

This is from the new Android 5.1 APIs update. https://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-5.1.html#http

[panxw]

Maybe you could transfer to android volley, or implement this library by URLConnection.
http://developer.android.com/reference/java/net/URLConnection.html

[dkozel]

smarek has said that the library will use a port of the Apache HttpClient for future releases as the version shipped with Android is frozen (and now deprecated) at 4.0 beta.
https://hc.apache.org/httpcomponents-client-4.3.x/android-port.html

"in branch 1.5.0 we plan on go away from Android provided version of HttpClient and replace it with android port" -smarek #775

[smarek]

Thank you and yes, I'll be pushing 1.5.0 branch forward, so we won't fall into problems as those classes will be removed in future Android version.

[kjkrum]

Apache HTTP has been removed from the M preview: http://developer.android.com/preview/behavior-changes.html

[titanseason]

@kjkrum Android-async-http works well on Android M, I debuged this last week

[smarek]

@titanseason should not work, how come?

[kjkrum]

@titanseason What version? Only the 1.5.x branch should work on M. If an earlier version works, Google might have "removed" Apache HTTP by removing it from the Android SDK stub library, similar to the way they remove methods with the @hide annotation. This would make sense, since it would prevent massive breakage of existing apps. If this is how they handled it, future versions of android-async-http could be built against a stub library of Apache HTTP instead of incorporating the whole thing and bloating apps that use it.

[kjkrum]

(Though that would be a gamble, since Google might actually remove Apache HTTP at some point in the future.)

[titanseason]

@kimiyash
I download Android M preview image for Nexus 5 at https://developer.android.com/preview/download.html, and update my Nexus 5 Device with the image.

Android-async-http (Version 1.4.6) works well on my Nexus 5.

By the way, my Android project target in project.properties is "target=android-19"

[kjkrum]

Then they must have only removed Apache HTTP from the stub library. Version 1.4.x will continue to run, it just won't be compilable against M or later SDKs.

[bytebeats]

Will HttpClient be replaced by HttpUrlConnection or other alternative in android-async-http? I think this is a final solution.

[smarek]

Nope, we discussed this already, and there are already good libraries based on HttpUrlConnection, we're not going to implement that again. Version 1.5.0 (as soon as I get some time to push it forward) will be based on Apache HttpComponents 4.3+ (see #830 (comment) and #775)

[gmbett]

If you change your target sdk to Android M (API 23) then all deprecated classes related to HTTP client are no longer available and Android-async-http won't work.

You need to add "useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'" in your gradle configuration.

[panxw]

API Ratios:
http://www.199it.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/34dcd90da781ce6.jpg

[smarek]

@gmbett good tip!
@panxw up to 5.1 (API22) everything works, it's API 23 Android Marshmallow (currently in preview) that' causing the troubles.

[hanbo]

There is a org.apache.http.legacy.jar in Android/sdk/platforms/android-23/optional which can be used as a workaround for eclipse based projects.

[zhangchaoxu]

give a tip for someone just like me, do not know how to add "useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy'"
just follow this

1. upgrade the build gradle to lastest version in /build.gradle
   buildscript { ... dependencies { classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.3.1' } }
2. and then add org.apache.http.legacy in module like app/build.gradle
   android { compileSdkVersion 23 buildToolsVersion "23.0.0" useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy' ... }

[zhangchaoxu]

wow, i am sorry to said that, there is still a compile issue said that org.apache.http related class can not found, even after i added useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy' in my project's gradle configuration.
finally, i copied org.apache.http.legacy.jar from sdk/platforms/android-23/optional to libs folder of my module, and it works.

@gmbett , does useLibrary 'org.apache.http.legacy' works in your case, any other tips? Thanks

[TylerMcCraw]

@zhangchaoxu thanks for the tips on the workaround.

Hopefully, @smarek will be able to resolve this for 1.5.0. Granted, I'm sure it will take quite a bit of work to refactor it so that there are no dependencies on org.apache.http.Header.
Thanks for helping out with this, @smarek!

[TylerMcCraw]

@zhangchaoxu, did you have to do anything to your project after copying org.apache.http.legacy.jar to your libs folder? My project still shows compilation issues after doing this.

[kjkrum]

i copied org.apache.http.legacy.jar from sdk/platforms/android-23/optional to libs folder of my module, and it works.

Have you tested it on a device, or just compiled it? My understanding is that org.apache.http.legacy is just a stub library, and if you compile it into your app it'll crash at runtime.

[zhangchaoxu]

@TylerMcCraw
just add compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar']) or compile files('libs/org.apache.http.legacy.jar') into the dependencies of the module's build.gradle, and then sync it.

@kjkrum
yes, i have tested in genymotion vm with 4.4 and 5.0/an old HTC mobile with Android 4.0/Nexus5 with Android5.0, all of above works well.
Maybe i need to test in Android 6.0 as well, thanks for your advise.

[zhangchaoxu]

@kjkrum
already tested in Android6.0 with AVD, and it works well.

[griffins]

I thought someone assigned himself this issue. Else we should try to port
this library to use HttpUrlConnection. I don't know a lot about http but am
willing to do some research and help.

On Wed, 2 Sep 2015 06:58 Dennis Jung [email protected] wrote:

In android document, it comments to define library on build.gradle to use
apache library.

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

Android suggest to use HttpURLConnection for alternative, and I wonder is
there a plan or way to switch into on it.

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#830 (comment)
.

[smarek]

@griffins I'm assigned but I don't have the time to fix all this right now.
If you're willing to contribute and do some research, would be great to provide script to repackage production version of HttpClient-4.X, which is main issue we're solving right now.

There are good HttpUrlConnections based async http requesting libraries out there, but this one was and will be based on HttpClient, no need to do just another library like those.

We need to have JAR of Apache HttpClient components (all of them) but not under org.apache, as that would cause classpath conflicts, but under different namespace (such as com.loopj.httpclient)

Something like that was done previously, see HttpClientAndroidLib project (now unmaintained and deprecated) https://code.google.com/p/httpclientandroidlib/

More info on the topic, see:
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HTTPCLIENT-1632
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32178854/android-api-23-httpclient-4-x-repackaged

[griffins]

I look at it tomorrow. Probably ill have an idea on wat to try after that.
Its 9pm here!

On Wed, 2 Sep 2015 21:00 Marek Sebera [email protected] wrote:

@griffins https://github.com/Griffins I'm assigned but I don't have the
time to fix all this right now.
If you're willing to contribute and do some research, would be great to
provide script to repackage production version of HttpClient-4.X, which is
main issue we're solving right now.

There are good HttpUrlConnections based async http requesting libraries
out there, but this one was and will be based on HttpClient, no need to do
just another library like those.

We need to have JAR of Apache HttpClient components (all of them) but not
under org.apache, as that would cause classpath conflicts, but under
different namespace (such as com.loopj.httpclient)

Something like that was done previously, see HttpClientAndroidLib project
(now unmaintained and deprecated)
https://code.google.com/p/httpclientandroidlib/

More info on the topic, see:
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HTTPCLIENT-1632

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32178854/android-api-23-httpclient-4-x-repackaged

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#830 (comment)
.

[kjkrum]

Again, this library CANNOT be ported to use HttpUrlConnection because it exposes its use of Apache HTTP through things like exceptions and method parameters. A port could never be made backward-compatible. It could be conceptually similar, but it would be a different library.

[smarek]

@griffins so I have it working, see repository here:
https://github.com/smarek/httpclient-android/

Currently requesting artifact group and id on Sonatype Nexus repository, and I'll push updated android-async-http library with this as dependency, instead of HC teams repackaged version or useLibrary hack

request has been placed in OSSRH-17531 https://issues.sonatype.org/browse/OSSRH-17531

[jeremylan]

@smarek Any idea on when the updated android-async-http library with this change will be released?

Thanks so much for all the help and work with this great library.

[smarek]

@jeremylan I should be able to do it through the weekend, there are changes needed to be done along using 4.3.3 upstream HttpClient, before the release is feasible.

[jeremylan]

@smarek Thanks heaps for the reply and all the work. All the best.

[TylerMcCraw]

Thanks @smarek!

[smarek]

So now we're officially running on stable upstream HttpClient 4.3.3 version, repackaged and published on Maven through group+artifact cz.msebera.android:httpclient:4.3.3, see the build script repository for reference https://github.com/smarek/httpclient-android

Code was updated to new dependency, and all tests run smoothly, compiled against latest Android SDK 23, see commit for reference 15f9556

To convert your current code, simple solution is to use sed to replace org.apache.http links with cz.msebera.android.httpclient
Sample find+sed command is

# Use `gsed -i` for OS X environment with gnu-sed installed from Homebrew or similar repository
find . -name '*.java' -exec sed -i 's/org.apache.http/cz.msebera.android.httpclient/g' \{\} +

Sincerely we're not allowed to publish to maven under org.apache group prefix, and we cannot use org.apache group in published archives, because of possible clash of classpaths on Android systems, so this is the only downside with the current solution.

I've just uploaded new 1.4.9-SNAPSHOT into staging repository, see https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/com/loopj/android/android-async-http/1.4.9-SNAPSHOT/
Read on how to add snapshot version to your project in README.md

For those who'll be testing build from source, there is also fix to get correct javadocs generated on project, see a5399d8 for reference

Please all of you, who watch this ticket, try this snapshot, and I'll solve some issues along the way on the 1.4.9 release, before publishing the non-SNAPSHOT version into central.

[jeremylan]

Hi @smarek I just tested the 1.4.9 snapshot with my code, compiled with API 23 and running in API 19 and API 23 emulators.

It all seems to work OK, thank you!

[smarek]

Cool, can anybody else please confirm this finds? Also I'd be greatful for tests done on API3-API10 (as we still declare the compatibility), if anybody is willing to do that.

[LaurieScheepers]

Used the 1.4.9 snapshot and replaced the necessary imports and can confirm it works

[Saren-Arterius]

same as @LaurieScheepers, it works.

[smarek]

Heads up, I've just released 1.4.9 to Maven Central repository, updated master branch with latest code, uploaded new javadocs, updated readmes with new version.

Also we're now sitting on top of HttpClent 4.3.6 ( https://github.com/smarek/httpclient-android/releases/v4.3.6 ), which already includes HttpClient-Cache and HttpMime libraries of same version, so you can drop the external dependencies, if you're using any.

1.5.0 built on top of upstream 4.3+ (hopefully we'll manage to get to 4.4+ or even 4.5+) has a lot of issues to be solved, so I'd welcome any help on updating the library according to our options, now since we're not relying on Android provided HttpClient anymore.

1.4.9 will remain as LTS version, and I plan to upload minor revisions, however no big changes will get merged into 1.4.9.X versions

Thank you all for your contribution.

[LaurieScheepers]

@smarek awesome, I'll update to the new official version tomorrow. Thanks 👍

[jeremylan]

Great work @smarek !!

[Zapnologica]

@smarek Thank you so much for 1.4.9 you saved my but and a whole lot of time.

[panxw]

I made one base on Android Volley, no HttpClient(apache http) need now!
https://github.com/panxw/android-volley-hurlstack

[bytebeats]

@panxw Bad idea to set Android API 14+

[panxw]

@LittlePanpc It's Android API 9+ ok now!

[smarek]

@panxw good for you, closing for Off Topic discussion reasons