Quick Start

This guide will walk you through the steps to add Skygear to your Android project from scratch.

Prerequisite

• Android Studio
• A Skygear account. Sign up here.

Step 1: Install the Skygear Android SDK

1. Create a new Android Studio project or use your existing one.
2. In build.gradle of the project, include the JCenter Maven repository.

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
        maven {
            url 'https://maven.google.com/'
            name 'Google'
        }
    }
}

3. Then, in build.gradle of the module, add Skygear as a dependency by adding io.skygear:skygear+ in the dependency list.

dependencies {
    // other dependencies
    compile 'io.skygear:skygear:+'
}

4. You will be hinted for a project sync as you have updated the gradle files. The Skygear Android SDK will have been installed when the sync is completed.

Step 2: Configure Skygear in your app

Method 1: Create an Application that extends SkygearApplication

If your existing project does not have any extension, you can configure Skygear by creating an Application that extends SkygearApplication.

Assume you already have your custom application defined in MyApplication.java (if not please create one), add the following lines to the file.

import io.skygear.skygear.SkygearApplication;

public class MyApplication extends SkygearApplication {
    @Override
    public String getSkygearEndpoint() {
        return "https://<your-app-name>.skygeario.com/";
    }

    @Override
    public String getApiKey() {
        return "<your-api-key>";
    }
}

Method 2: Configure Skygear when the app starts

If you already have your own custom applications, you can configure Skygear in the onCreate function. Your MyApplication.java should look like this:

import io.skygear.skygear.Container;
import io.skygear.skygear.Configuration;

public class MyApplication extends Application {
    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();

        Configuration config = new Configuration.Builder()
                .endPoint("https://<your-app-name>.skygeario.com/")
                .apiKey("<your-api-key>")
                .build();

        Container.defaultContainer(this).configure(config);
    }
}

Step 3: Update the app manifest

For the Skygear Android SDK to work, make sure the following two items are set in AndroidManifest.xml.

1. Include the android.permission.INTERNET permission. (So that the Skygear Android SDK can communicate with the Skygear server)
2. Specify the main Activity Class (an activity subclass) as the android:name attribute at the activity tag.

// Your AndroidManifast.xml should have the followings lines

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<application
    android:name=".MyApplication">
</application>

That is it. You are good to go now. You can continue with the step below to learn about basic database operations.

Step 4: Create your first record in Skygear

Now, let's create a record in the Skygear database to see if the SDK has been installed successfully.

Add the following lines in the onCreate function and run your app in a simulator. The record will be created when you run your app.

// import the modules
import io.skygear.skygear.AuthResponseHandler;
import io.skygear.skygear.Error;
import io.skygear.skygear.Record;
import io.skygear.skygear.RecordSaveResponseHandler;
import io.skygear.skygear.SkygearApplication;
import io.skygear.skygear.Container;

// Every record in Skygear must be owned by a user
// For testing purpose, we have used signupAnonmously to create a record
// Visit the user authetication documentation to learn more
// https://docs.skygear.io/guides/auth/basics/android/
@Override
public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();
    final Container skygear = Container.defaultContainer(this);
    skygear.getAuth().signupAnonymously(new AuthResponseHandler() {
        @Override
        public void onAuthSuccess(Record user) {
            Log.i("MyApplication", "Signup successfully");

            // Create Record Type "test" and put "Hello world" as value of key "content"
            // Advanced: Skygear Server will create a table "test" and appropriate
            //           columns in PostgreSQL in Development mode.
            Record test = new Record("test");
            test.set("content", "Hello world");

            skygear.getPublicDatabase().save(test, new RecordSaveResponseHandler() {
                @Override
                public void onSaveSuccess(Record[] records) {
                    Log.i("MyApplication", "Record saved");
                }

                @Override
                public void onPartiallySaveSuccess(Map<String, Record> successRecords, Map<String, Error> errors) {
                    Log.i("MyApplication", "Some records are failed to save");
                }


                @Override
                public void onSaveFail(Error error) {
                    Log.w("MyApplication", "Failed to save: " + error.getMessage(), error);
                }
            });
        }

        @Override
        public void onAuthFail(Error error) {
            Log.w("MyApplication", "Failed to signup: " + error.getMessage(), error);
        }
    });
}

If the record is created successfully, you should see the record "Hello World" in your database table "test".

You can access your database using the data browser we provide. It can be found in the info page in your developer portal.

This is how your data browser will look like.

Hurray! Everything should be in the right place from here.

What's next?

Next, you may want to learn more about:

• Skygear Cloud Database basics
• Skygear User Auth Introduction
• Skygear Chat Introduction
• Other Skygear Guides