Building for Android
The Android port builds FreeBASIC programs into Android application packages
using the Android SDK/NDK tools. The current tree keeps the Android application
template under share/freebasic-android/template and drives package creation
through the packaged fbc-android wrapper and build scripts.
Building an APK
--assets DIR copies a directory into the APK so its files appear in the
program's current directory. --runOnPhone installs and launches the result
through the attached adb device. --hideKeyboardButton, the
FBANDROID_ASSETS environment variable, and the source defines
FB_ANDROID_HIDE_KEYBOARD_BUTTON and FB_ANDROID_LANDSCAPE provide the
matching package and source-level controls. The wrapper also recognizes common
SCREEN and SCREENRES forms when choosing the initial orientation.
Build scripts
Those scripts check for the Android toolchain pieces that matter in practice,
including the NDK compiler, android.jar, aapt, d8, signing tools,
and the runtime package layout.
What to test
Android changes should be tested with normal command-line programs and with
application-style smoke tests. Graphics, touch input, audio, lifecycle exit, and
asset packaging are all Android-specific enough to deserve explicit tests.
On an ARM64 Android phone, the public Termux bootstrap creates a native ARM64
Ubuntu PRoot, installs the host compiler and Termux's native Android tools, and
builds a signed smoke APK without QEMU or an x86-64 host toolchain:
The Android port builds FreeBASIC programs into Android application packages
using the Android SDK/NDK tools. The current tree keeps the Android application
template under share/freebasic-android/template and drives package creation
through the packaged fbc-android wrapper and build scripts.
Building an APK
(sh) fbc-android program.bas -x program.apk fbc-android program.bas --assets game-data --runOnPhone -x program.apk
--assets DIR copies a directory into the APK so its files appear in the
program's current directory. --runOnPhone installs and launches the result
through the attached adb device. --hideKeyboardButton, the
FBANDROID_ASSETS environment variable, and the source defines
FB_ANDROID_HIDE_KEYBOARD_BUTTON and FB_ANDROID_LANDSCAPE provide the
matching package and source-level controls. The wrapper also recognizes common
SCREEN and SCREENRES forms when choosing the initial orientation.
Build scripts
(sh) ./build_scripts/msys2-build-freebasic-android.sh ./build_scripts/debianubuntu-test-freebasic-android.sh
Those scripts check for the Android toolchain pieces that matter in practice,
including the NDK compiler, android.jar, aapt, d8, signing tools,
and the runtime package layout.
What to test
Android changes should be tested with normal command-line programs and with
application-style smoke tests. Graphics, touch input, audio, lifecycle exit, and
asset packaging are all Android-specific enough to deserve explicit tests.
On an ARM64 Android phone, the public Termux bootstrap creates a native ARM64
Ubuntu PRoot, installs the host compiler and Termux's native Android tools, and
builds a signed smoke APK without QEMU or an x86-64 host toolchain:
(sh) curl -fLO https://deb.fbxl.net/install/termux-ubuntu-android-bootstrap.sh chmod 700 termux-ubuntu-android-bootstrap.sh ./termux-ubuntu-android-bootstrap.sh
See also