Cordova android.useandroidx

Cordova is a popular open-source platform for building mobile apps using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS that can be deployed to both Android and iOS. One of the major changes in Cordova 9.0 was the switch to using AndroidX libraries instead of the legacy Android Support Library. This change was done to address the incompatibility issues that existed with some of the older Google libraries that developers were using in their Cordova projects.

What is AndroidX?

AndroidX is a new package structure for the Android libraries that has been developed by Google to make it easier for developers to manage dependencies and provide better support for the latest Android features. It also ensures that apps work well across different devices with different screen sizes and resolutions.

Why use AndroidX in Cordova projects?

There are several reasons why developers should use AndroidX in their Cordova projects, including:

• Improved app performance: AndroidX provides better support for the latest Android features and makes it easier to manage dependencies, resulting in improved app performance.
• Better compatibility: As Cordova continues to evolve, it's important to make sure that your project is up-to-date with the latest libraries to ensure better compatibility with other Cordova plugins and platforms.
• Future-proofing: AndroidX is the future of Android libraries and will be the new standard going forward.

How to use AndroidX in Cordova projects?

To use AndroidX in your Cordova project, you need to add the following preference to your config.xml file:

<preference name="android.useAndroidX" value="true" />
<preference name="android.enableJetifier" value="true" />

This preference tells Cordova to use AndroidX libraries instead of the legacy Android Support Library. The android.enableJetifier preference is used to automatically modify the third-party libraries that are not updated to AndroidX. Once you have added this preference, you can run cordova prepare android to have Cordova update your project to use the AndroidX libraries.

Conclusion

In conclusion, AndroidX is a new package structure for Android libraries that provides better support for the latest Android features and ensures better compatibility across different devices. Cordova 9.0 switched to using AndroidX libraries instead of the legacy Android Support Library, so it's important to update your Cordova projects to use AndroidX to ensure better performance and future-proofing. Adding the android.useAndroidX preference to your config.xml file and running cordova prepare android will update your project to use AndroidX libraries.